January 2012 - Alena 9 months

We hit some big milestones between our 2 girls this month!

Alena is crawling!

She has been trying for over a month now, but the other day she was motoring around like a champ. I am not sure how I feel about this accomplishment - it's bittersweet because I love that she is growing up and developing well, but now I have to be sure to keep my eye on her all.the.time!

Her transitions to crawling were hilarious. First it was the usual: on all 4's, rocking back and forth, and legs sliding out behind her, accompanied by a frustrated cry. However, she then started a new stage of crawling: on on 4's then straightening her legs to a down-dog position. I wish I could take credit and say that she was mimicking her mother's yoga positions - but let's be real - do I really do yoga? Luci is potty-trained!

I really backed off the month of December - she was really disinterested and with the holidays, it was difficult to stay consistent. Then in January, I didn't push anything, and she became totally compliant! We did have a few days of accidents as I posted earlier, but now we are on our 16th consecutive day of no accidents! I am so proud of her!

We went to an open house for a preschool at our church on Sunday. It's a little sad to think that Luci is old enough for school already - sniff, sniff. But such is life! I still want to look at one more school whose open house is at the end of February. Ironically, it's the preschool that I attended when I was little!

We have been enjoying the little bit of snow that we have gotten so far this winter - we were able to play outside a few days, but the 60 degree days melted all the snow away! This is the strangest winter that I remember in Pittsburgh. I just wonder if we are going to get hit hard in March or if we are going to have a really ugly summer - I am hoping for the former!

Regression then progress

Things were going well with Luci and potty training.

We started a sticker system on the calendar:
For every day she did not have an accident - she got a sticker for the day.

As you can see she did great for the better part of last week - and then it stopped! She is totally trained with peeing on the potty - I don't even have to remind her anymore! She tells me and goes on her own.

Pooping on the potty was a different story.

She started to hold it in -
so when she had to go, it was a 1-2 hour game of torture where she were tell us that she had go potty, sit on the toilet for about 10 seconds and then not do anything.

This would repeat about every 2-5 minutes - NO JOKE! - for 1-2 hours!
That is until she would have an accident.
Therefore - no stickers for those days.

Then all of sudden - it clicked.

Twice today she told me that she had to poop on the potty while I was tied up with Alena.
She went into the bathroom on her own, pulled down her pants, got on the toilet, and did her business!

I am so proud of her - hopefully we are totally trained now!

I can't imagine pooping on the potty being scary, but I guess it was for Luci!

Making Progress

Potty training has not been fun.
But all of sudden, there is an interest.

Yesterday, she had a dry diaper for awhile.
So I suggested big girl "princess" underwear.
(Expecting the usual "no Mama, I like diapers.")
But to my surprise Luci agreed.

And she has been compliant ever since!

It's only been 24 hours, but I am hoping that this is the beginning of the end of diapers for Luci!

December 2011 - Alena 8 months

Christmas was wonderful with our 2 little girls. They were so mesmerized by the tree, the lights, the music, the stories, and the movies. Santa was very good to them - and to us by not bringing too many gifts!

Alena is turning into such a Mama's girl. She lights up when I go near her and gets pretty upset when I leave a room. I am fine with it because Luci has turned into a huge Daddy's girl, so it will be nice to have a daughter who prefers me!

She is still trying to crawl, but hasn't mastered it yet. She can get up on all 4's for a split second and then her legs slide out from under her - she gets so upset when that happens. I am really not encouraging the crawling thing because I am still enjoying the non-mobile phase. I remember with Luci that once she started crawling - it was all over!

She is turning into a great eater too. She gobbles down all the fruits and vegetables that we feed her. And I have started pureeing the thickened soups from my parents, so she is getting a variety of flavors now too. She started feeding herself finger foods over the past week or so. She struggles a little with those puffs, but when she gets one in her mouth, so is so happy!

I am sad to report that her 2 bottom teeth have popped through over the past few days. Right around this time of year the same thing happened with Luci. However, after she bit me a few times, she sensed my hesitation when I went to nurse her and she quit nursing on her own. It was devastating to me. I am hoping that Alena won't bite me or if she will that I won't be as apprehensive about nursing. I have no problems with solely pumping the last 4 months, but I really enjoy nursing. Although I have SO MUCH milk in the freezer that I could probably quit pumping and nursing in February and be fine till she turns 1.

Luci continues to be a great big sister. She loves to play with Alena and share her toys (well, most of the time). She got a karaoke machine from John's parents and she loves performing for us - it is quite a sight! We are still struggling with potty training, but she will get it when she is ready.

We hope that everyone had a great holiday as we did!

A little too much...

..."Phineas and Ferb"?

Probably - when your 2-year-old daughter says: "So, whatcha doin'?"

Our Elf

We have adopted the new trend - "The Elf on the Shelf."

He's a little helper from the North Pole who visits us during the holidays and watches over us during the day. At night, he flies back and reports to Santa. When he returns to our house, he picks a new place to watch us. It makes for some morning fun!

We named ours Snowflake. We can't touch him or else he may lose his magic.

We just hope that he tells Santa good things!

November 2011 - Alena 7 months

Alena is going to be a talkative one - she is already trying to get words out with constantly spouting out "ba ba ba ba ba." Sometimes I swear she says "mama" but I am sure that I am delusional.

She loves her big sister - they play so well together now that Alena can sit up. Luci even shares her toys with her little sister. Although Luci tends to be a bit rough with Alena, she doesn't seem to mind one bit. The other day, I was washing dishes and I looked up to see Luci walking toward me saying "here Mama - here's Alena!" I wish I had the scene on video - Alena was dangling from Luci's arms with a huge smile on her face as Luci was CARRYING her into the kitchen!!!!!!!!!

She is eating like a pro now - one container of veggies and one container of fruit every day - in addition to 8-10 oz of Mama's milk 4-5 times daily. I am no longer concerned about her bowel habits - she is quite regular now. I have a lot of frozen soups from my parents and I am going to start to puree those for her now that she has been developing a good palate.

She is sleeping great too - at least 10 hours at night and at least 1 2-3 hour nap during the day with little cat naps here and there. No more need for the cry-it-out method. She is starting to stand with support now, like holding onto the couch. She is also starting the beginning steps of crawling - as she sits on the floor, she is lunging forward to grab things further away. But I am hoping that actual crawling doesn't start for awhile.

Luci has quite an imagination. She plays so adorably - I watch her as she acts out little scenes with her dolls and toys. She is loving the Christmas season with the tree, lights, and songs. She can sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in its entirety.

She's a smart little whip too. She has been able to recite the alphabet and count to 12 for some time now (she knows the numbers to 20, but from 13-20 she mixes them up). Lately she has an interest in learning Spanish. One of Alena's toys has a Spanish mode, and Luci is always changing the switch from English to Spanish. So much so that I can sing the alphabet in Spanish now and I can hear Luci going through some of the letters with me.

We still have not mastered going on the potty consistently, I am hoping it will come in time. Santa is bringing her big-girl underwear with the princesses and Tinker Bell on them - I hope that they will be an incentive. We'll see!