november 07

happy holidays to all,
--i’m a bit behind for this update…sorry. we’ve been busy with holidays, travel, company, and recoveries. since october, we’ve had company twice, were out of town for about ten days for thanksgiving, billy had his eye surgery, and we’ve all passed around at least one cold for several weeks. billy’s doing well, and his vision is getting better daily. we’re down to one small cough (aidan), and just lost the last runny nose (sierra).
--billy had to get PRK surgery instead of lasik. his cornea was too thin for lasik. it was still just as quick of an operation, but he had/has more recovery than lasik. his cornea was “shaved” and so the skin has to grow back and heal as his vision improves. he was pretty blind and had some pain for several days, but is doing well and no longer needs the glasses he’s had to wear for years!! :)
--we went up north for thanksgiving. we saw billy’s parents (jersey), my dad (long island), billy’s grandmother (pennsyslvania), and lots of friends (jersey). we had a good time with all, and got to introduce sierra to her other great-grandmother. at first, aidan was a little scared of her (he hasn’t seen her since last christmas). when she saw him, she said she was going to eat him up. he said, “noooo!” and wouldn’t go near her for about an hour. he got over it though, and we all had a good visit.
--aidan’s latest and greatest accomplishments are mostly about vocabulary and the potty. he speaks much more clearly and in longer sentences, and repeats EVERYTHING he hears. there are still times when i don’t know what he’s saying, but they’re fewer these days, and he can usually get his point across eventually…or i eventually guess what he’s trying to say. most of his new words/phrases revolve around him. things like “me next,” “i’m first,” “aidan do it,” “it’s mine,” “i’m tired/hungry/eating/watching.” other things he says are “holy cow,” “yes or no,” and “just like daddy.” i don’t think he knows just what ‘yes or no’ means, because he doesn’t use it correctly. he uses it more like “say yes.”
--with the potty situation, halloween really helped us out. he was very encouraged to get trick-or-treats as rewards! he’s become much more consistent and cooperative since then. and now he likes to “stand pee-pee,” and that helps to get him to go. we used to ask if he needed to go. he’d most likely say he didn’t and we’d have to just take him anyway and make him try. now we ask him if he wants to sit or stand. that way his only options are to go potty…he just gets to pick how. however, he has also started notifying me of when he has to go. he will even hold it if we can’t get there right away…which is great. cause we got him out of pull-ups except for at night…really saves money every month!! :)
--sierra is coming a long way these days. she’s always been strong, but she’s getting her coordination down. her movements aren’t quite so jerky and she has more control. she’s really trying to crawl right now. she’s gone from just being on her belly and pushing up her head and shoulders, to pushing up to her elbows and knees, to hands and knees, to rocking back and forth. she now pushes up and tries to go forward, rocking back and forth, and gets really frustrated when she doesn’t go anywhere. she’ll reach for something and fall down. but she’ll also rock back and forth, and then launch herself onto her belly, moving forward an inch, get back up and do it again. however, it’s painfully slow (and painful??)
--she’s also gone from rolling over accidentally, to on purpose (belly to back), to both ways (belly to back and back to belly) in both directions. it’s cute, but makes changing diapers and giving baths a bit more difficult. she flips right over on the changing table and in the bath tub. i’m hoping she masters sitting up soon, so i can get her out of the baby tub and into the big tub (without trying to hold a slippery baby upright from over the edge or getting in myself!)
--i pulled the walker out of the attic this month, and now she has another outlet for her kicking and jumping and pushing off. she can go forward a little, but doesn’t ‘walk’ yet. she does push backwards and turn it around a bit…mostly going after the recycle garbage can or her reflection in the glass door or dishwasher door.
--she’s gotten much much better at sitting. she still topples over, but she can sit unaided, and will even brace herself up when she accidentally puts her hand down and it holds her up. she still doesn’t do it on purpose, and still flings herself backwards to get her back straight…she should have great posture one of these days! she does correct when she gets slightly off balance though, so we’re making progress.
--i don’t quite remember when aidan did everything, i’ll have to go back and look. but i think she’s starting verbally sooner than he did. she’s starting babbling a lot more lately, and combining sounds. she knows her name already and she now says “umm-ba” and “uh-ma.” i don’t think they have any meaning to her though, it’s probably just her practicing new sounds. she’s also found her tongue. she sticks it out a lot and likes to razz and blow bubbles, and almost all of her smiles now incorporate her newly discovered tongue.