I can't believe that it has been 3 months since my last update. I no longer have a newborn, or even a tiny baby- Scarlett is already wearing 6 month clothes, rolling, sitting up, and sleeping like a champ. And Riley is going to be 3 in just over a month!! Where has the time gone?!
I hate that I don't get a chance to update here very much, but it just seems like there is so little time, and so much to do. Mr. Beaver and I have both been super busy with work, so we get up and go early in the morning, and then spend from about 5-9 with the girls together, and then we both get back to work or take turns working while the other plays with Scarlett/tries to convince Riley to stay in her room and go to sleep, until we all go to bed. Even on the weekends we seem to take turns working throughout the days while the other parent takes care of the kids. We are also on reverse nap schedules - Scarlett sleeps in the morning for a nice long nap, and then wakes up right in time for Riley's lunch followed by her nap, and then is ready for another nap right around the time Riley wakes up. So it's nice to spend some alone time with each of them, but a little hard for getting stuff done!
Anyway- the lack of time to post updates means that I have missed posting-- and already forgotten -- when a lot of milestones happened for both girls. BUT- I do have some notes on Scarlett! (which are all pretty scattered, oh well!) When Scarlett was only two months old, she was already holding her head up like a champ and moving back and forth to watch people and Lili walk by. She was already trying to sit up, and she was already pushing her legs while on her belly like she wanted to move. She cooed like crazy, was generous with her smiles, but not so much with laughs. She was wearing size 1 and size 1-2 diapers and already too big for most 0-3 month clothes. By three months she was ready for size two diapers and the 3-6 month clothes fit well! She was still smiling a lot and still a little hard to get laughs from. She could support herself on her legs really well still, even though she had a lot of chub to hold up. She was great with all of her shots and generally very healthy, besides an occasional runny nose. She had amazing hand-eye coordination already, and a really strong grip. She still had all her hair - no bald baby like with Riley!
Sadly I don't remember too much more from this time to post- but about a month ago, I did write most of an update that never got posted:
FEB 4:
scarlett: is huge! she was over 14 lb at her last doctor appt a month ago, and we've weighed her between 15 and 16 lb various times at home. We'll find out how big she is on Wednesday at her next appointment. Right now she is in 3-6 month clothes and they fit her perfectly, so hopefully she'll stay in those for at least another month. We bought a huge box of 1-2 diapers at costco, and they are way too small! I knew the size 1 diapers were too small now, but I thought being 1-2 would fit for a little while longer (the next size up at costco is 3!). She is such a doll- she is so, so happy and just smiles all the time. She cries occasionally, but really only when she is hungry, tired, or really bored. It's easy to entertain her, so she doesn't get bored unless I'm trying to get an email out or fold laundry or something.
She is now able to hold her whole upper body up for long periods of time during tummy-time, and she can roll from back to belly. She's only really rolled from belly to back when her arm was already tucked under her body from rolling onto her belly in the first place. She is getting really good at grabbing and holding things already, and puts anything she grabs into her mouth. This is scary, since Riley has so many tiny toy parts that get left all over the floor! I think we're going to need to do some baby proofing sooner than expected!
Scarlett is definitely a lot more verbal than I remember Riley being, and she makes a variety of sounds already. She loves to have conversations where we take turns going back and forth, and she likes when I make sounds similar to her own more than when I speak in words. She is awake a lot, but does seem to sleep more than I remember Riley sleeping, both at night and during the day. She sleeps really great at night, sometimes even all night, but lately only in our bed... I guess it started when I went back to work. She was going in her pack n play awake and falling asleep on her own, and sleeping all night, for over a month! Then I went back to work, and she started insisting on sleeping with me in bed again. I don't mind it too much- she is so cuddly and warm, and I actually enjoy cuddling with her all night, but I do think it causes a lower quality of sleep for me, so hopefully we'll switch back to her own bed soon.
She has another round of vaccines on Wednesday, so hopefully she'll do okay! The first two rounds have gone fine -- pretty minimal crying until I was able to nurse her, and then she was okay. Last time she was sore, but we didn't need to give tylenol or anything, we just cuddled and comforted her and she was okay. Our pediatrician here doesn't get as many combo doses of the vaccines as our pedi in pittsburgh, which means she usually gets more shots than Riley did :( But she seems to be a tough baby, just like Riley! Speaking of Riley...
Our 2 1/2 year old seems to be turning into a preteen already! She can have such attitude, but also says things in such a funny, mature way! She still has the terrible-two-tantrums, though. I don't think she's any worse than the average kid, maybe not even as bad as most, but the tantrums and whining are horrible!! Luckily they are not her typical behavior, and most of the time she is the sweetest, goofiest, happiest little girl I've ever been around.
She is always asking SO many questions, but she seems to actually remember the answers to them days and even weeks later! She is interested in everything- she'll listen to me talk about shadows for 10 minutes and then build on that conversation over the next weeks, seeming to really understand a lot of my explanations. Of course I tend to explain things in not a very toddler-friendly way and a lot of stuff goes right over her head, but I really am impressed at some of the things she seems to grasp! She has full conversations with just about anyone now, and even talks to people on skype and the phone without us having to bribe her. She has the biggest imagination, too. Even toys that have a clear purpose or function become something else, but most of the time she doesn't even use anything in her games- it's all imaginary. We will go to the beach, ride on an airplane, shop at the store, visit the doctor, go to school, etc. etc. in any given day, with tons of details included in her stories and a lot of imaginary props. She even includes Scarlett, which is so cute!
She still loves to read books, though most days we don't even get to books until bed time, and she will read through a magazine from cover to cover in a single sitting ("High Five" from Highlights magazine, thanks Great Grandpa!). She can even find the pictures in the hidden figures task now, sometimes before I even see them! She still loves to play with her building blocks and pattern blocks, and also loves any kind of crafts as well as dress up. She is really good at riding her tricycle now, and I'm starting to wonder if it's time for a bike with training wheels already! She seems pretty physically coordinated, so I'm considering letting her try skiing with friends in a couple weeks when we go. Riley doesn't like the cold- she tells us all the time- but she does like to play in the snow and go on the sled, which is fun! We never had snow growing up, so we're trying to make sure Riley gets to play in it and experience the fun of winter before we (hopefully) are able to move away from cold weather in a couple years! She asks to play in it all the time, though we aren't even really sure what to do besides sledding and building snowmen.
As I work on writing this post - over several days because I don't seem to be able to find the time to just sit and think and write - I want to include so much detail about things I see and hear from the girls every day, but can't fit it in or forget by the time I get back to my computer. I feel so lucky to get to be around my kids enough to see them growing and developing each day, and almost every day wonder where the time has gone!! I want to remember every detail, but I already seem to be forgetting a lot.
AND finally some updates from this past month! Short now, because I am already out of time :)
Scarlett has been great at rolling over from back to belly for quite a while now, but still doesn't really go from belly to back except on rare occasions. BUT she sits!! She can't get into a sitting position on her own, but when we put her in one she sits very easily with her hands, and pretty well once she lifts her hands to reach and grab stuff. She is really great at catching her balance, too, which amazes me. And she seems to have no fear of falling over- probably because I have been there to catch her every time so far. She will sit for minutes at a time, reaching out and rubbing the floor, then reaching straight out to grab a hanging toy on her play mat, and then even reaches behind her to the playmat arch things, which she uses to help her balance. When she's not sitting up, she is grabbing her feet. She was grabbing her hands a lot a few weeks ago, but lately her feet are apparently the most interesting things she has ever played with. She coos, babbles, blows raspberries, and makes all other sorts of sounds. She finally laughs often and easily, and has an adorable laugh. The easiest way to get her to laugh is to let her watch Lili and talk to her about Lili. She especially likes Lili kisses!
Her 3-6 month clothes are already getting to be too small, and she is getting pretty heavy. At her last appointment almost a month ago she was 15lb 7 oz, so I'm sure she is over 16 lb now. Her hair has started thinning- mostly on the sides and back (I think from the carseat?), but she still doesn't look bald like Riley did! We still don't have her ears pierced because I'd prefer to do it in FL, so I need to book a trip down there, asap! She is really good at grabbing stuff, and I don't want to have her grabbing out the earrings! Speaking of her hand-eye-coordination, it is amazing!! She is so precise with her arm movements and is already able to grasp pretty accurately. She is strong too!
Hmm... what else... she is eating great, both nursing and pumped milk from a bottle... she does really well with the nannies during the week and is still a pretty easy baby. Especially when it comes to sleep -- she takes a nice long nap most mornings, and then a few short ones sporadically throughout the day, and then stays up late but sleeps all night most nights!!! I can't believe how different and amazing it is to have a baby that sleeps at night!! I am really, really hoping it continues :) Riley is STILL hard at night, so Scarlett's sleep has been such a relief.
Not that Riley doesn't sleep- she does- it's just hard to get her to go to bed. And to do most things :) She is the sweetest girl ever when she is healthy, but it seems like she is never healthy- and then she can get a little cranky! She is still sweet most of the day- but during her tantrums, she is just a different child. She does the whole limp body, screaming, trying to force herself to throw-up type of tantrum, and it can last a long time- way too long to try to ignore. We've been doing a good job of remaining calm, ignoring the tantrums for the most part, and calming her down as quickly as possible without giving in if she is crying for something. But it is hard sometimes! But then she will be back to normal healthy again, and the tantrums stop for the most part, and we forget all about how frustrated we were. We try to avoid these situations while keeping her well rested and fed, because tiredness and hunger are definitely triggers, but you can't force her to eat or sleep! (She will spend hours in her room before falling asleep sometimes!!)
Other than the occasional tantrums, Riley is becoming more and more grown up by the day! She is back to not wearing pull-ups at school and home during the day, and just wears them at nap and bedtime. She has even made it through naps at school without a pull-up. She goes both poop and pee in the potty and does it on her own, without reminding. I'm not sure when she'll be ready for night-time potty training, but she is doing a great job with daytime! She has also been recognizing many more letters lately- both upper and lower case, and knows many sounds that go with letters and can think of words that start with different sounds. She knows up to five now- where she can give you five things or count up to five things, though still makes some mistakes with both four and five. She can make up stories to go with pictures in a book, and she loves her highlights magazine where she can find the things that are the same and different, and the hidden figures in pictures. Her favorite toys to play with are blocks, and she builds elaborate buildings that are built both out and up, sometimes even with flowers and bushes she makes out of her pattern blocks. She makes shapes with her hands, and can draw all sorts of shapes on paper now, and has started trying to write letters too. She makes up songs and dances, and pretends to play all different kinds of musical instruments, with the violin still being her favorite, followed by piano, saxophone, and trumpet.
I am sure there is so much more I am forgetting, but now I am out of time. Maybe I'll come up with some more things to post when I update with pictures- which I will do very soon! I have many pictures and videos from practically every day over the past three months, including the holidays, Scarlett's baptism, and lots of sisterly love.
