august 07

--we're still not sure what color sierra's eyes are. sometimes they look green, sometimes light brown. others, a mix...hazel, i guess. not sure if they'll stay this in-between color or go one way or the other sometime. i heard they're usually stable after four months? we'll see.
--she's super strong. can sit up straight (being held of course), can lift her head and chest up when on her belly. she even tries to pull her head up when she's on her back, like she's doing an abdominal crunch. she laughs and smiles a lot. she really likes it when somebody talks to her. she even "talks" back. her little coos are too cute. she has started "talking" to her toys too. i had her on the mat/gym the other day with the toys that dangle down over her while i was fixing my breakfast. i heard her start cooing and laughing, and so i started watching her. she was talking to the bumble bee and even trying to bat at it and make it swing. you can just see the little wheels in her head spinning trying to move her hands the way she wants them to go. at first it was just her understanding that she had control over that hand she was looking at, could ball it up, and put it in her mouth. now she likes to reach for things. she tries to hit her toys, she holds my finger while she nurses, she holds my shirt when i hold her up on my chest. it's sweet.
--she's a scooter just like aidan was. she scoots across the crib or bassinet. usually it's when she's slightly awake...either in between sleep cycles, when she's waking up, or when she's putting herself to sleep, but fighting it. (she's pretty good about that too. she'll definitely fall asleep nursing, but she'll also lie down and go to sleep by herself. granted, it doesn't always work out that way and we have a screaming fit, but most of the time it's fine.) anyway, she'll scoot across to the other side and get stuck in the corner, sometimes she'll even turn herself all the way around until she's facing the other end of the crib. i'm just picturing her ending up head down in the bed years later, like we used to find my little sister sometimes. ;)
--we took both kids to the beach for a few hours one weekend. it was a lot of work, seems there was tons of stuff we had to have. might have to think about simplifying that somewhat...especially if i ever want to take them during a weekday alone. she seemed to like it. i think she liked the breeze and the sounds. the tent we had for her was a little hot, she didn't get any airflow, but guarding her from flying sand (via the hand of aidan) was the hardest part if she was out of the tent! aidan's favorite part is the sand, of course. he asks every other day to go to the "sand with the toys." this time, billy buried aidan up to his chin. he didn't seem to mind. we got some good pictures of it too. he's still a bit scared of the water. he did much better. he went all the way down to the edge...even asked to go. he stood in it and washed his hands off. billy took him in, but he didn't like it. last year it took him all summer to get used to it and enjoy it. this year, we haven't been nearly as often with having a new little one, so he's still adjusting. but since the weather's nice for a while longer and we're more settled, we should really try getting there more often.
--we went with our playgroup to the creek leading to the inlet for a little cruise. we were hoping to see some frogs, fish, (snakes), etc, but all we saw were birds. still aidan had a good time on the boat and looking at the water. he was looking for dolphins though, apparently. he kept asking where they were.
--billy had his command picnic this month too. it was pretty fun. aidan played on the playground most of the time, and sierra slept in the stroller. (she wore her sailor outfit...it was too cute. i wanted to save it for billy's promotion in october, but she'll be too big, so this was perfect.) at one time, her friend isaac (jarah's little bro) was in there with her. billy had to be in the dunking booth...and he got dunked a bunch of times. it was pretty funny! :)
--in the course of a month, sierra’s gone from sleeping four and a half hours max to over eight hours at a time. and i’m so glad those hours are at night...from 9 to 5!! good sleeper. aidan was like that too, though i’m not sure just when he went through the night. she's also gone from staying awake a max of two hours to nearly four. mostly, she gets up at five, nurses, then naps while i run before billy leaves in the morning. then she gets up and we have some time together before aidan gets up. then we all walk with our neighbor sandra and ella, her daughter, and magic, their dog. (starting this month, we'll be heading to the gym after our walk and another snack for sierra...yea! can't wait to be back in shape!!) the rest of the day is playtime, lunch, nap for aidan...and sierra's nap usually corresponds with his, which is great, cause then i can get things done, or sometimes even take a nap myself! :) when aidan gets up, and before time to cook dinner, it's aidan's whiney cuddle time, where he just HAS to be in my lap. sierra's usually still asleep, so it all works out! can't ask for better than that! good sleepers at night, coordinated nap times, and individual time with mommy for both child, and a way for me to work out...and even a nap for me occasionally!
--sierra celebrated her two month birthday on the 22nd. we went to the doctor for her check up the next day. she was 12pounds 11ounces, and 23.5inches long, the 90th percentile in height and weight. but only 60th in head circumference. doctor was impressed with her milestones, she’s strong, holds up her head and pushes up, and even tries to stand. he (and my book) said that that’s usually a 4month achievement. she likes to do it all the time though. so did aidan and he walked early…maybe that’s related???
--aidan has been my big helper lately. he helps change diapers, brings blankets, bounces sierra in her bouncy chair, holds her, and plays with her. she watches him in the car. she's facing backwards and they have a perfect view of each other. he tries to make her laugh. it's pretty funny. when he talks to her, his voice goes up an octave or so, and he switches to sounds instead of words. i guess he's seen us talk to her, and he imitates us. but she loves the attention. we've even had to break out the highchair early for that reason. she doesn't like to be ignored when she's in a mood to be social. (she'll sit an look out the window or play by herself, but also likes attention.) so, we put her at the table with us so she doesn't feel ignored (and cry) while we're eating without her. sometimes she's not crying, just making noise, like "look at me, come get me." all you have to do is walk over to her, and she stops. nothing's wrong with her except that she doesn't want to be alone!
--speaking of imitating us, it's too funny listening to aidan learn to talk! some of the things he now says to me are "come back here," "hold still," and "ah-ah-ah-aaah!" isn't that hilarious!? he hears things and applies them to his own situations. not that this is much of a problem, but we really need to be careful now of what he hears... he's creative too. even though his vocabulary has improved and increased greatly, sometimes we still have problems understanding him. many of his words sound similar and i get them wrong occasionally. if i don't understand him, he adds sound effects or hand movements until i get what he's saying. we didn't teach him that, but somehow he knows that that might help me understand. his "elephant" and "wonder pets" (a dvd) sound similar. to make sure i know he's talking about elephants, he'll the make his elephant sound. of course i can't think of any examples, but he'll act like he's putting food in his mouth and say, "num, num, num" if he's talking about food and i don't know what he wants. normally i try to expound on what he's saying or asking for, or vocalize his feelings for him. it usually helps. one time after his nap, when he was particularly whiney, i was really having a hard time understanding what he was saying. it just made him even more whiney and upset that i didn't get him so i said, "it's hard to talk, isn't it?" he gave me a very tearful "ye-esssssss." it can be irreverently funny listening to him too. last night, he wanted to "piss daddy" instead of kiss him good night. in another unfortunate instance of use of "k," it was replaced with a "d" when he wanted to "kick da ball."
--and, he's such a boy! he's covered with scratches, bumps, bruises, bug bites, stitches, blisters, you name it! in addition to his rambunctious, ball throwing, tearing through the house at full speed, zooming trucks into doors sweet self, we've had two "issues" this month. he sliced his toe on some tile in the garage and needed stitches. he only had a couple, but it was a nightmare getting them done. the anesthetic was the worst part...screamed and kicked...took me and the nurse to hold him down. the stitches were on a numb toe, but still he screamed and cried and thrashed around. after 9days of showers, he was finally able to take his beloved bath on thursday. friday i went to the gym to sign up. they let him go in the playroom while i did everything. when i went to get him, he was playing and laughing. when he saw me, he smiled and started my way, sticking his bottom lip out and trying to cry. his face was covered in scratches. some little girl had evidently scratched him and two other little kids that day. (and i was only gone 20 minutes!) of course they say it never happens, and it probably doesn't...but the mom had to come get her, and the kid was kicked out of the playroom for two weeks. anyway, they have a slide set-up like mcdonald's. those tubes-and-slides-configuration. they were in there when it happened. later when i asked aidan about it, this is what i got from him: "aidan mad. aidan's turn. green slide. girl hurt aidan. other boys. aidan hurt. aidan cry. aidan mad." apparently, and according to aidan: she was cutting in line for the green slide...she hurt aidan and the other boys...aidan cried and is mad. first reaction is obviously hurt for your child's hurt, then anger for someone allowing your child to get hurt, then guilt for bringing him there so someone could allow him to get hurt, then realization that you can't guard him forever, that he has to interact (and you have to work out), and at his age, he'll probably come home with bite-marks on his arms or ear infections soon enough...or he'll be the one biting or hitting next time and we'll be sent home for two weeks. but, such is life.