Lachlan - 2.5 years

Here is the very delayed post for highlights of Lachlan at 2.5 years old (as of 6/13/14):

Stats:

• Wide range of clothes: mainly 24 month/2T clothes-- 3T in some shirts (mainly so we can maybe use them again next year)
• He has some of his 2 year molars- can see both on the bottom coming in...not seeing any on top!
• Good thing we finally got him new shoes- jumped 1.5-2 sizes!  Now wearing 9-9.5 Wide.
• According to our scale, weighs about 32 lbs.

School:
He frequently tells me "No school" in the mornings, but I know he enjoys it once there.  When I drop him off at school, he loves for me to look back in the cafe and he blows me a kiss and then wants me to come back in for a hug...then blows more kisses.  Seriously just melts my heart cause I know these days are limited...before long it won't be so cool to do this in front of his friends I'm sure!  

Smarts:

• Knows all his shapes
• Counts to 20 but sometimes can still miss a number in the teens or get something mixed up; Counts to 10 in Spanish; Is getting better with pointing to objects and counting them, but I think he gets overwhelmed once there are more than 5 objects and just doesn't really try to count them.  He likes for us to point to the objects while he counts.
• Still can recognize all upper and lower case letters.  For most letters he knows what sounds they make, but not sure he can do all (haven't fully quizzed him).  Still gives correct words most of the time when I say "A is for..."  Now we've started asking him "What letter does apple start with?"
• Knows tons of songs (has known these for a while, but is getting more and more words and verses included each time)- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row Your Boat, London Bridge, Bingo, This Old Man, Old Macdonald, Happy Know It, More We Get Together, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.
• Just starting to teach words like Bigger, Smaller, Most, Fewest/Least, etc. but think he is pretty confused by these concepts.

Skills/Milestones:
We don't push using the potty, but it's there if he asks.  He is starting to wake up dry in the mornings, so that is huge step that maybe we can start working on potty training now.  He usually asks to go in the mornings...however, he goes a teeny amount in the toilet, then I'll put on a diaper and he unloads.  He has yet to go any substantial amount in the potty.  We are going to soon revise the potty policy-- he used to get 2 m&ms for sitting, but a mini chocolate candy if he went pee.  It needs to change to only get the chocolate if he goes a substantial amount...the trickle just isn't going to cut it!  He has pooped one time recently at school in the potty.

He's a little awkward/slow, but is starting to get the hang of using a scooter.  Not a lot of improvement with the tricycle- he's actually pretty good with the steering if I'm pushing, but has trouble getting the hang of pedaling.

Behavior:
Bedtime is hit or miss-- I think he is just starting to get smarter on how to work it so he can procrastinate or stay up later.  Some nights he is real good and others it is a struggle.  We let him pick 2-3 picks that one of us or both of us take turns reading in his rocking chair.  Then we put him in bed and sing a song of his choosing- lately he wants Wheels on the Bus...probably because it is longer than Sunshine!

Still acts up quite a bit and is very frustrating when he doesn't want to listen to us.  School uses the terms "Sad choices" and "Happy choices" so we use that at home.  It actually does really bother him if you tell him he just made a sad choice- he doesn't like to hear that.  We do the time outs- has to sit facing the wall for 2 minutes...this usually takes what feels like 15 minutes to complete cause he has such a tantrum and refuses to do it.  We started a sticker chart on the fridge to reward good behavior and make a big deal out of when he does something good.  Hoping this reward system will help him make happy choices!

Definitely just has full out tantrums and meltdowns.  Sometimes I have no clue what sets him off or he'll just do something bad out of the blue, like pour his glass of milk on the floor.

Speech/Sayings:

• Says "Home" when we turn into our subdivision.  After going to my parent's house a few times, he now says "Papa House" when I turn into that subdivision.  
• Still refers to Makenzie just as "Baby" a lot....e.g. "Where baby go?" "Baby sleeping?"
• When he goes to sleep at night, he always says "Bye Mommy Daddy...Sweet Dreams"...then repeats this like 3 times and I can still hear him saying it after I shut the door.  

Fun Times:
Went to the Forth Worth Zoo which was GREAT, swimming indoors and at papa's house, did a "farm" field trip (which turned out to be my worst nightmare cause had huge dogs and then I got chigger bites)

Randomness:

• Loves singing songs and dancing
• Started watching movies- Monsters University was first one, then Cars, then Lion King.  Loves them all!
• With building all the houses on our street he loves to go looking for bulldozers and trucks.  They started on the house next door to us, so that will make things more convenient!  We just sit and watch...one time he wanted me to blow kisses to the workers.
• Really starting to string words together for complete sentences/thoughts.  "I have a question" "Here you go mommy (says every morning as he loves to open the door for me and Kenzie)"
• Trying to explain grown-ups vs adults.  He gets it right for our family- but not others.  E.g.- tells me his teachers are kids.
• Loves chocolate and ice cream!  Not too many foods he doesn't like...really is just hit or miss if he eats something on this plate or not.
• We really tried to talk up the Easter Bunny, but he was scared and didn't want to sit on his lap for pictures.  We did 2 egg hunts and each I made sure they had age categories so he wouldn't be competing against older kids...however, I was just disappointed in both of them.  I think he got about 2 eggs in each hunt while other kids are coming out with 20+ eggs in their baskets and parents were super aggressive.  I guess I'm too into fairness, but seems like they should put a limit on the amount of eggs you can get.  And I just can't see myself some day letting Lachlan collect all these eggs when others hardly have any...guess we'll see!
• Loves to brush his teeth.  However he still swallows/eats the toothpaste, so I have him on the baby toothpaste and I guess need to work on getting him moved off of it.
• Likes to take showers with daddy.  When taking baths, likes to try to help wash himself and dump the water on his own head.
• It is Texas tradition to take pictures of your kids in bluebonnet fields...so I had my mind made up that it was our first year here, we were doing this, I would get great pics of the kids.  Well, it took multiple scouting trips to actually FIND these stupid fields.  Then both times Lachlan was completely uncooperative refusing to look at the camera or sit nicely.  Combine that with my subpar skills and ended up with seriously zero decent pics to frame.  Complete bummer.  Just gotta tells myself...there is always next year!

Vintage pepper hand me down tee

Can't splash enough in the tub!

Dad trying to break him out of his bad mood at the bluebonnet fields

This is usually how his Kenzie hugs go

LOVES to go "swimmin!"

Makenzie - 8 months!

I really can't believe this girl is 8 months already...she is just changing and growing so fast!  She is still an angel and I couldn't ask for a happier or better baby!  These photos were about 1.5-2 weeks late cause I forgot to bring the stickers on vacation.

Eating Habits:

• Give 5 bottles (5 oz. each) per day- total of 25 oz.  She has been finishing them all.
• Starting just now to consistently give food 2x/day (about 3.5 oz each time).
• We still give her Miralax each morning but still struggles with her poos.  

Makenzie Random Notes:

• She has seemed to like all food we've given her.
• Still not a big roller...just really doesn't do it often at all.  
• Likes to sleep on her side- definitely moves around in her crib.
• We know when she is getting very tired and she starts just moaning or humming...frequently does this when in her bouncy seat
• Happily babbles (very loudly)- frequently is DaaaDaaaDaa
• We have a sitter!!  She just kept getting better and better where we could gradually let go for longer and longer periods of time.  At 8 months, she can sit for a long time as long as you get her steady to start with.  I will leave her on carpet and walk away to do things...however, about 30-40% of the time I'll return to find her fallen over.
• Still no signs of teeth breaking through.
• She has figured out that jumping is fun in her jumperoo!
• One night we were sitting at dinner and Lachlan just exclaims "BA!"  Makenzie just DIES laughing.  He kept doing it and she just kept laughing...it was the cutest thing ever!  So that was the first time I just really heard her let loose laughing...and the first time her and Lachlan really had fun playing together!
• She typically wears 6/9 month clothes.  The one thing I hate about this first year is how they fly through clothing!  I feel like she has the CUTEST outfits, but yet not enough time to wear them!  I feel like her daycare room is very chilly, so most of her summer clothes she can only wear on the weekends.
• Dustin attempted to put her in the swimming pool and let's just say she was not a happy camper.  I thought the water was too chilly, so I think she was just cold.
• We drove to STL right before she turned 8 months and she was an ANGEL...seriously, this girl is spoiling me!  We had a 9 hr drive (which we split in 2 days) and we seriously heard her cough TWICE...other than that, not a peep.  I assume she slept most of the time, but don't know.  However, she was not pleased when we stopped the first night around 11:30pm at the hotel...she woke up and did not want to go back down in the PNP.  Took about an hour...and of course, Lachlan was concerned that baby was crying, etc.  It was a joy all sleeping together then when Lachlan's coughing woke him at 5am and he couldn't get back to sleep (and we were in the King bed with him).  So we stopped for sleep, but got very little!  (On the bright side did get delicious choc chip cookies cause we stayed at a Doubletree!)
• New nickname is now Beebs-- got that from Lachlan calling her "Beebee."  Dustin still calls her Snork, but I don't really like that...or sometimes McChubbins.

Typical schedule:

• Still no set nap schedule, which I'm fine with.  We left for STL for vacation right at 8 months, so I knew it would be hard to enforce a schedule there.  And then the week after we are back, she'll be moving to a new room at daycare.  I do think I will try to work with her new room to get on a better schedule and something that works for both school and home.
• Well, she has started waking now as early as 4:30am...yuck!  The good news is that she happily goes into her swing, so then I can go back to bed until she really wakes for good. 
• Bottle around 7am (or when she wakes)-- 5 oz.
• Just starting to introduce some small breakfast (oatmeal or fruit) around 8:30-9.
• She will maybe take a nap in the swing now- but just depends.
• Bottle around 10:30 am--  5oz.
• Food for lunch around noon-- about 3.5-4oz of a fruit or veggie.
• Bottle around 1 pm-- may just do 5 oz in this one if was close to when she ate lunch.
• Try to get her to sleep.
• Bottle around 4:00-- 5 oz.
• Bath every other night- about 6:45-7.
• Bottle around 7:00-- 5 oz.  Give to her in her rocking chair and rock her for a few minutes before laying in the crib.  I pretty much hog this job every night cause am just in LOVE with her cuddles.  I have to force myself to lay her down cause just want to rock her forever.  This seriously has to be the sweetest, best baby ever- she is just so good! (Sorry Lachs, but a little bit of different experience than we had with him!)

Pictures:

First splash pad experience!

First Father's Day!

Love those big blue eyes when looking right at you!

Makenzie - 7 months!

First off, HUGE step in the right direction where we ditched our Windows 8 laptop and got a new Windows 7 one...so it is much easier for me to get my pics uploaded and hopefully keep up on the blogging each month!  I love how plump she is getting...still not as big as Lachs was or a super chubby baby, but I'll take it!

















































Eating Habits:

• We still offer 5 bottles each day, but she was hardly ever finishing them and it seemed to be getting worse, so I've basically cut them all down to just 5 ounces starting this week.  Recently she sometimes may only take 2-3 ounces out of the bottle, so not sure what exactly is going on.
• She typically eats baby food only once/day at lunch.  Eats 3.5-4oz.
• We still give her Miralax each morning- about 1 tsp...however, this doesn't seem to be helping much as she really seems in pain and struggles with her poos.  
• I worry sometimes she is not eating enough, but she seems happy and pushes the bottle away, so am just following her lead.

Makenzie Random Notes:

• I took this week off work so I could spend some quality time with the kids.  It was REALLY nice to get to be around them so much, especially since Makenzie is changing so quickly!  
• SHE HAS ROLLED!  She first rolled from tummy to back on Saturday 5/17 while we were playing on the family room floor.  She first rolled from back to tummy on Saturday 5/24.  I had laid her on her back in Lachlan's room while I was changing his diaper, left to go wash my hands and as I was coming back in the room I see her finishing rolling over.  She did it a couple more times that day.  However, it is very rare that she rolls....maybe she has done in 10-15 times since she started.
• She has greatly improved with eating her food...not near as much goes to waste.  I started feeding her this week in the high chair rather than her bouncy seat.  Such a big girl already!
• Really likes to just feel blankets and textures with her little hands.  When I give her a bottle she is frequently reaching for my shirt, burp cloth, blanket, or something nearby to feel.  When she swings, she holds on to the pillow up by her head ALWAYS.
• Still not a fan of tummy time, but hasn't figured out she just needs to roll over and can avoid it.  
• We are practicing sitting her up, but don't think she is very close.  This week I finally was able to let go of her for maybe 5 seconds or so and she held her balance.
• She had some uncharacteristic fussy periods the last few days, so maybe she is just sick of being home and the same old toys, but who knows.  At one point I resorted to some Tylenol in case she was teething, but I still can't feel or see anything breaking through.
• Still does not jump in her jumperoo or bounce herself in the bouncy seat like Lachlan did.  She is most happy on her playmat/gym or just watching whatever Lachlan is doing.
• I think I'm the only one that hasn't heard her laugh yet.  She is so happy, but hard to get to laugh.  This week she was laughing outside as my mom and lachlan rolled her in the stroller between the two of them.  And Lachlan also had her laughing at another time when he would squeal.  I missed both of them!
• She typically wears 6 month clothes or many of her 3-6 month clothes still fit.  I did wash several 9 month items this week cause know she is getting close to needing those.
• It was a little too chilly for her to fully get in the pool, but she got to splash and kick her feets in the water at grandma and grandpa's house this week.  She was so relaxed and frequently slept out there.

Typical schedule:

• Really no major change from 6 months. Still doesn't have a set schedule, which is nice since we are frequently on the go on weekends.
• Wakes anywhere from about 5:15-6:30.  She will lay in bed for over 30 minutes without crying waiting for someone to come get her.  So when she wakes early we can let her in the crib for a while, but usually still move her to the swing for a bit.  She doesn't seem starving in the mornings.
• Bottle around 7am-- just this week cut back to 5 oz.
• I tried a few times getting her to sleep 1.5 hrs after waking since that is what was recommended with Lachlan to start getting them on a schedule, but she just doesn't seem tired.  Usually it is more like 9 or so before she goes to sleep again.
• Bottle around 10:30 am-- cut back to 5oz.
• Food for lunch around noon-- about 3.5-4oz of a fruit or veggie.
• Bottle around 1 - 2pm-- may just do 4 oz in this one if was close to when she ate lunch.
• Try to get her to sleep.
• Bottle around 4:30-- 5 oz.
• Bottle around 7:30-- 5 oz.  Give to her in her rocking chair and rock her for a few minutes before laying in the crib.  Sleeps with white noise on.

Pictures:

My FAVORITE sweater....so funny!

Pool party at Grandma's house!

First Mother's Day with Kenzie

Tummy Time for the first few seconds

What tummy time looks like after a bit

Tummy time is always better with a big brother!

Trip to the Arboretum

Saw enough flowers and plants at the arboretum, so took a snooze

Makenzie - 6 months!

Well, at this moment I am so upset because have already felt so guilty that I can't keep up with the monthly posts like I did with Lachlan.  I've been working on her 6 month post for the last week, determined to get it done timely.  I just spend over an hour tonight finishing it up...and none of the autosaves actually worked!  I went to publish and gives me an error and then reverts back to the copy from days ago!  Just want to toss this thing out the window and is stress I don't need!   At some point I hope to get caught up with the previous months, even if it is just a small posting.  I have this horrible guilt feeling because I haven't captured all the moments that I did with Lachlan, but I am really struggling with making free time for it, especially with a laptop that makes it SO DIFFICULT.  Right now I feel like I have this huge "to do" list and just am treading water to keep my head above it!  I do have a calendar where I try to keep track of her updates...but not the same as my blog posts.  I already can't believe she is 6 months and is out of the newborn stage and into what I call the classic chunky baby stage, although I can't get her as chunky as I'd like.  I am really trying to just soak up every moment of her babiness and hold onto the memories.  She is just sooooooooooo happy and soooooooooooo good.  I feel guilty too cause Lachlan seems to get most of our attention because he just requires it more than she does.

6-Month Stats (5/5/14):
Dustin took her to the doctor appt because I had a work meeting.
Weight: 16 lbs 1oz (49%)
Height: 26.5 in (73%)
Head: 16.75 in (50%)

Eating Habits:

• We offer 5 6oz bottles each day...but is rare that she finishes all bottles!  I'd guess she maybe has about 27 oz/day total.
• We started food on 4/5 with some squash.  For the next few weeks we sometimes did food around dinnertime, but was not an every night occurrence.  She next had some carrots and sweet potatoes.  I believe peaches were her first fruit.  The week before turning 6 months, I started sending food to daycare and dropped the food at dinnertime.  Normally she just has about 3 oz of a fruit/veggie for lunch at daycare.  
• We give her Miralax each morning- about 1tsp.  Poor girl has same issues as her brother where it seems really painful when she tries to poo.  I sometimes give a probiotic in her evening bottle.

Makenzie Random Notes:

• I wish I could say rolling, but still does not seem interested AT ALL.
• Not the best eater, but somewhat getting the hang of it.  Still uses her tongue to thrust out the food a lot.
• REALLY focuses and likes to grasp objects.  I love watching her concentration.
• Has discovered her toes and LOVES to get them in her mouth.
• We got out the jumperoo, but she is not a huge fan.  She may spend 5-10 minutes in there.  I remember Lachlan loved it right away and would fall asleep cause he'd wear himself out!
• I bought a new bouncy seat since our old one was so flattened out from Lachlan using it way past the weight limit.
• She will do tummy time, but only for short times.  She can push herself up and look around.  I don't see her pivoting, but Lachlan really never did that either.
• I had thought a while ago she was getting close to holding her own bottle, but no progress there...which is really fine with me cause I love holding her and giving it to her.  She likes to grasp my shirt or a blanket while eating.
• Dishes out smiles left and right!  I really don't feel like I've heard her laugh, but Dustin says she does.
• No teeth poking through, but wants to put everything in her mouth.  I give her a toy or stuffed animal and it is just soaking wet by the time she is done.  Immediately when she gets in the carseat she tries to eat the straps.
• Seems to like the bath- never cries or fusses in there.
• She is so easy to bring places, so it's great that she really doesn't prevent us from any outings on the weekends.  At some point soon I think that will stop cause we will want to be home for her to nap in her crib...but for now she is so great at just sleeping on the go!
• We put her in her crib for a nap a couple times, but she doesn't seem to nap well in there.  The swing is primarily where she sleeps on the weekends during the day.
• So....sleep.  We were exhausted, at our wit's end, going crazy, etc.  So on 4/7 I finally got to a breaking point where had to try letting her cry it out.  We used the same methods as we did with Lachlan where we would go in at intervals to let her know we were still here and give her some pats/touches, but not pick her up.  Dustin had been wanting for weeks to do this with her, but I wouldn't give in.  I knew it worked extremely well with Lachlan, but there was something telling me it was not the right time with her.  She had been so sick for a long time, so I wanted to make sure she was 100% over that.  Also, she didn't eat as much as Lachlan, so felt it could be legitimate that she was hungry during the night.  Anyways, spur of the moment I decided I just had enough and had to try this.  Well she woke shortly after midnight and cried for 45 minutes...which was brutal as I laid in bed thinking I was the worst mom and never should have done this.  Then it was like someone flipped a switch and she stopped!  She didn't cry the rest of the night or when she awoke in the morning!  For the remainder of the week she would only cry 10-15 minutes when waking during the night.  The next week she basically never cried anymore!  So, again, this method has worked great for us!
• The kids had their first real baby-sitter the night of my birthday.  Her name is Jessica and she is awesome with the kids!  I had NO qualms leaving them and really hope they had fun!
• Nicknames we have for her: Kenzie (thanks to Lachlan), Chubbins or McChubbins, Kickapoo Rogers

Typical schedule:

• If she awakes between 5-6am, then I just move her to the swing and she goes back to sleep until around 7 usually.  I normally don't fall back asleep, but at least I can lay back in bed and relax. If she awakes any time after 6am, then I will just get her up at that point.
• I give her a morning bottle (6oz) on the couch while watching the news or Today show.
• Get to daycare around 8am.  I send 3 6oz bottles and a jar of baby food (about 3 oz) that she has for lunch.  Her naps are ALL over the place with no schedule!
• I usually pick her up around 5:15 from daycare.  She likes to be in the kitchen while we eat dinner and frequently fusses if we try to put her in the swing or leave her in the family room.  Most of the time she is in her bouncy seat and Dustin bounces her as we eat.
• She frequently ends up falling asleep between 6-7pm, which I'd like to avoid.  We just recently moved up her bedtime since it seemed like she was getting tired early.  We try to give her bottle now around 7-7:15pm so she can be in her bed by 7:30.  I usually give her night bottle, but Dustin does sometime.  I like to give it to her in the rocking chair in her room.  I really enjoy this quiet time together and she frequently falls asleep at the end of the bottle so just snuggles up to me when I burp her.  Love it!

Now, the best part...pictures!

Rare crying moment :(

Celebrating Aunt Missy's Birthday!

First taste of food - squash!!

Big brother trying to help with the dreaded tummy time

My sweet little bunny!

Got to meet a few Easter Bunnies!

Cowgirl!

Nothing cuter than a sleeping baby!

Bluebonnet hunting #1

Bluebonnet Hunting #2- couldn't get a smile out of her...just completely relaxed chilling in her chair!

Lachlan loves close snuggles with her...but once he's had enough he will abruptly push her away, so gotta pay close attention!