3 weeks
4 weeks
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Cuddle Time
Amelia goes to Family Child Care (FCC) every Thursday for a few hours. She's been going since I stopped working. It gives me a nice break once a week to run errands and relax. More importantly, she gets to interact with other kids, learn new things, and do art projects. Now that Alex is here, I can now use the time to have important and much needed one-on-one time with him.
Because Amelia is always running around, I rarely get a chance to cuddle with Alex while he sleeps. This Thursday while Amelia was at FCC, he slept on me for almost two hours... we both loved it!
Because Amelia is always running around, I rarely get a chance to cuddle with Alex while he sleeps. This Thursday while Amelia was at FCC, he slept on me for almost two hours... we both loved it!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Amelia, 17 months
Here's a little update on Amelia! Her vocabulary and word recognition has increased so much since the New Year.
Vocabulary-
Lots of new words ... Amelia has the cutest little voice! She has learned so many new words, it's hard to keep up. I wish I had been keeping a list. Here's a few new ones that I can think of: blocks, duck, kick, baby, hat, jump, sit, book, read, knock, poop, daddy, up, ball, night-night, okay, dolly, froggy, lola, raise (raisin). There are so many more, but I just can't think of them right now!
Bye-bye/Hi *insert word here*... Amelia has a good understanding of hello and bye-bye. In the morning when I get her out of her crib, she says hi to everything: hi cat, hi froggy, etc. When she opens up a box or sees a new person, she constantly says "hi." She loves to run into the room and say "hi" to me and then run off and say "bye." She does the same with bye-bye when she puts things away: bye-bye book, bye-bye baby (her baby doll), etc. She also has the cutest little wave ;0)
"This"... She tends to call everything she doesn't know the word for "this." I think it's hampering her ability to learn new words, ha ha ha. She points to items and says "this" constantly. I try to repeat the names/words to her, but I think she's just lazy sometimes and doesn't want to put any effort into learning the names of items, ha ha ha.
"TV" ... This new word really annyos me, ha ha ha. Amelia loves TV. We have one in the playroom and she'll point to it and say "TV" or grab the remote and hand it to me. When I tell her "no TV," she has a meltdown.
I'm pretty strict about TV and I limit her to about 30 minutes a day when she's with me. However, during the weekends when Jimmy's around, they watch Sesame Street and The Wiggles together in the mornings. I have to admit that it is super cute to see them cuddling on the couch watching TV.
"No!" ... Alas, she has picked up the word "no" in the last week. We are devastated, but knew this time would come! At first it was cute, but now it's out of control! Mealtime and diaper changes are the most difficult. She is not shy about sharing her opinion.
Word Recongition-
Body Parts ... Amelia knows most of the primary body parts: arms, foot, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, hair, and head. She still gets confused with knees, elbows, and shoulders, but we are working on it.
Action Words... She learns a lot of action commands at her classes at The Little Gym, so we've been working on them at home too. She can spin, run, kick, dance, sit, go up and down, put her arms up, and march. We are working on jump this week, so she's alomst got it down.
Animals... Thanks to all her animal puzzles, Amelia now recognizes some animals. She knows: cow, horse, pig, rooster, sheep, cat, duck, dog, zebra, alligator, snake, monkey, elephant, lion, and penguin. She's getting really good at the animal sounds too!
Just for Fun-
Tea Parties ... Her tea parties have become a lot more elaborate. Instead of just her and I, she now includes her stuffed friends. She lines them up and they have to be all sitting up straight. Any type of misallignment (slumping over) causes much frustration. Most times the set up takes longer than the actual tea party, ha ha ha.
Once all is set up to her liking, she pours the tea and gives us all a drink while she says "gulp, gulp, gulp." We all (stuffed friends and myself) drink from the cups and as the hostess, she drinks straight out of the tea pot!
Baby Doll Play ... Amelia enjoys being a mommy to her baby. She has a baby doll that she pushes around in her play stroller. She also likes to comb baby's hair, change diapers, put on socks and a bib, wipe her face and hands, and give kisses, and hugs to baby. Sadly, she also likes to throw, bite, punch, and slap her baby doll. Needless to say, we're working on the concept of "being nice."
Raworrr! ... Amelia loves to pretend to be a bear. She growls at us, runs off and expects us to chase her. Sometimes she tries to hide, but she'll hide somewhere silly like behind a garbage can that's too small to conceal her. It's hilarious. We also like to growl back and then she chases us is return.
Vocabulary-
Lots of new words ... Amelia has the cutest little voice! She has learned so many new words, it's hard to keep up. I wish I had been keeping a list. Here's a few new ones that I can think of: blocks, duck, kick, baby, hat, jump, sit, book, read, knock, poop, daddy, up, ball, night-night, okay, dolly, froggy, lola, raise (raisin). There are so many more, but I just can't think of them right now!
Bye-bye/Hi *insert word here*... Amelia has a good understanding of hello and bye-bye. In the morning when I get her out of her crib, she says hi to everything: hi cat, hi froggy, etc. When she opens up a box or sees a new person, she constantly says "hi." She loves to run into the room and say "hi" to me and then run off and say "bye." She does the same with bye-bye when she puts things away: bye-bye book, bye-bye baby (her baby doll), etc. She also has the cutest little wave ;0)
"This"... She tends to call everything she doesn't know the word for "this." I think it's hampering her ability to learn new words, ha ha ha. She points to items and says "this" constantly. I try to repeat the names/words to her, but I think she's just lazy sometimes and doesn't want to put any effort into learning the names of items, ha ha ha.
"TV" ... This new word really annyos me, ha ha ha. Amelia loves TV. We have one in the playroom and she'll point to it and say "TV" or grab the remote and hand it to me. When I tell her "no TV," she has a meltdown.
I'm pretty strict about TV and I limit her to about 30 minutes a day when she's with me. However, during the weekends when Jimmy's around, they watch Sesame Street and The Wiggles together in the mornings. I have to admit that it is super cute to see them cuddling on the couch watching TV.
"No!" ... Alas, she has picked up the word "no" in the last week. We are devastated, but knew this time would come! At first it was cute, but now it's out of control! Mealtime and diaper changes are the most difficult. She is not shy about sharing her opinion.
Word Recongition-
Body Parts ... Amelia knows most of the primary body parts: arms, foot, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, hair, and head. She still gets confused with knees, elbows, and shoulders, but we are working on it.
Action Words... She learns a lot of action commands at her classes at The Little Gym, so we've been working on them at home too. She can spin, run, kick, dance, sit, go up and down, put her arms up, and march. We are working on jump this week, so she's alomst got it down.
Animals... Thanks to all her animal puzzles, Amelia now recognizes some animals. She knows: cow, horse, pig, rooster, sheep, cat, duck, dog, zebra, alligator, snake, monkey, elephant, lion, and penguin. She's getting really good at the animal sounds too!
Just for Fun-
Tea Parties ... Her tea parties have become a lot more elaborate. Instead of just her and I, she now includes her stuffed friends. She lines them up and they have to be all sitting up straight. Any type of misallignment (slumping over) causes much frustration. Most times the set up takes longer than the actual tea party, ha ha ha.
Once all is set up to her liking, she pours the tea and gives us all a drink while she says "gulp, gulp, gulp." We all (stuffed friends and myself) drink from the cups and as the hostess, she drinks straight out of the tea pot!
Baby Doll Play ... Amelia enjoys being a mommy to her baby. She has a baby doll that she pushes around in her play stroller. She also likes to comb baby's hair, change diapers, put on socks and a bib, wipe her face and hands, and give kisses, and hugs to baby. Sadly, she also likes to throw, bite, punch, and slap her baby doll. Needless to say, we're working on the concept of "being nice."
Raworrr! ... Amelia loves to pretend to be a bear. She growls at us, runs off and expects us to chase her. Sometimes she tries to hide, but she'll hide somewhere silly like behind a garbage can that's too small to conceal her. It's hilarious. We also like to growl back and then she chases us is return.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
2.5 Hours
2.5 hours... that is the longest amount of time that I've slept since Alex was born. Argh! Because I'm exclusively nursing, I'm the only one that can feed him. That means, I'm up for every single feeding, night and day.
Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Caring for both a 17 month old and a newborn is not as difficult as I thought... it's trying to get through the day and night with very little sleep that's driving me crazy! The nursing also limits me to just 4 oz of coffee per day. Every morning, I covet and savor that one cup of wonderful coffee.
Now that my milk supply is (mostly) regulated, I might try to start pumping this week. Just like with Amelia, I have a milk oversupply. Most would see that as a blessing, so I'm thankful, but it's very annoying! Since nursing is a supply-and-demand situation, the added pumping would cause my body to make even more milk. Once I start pumping I have to be extra careful, otherwise, I'll be engorged all day if I don't time things right.
I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the pump. I HATE HATE HATE pumping. It makes me feel like a cow, takes too much time, and feels so unnatural. However, I LOVE that it allows for me a (much needed) break from breastfeeding. It allows for me to leave Alex for more than a few hours.
After he's about one month old, we will try to introduce him to the bottle. I hope he takes to it well, because Amelia hated using a bottle. My nursing goal is to make it six months, to July 20. However, I hope to make it past one year and not have to use any formula, just like with Amelia. We'll see how motivated I am the second time around, ha ha ha.
Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Caring for both a 17 month old and a newborn is not as difficult as I thought... it's trying to get through the day and night with very little sleep that's driving me crazy! The nursing also limits me to just 4 oz of coffee per day. Every morning, I covet and savor that one cup of wonderful coffee.
Now that my milk supply is (mostly) regulated, I might try to start pumping this week. Just like with Amelia, I have a milk oversupply. Most would see that as a blessing, so I'm thankful, but it's very annoying! Since nursing is a supply-and-demand situation, the added pumping would cause my body to make even more milk. Once I start pumping I have to be extra careful, otherwise, I'll be engorged all day if I don't time things right.
I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the pump. I HATE HATE HATE pumping. It makes me feel like a cow, takes too much time, and feels so unnatural. However, I LOVE that it allows for me a (much needed) break from breastfeeding. It allows for me to leave Alex for more than a few hours.
After he's about one month old, we will try to introduce him to the bottle. I hope he takes to it well, because Amelia hated using a bottle. My nursing goal is to make it six months, to July 20. However, I hope to make it past one year and not have to use any formula, just like with Amelia. We'll see how motivated I am the second time around, ha ha ha.
Having said all that, having this little guy in our life it totally worth it!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Jamma-Jams
This weekend, we stayed in and spent most of the day in our pajamas!
OMG, I love her smile
It's so hard to get any type of picture with Amelia and Alex together, ha ha ha
Alex fits in the Bumbo!
Showing off his pinkies
Amelia's new favorite book is her bible
She just flips through the pages until she sees a picture, ha ha ha
Cash, bible, graham cracker... what more do you need?
Alex is such a chunker. He already weighs half as much as Amelia! I know he'll catch up to her soon.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Amelia's Stroller
She likes to try to get into her play stroller
Amelia trying to get Kitty, Big Kitty, and her baby to fit in the stroller
Ha ha ha, she needs a triple stroller ;0)
Friday, February 10, 2012
Pre-bedtime Fun
Amelia has mastered climbing into Alex's swing on her own!
Chillin' in the swing with a cracker...
she is so happy with her accomplishment
Reading a few books before bed
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Other Kids
Our poor kitties... they have to put up with the two kids in the house now! On the bright side, they seem to be enjoying cuddling with all the soft toys around the house ;0)
Olivia cuddling with Amelia's pink hippo
Amelia likes to set up her bed outside her crib several times a day. Doesn't Rudy look like one of her stuffed friends?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
City Girl
Amelia toddling around the city with froggy in hand...
A much needed coffee break for mommy!
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