october 07

here’s the latest news from our little world:
--quick update on billy. he was promoted this month. four years since ocs, and he’s now officially a lieutenant. his ceremony was a small one, but it was nice. i saw him get commissioned (two weeks AFTER me…so i still consider myself as “out-ranking” him, haha), but i missed his first promotion. i think they were in thailand at the time. anyhow, i got to see him reaffirm his original oath to fight and defend…from all enemies foreign and domestic…, and i was able to pin on his new insignia as an O-3. very nice, and we’re very proud!
--aidan’s vocabulary is booming. he comes up with a new phrase daily. some he gets from us, some from his shows, and some we’re not sure where he gets. he told me to “shut-up” the other day…he didn’t like the response he got, and hasn’t said it much since. we can’t figure out where he picked it up, because it’s not something we say, and we’ve been trying to watch out for things he might hear while we’re watching a sitcom or something. guess we have to be even more limiting…and make sure he knows there are some things you just don’t say.
--he’s speaking in several-word sentences now, and is working on conjugation. language is so complex, it’s amazing how we ever learn it at all!
--some other things he’s learning are shapes and letters. he doesn’t draw them himself, but can recognize some. on halloween, one of our pumpkins said “boo.” aidan went up to the pumpkin and read from right to left: “O, O, R.” i was pretty stunned. i haven’t sat down with him yet to teach letters, but he does watch a show on pbs called “super why” that’s all about letters and reading. i had noticed that he’s responding and reacting to his shows more lately. he answers questions (“and what’s your name?”) and dances and claps, etc. he also laughs at the funny parts! so, he's taking in a lot more, and understanding a lot more too.
--potty training is going well. he still doesn’t always tell me when he needs to go, but halloween candy as potty-treats has improved training the last week or so.
--we went to lots of fun places this month. we went to an animal farm, on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, to the zoo with our neighbors, to busch gardens, and trick-or-treating. we had a blast!
--aidan loves animals and had fun petting the goats, ponies, pigs, etc. he liked picking out a little pumpkin for himself. at the zoo, he liked seeing the more exotic animals and also being with his friend ella.
--busch gardens was great. billy’s friend alaina came down from connecticut and we met our friends jesse and shannon, with their little ones jarah and isaac. while we were there, we found some friends of theirs, mike and maria, from church. it worked out great. we had enough parents to take turns keeping the kids so everybody could ride. the adults went on a few rides, and the kids got to do their thing too! we switched up strollers and and kids were all over. it was fun.
--halloween was great. when i pulled down the decorations, and the empty candy holder, aidan remembered what it was for and asked me, “where candy???” pretty cool. he also helped me clean out the pumpkins and carve them. that night, he said he was a dinosaur and sierra was a uconn cheerleader. (aunt devlin goes there.) he got lots of comments on his costume (though different people thought he was a dinosaur, an alligator, or a dragon…either way, he had fun.) he had been practicing “frick-or-freat” for about a month, getting ready for the big day. that night we were out at least two hours going around the neighborhood. a couple kids we saw a few times freaked him out every time. one was a skeleton jester and the other was a warewolf. aidan cried and hid from them every time we saw them. he’s still asking where the scary boys are. the worst/best (depending on how your sense of humor) was when a guy answered the door dressed up. billy was taking him to the doors and i was on the sidewalk. when the guy answered, aidan dropped his bag and just turned and ran to the street screaming. i don’t know what he was dressed as, but the “scary man” really got to him. i got the last part of his reaction on video…but the initial part was priceless.
--sierra adores her big brother. she watches him whenever she can, and does everything in her power to keep him in view. she also looks like she’s ready to get moving and is trying so hard to follow him around. and aidan loves to make sierra laugh. most of the time to make her laugh, we have to nearly tickle her or get in her face and be goofy. he, though, can make her laugh just by talking to her and laughing with her. it’s awesome to watch.
--sierra turned 4months on the 22nd and we went to the pediatrician for her checkup. she weighs 15pounds 2.5ounces, and is 26.5inches long. she’s in the 80th percentile in weight and 97th percentile in height. so she’s long and lean…just like her brother! the doctor said she’s doing great, developing and learning on time or ahead of schedule. she had to get four shots, which was NOT fun! she was overtired already before we got there…very ready for a nap. she was pretty good for her appointment, but cried whenever i wasn’t holding her. but when it was time for her shots, i had to hold her hands and watch her scream and cry…so awful!
--she has now figured out how to roll over. she can go from her tummy to her back. since she sleeps on her belly, most mornings she’s on her back “singing” (one of her FAVORITE things to do) when i go get her! she can almost turn over from her back to her belly. her arm gets in the way, but she’s almost there.
--sierra has started reaching out to anything in view. if she can reach it, it goes straight to the mouth. now she passes things from one hand to the other, and still puts them to her mouth! she also likes to touch your face when you look at or talk to her. and she thinks it’s funny when hair tickles her face.
--she tires to pull herself up now. whenever she’s lying down on the changing table, she grabs the side and tries to sit up. if she’s lying down without something to grab, she does a crunch and tries to sit up. however, when she’s sitting up, she tries to stand up. she prefers to be upright, with her back straight, whether she’s in your lap or in a chair. since she can’t sit unsupported her highchair is reclined, and she grabs the tray and pulls herself so she’s sitting up straight. when she sits on my lap, she arches her back until she’s standing.
--i started helping her practice sitting. she of course, falls right over. mostly, though, it’s because she pushes back to try to stand. oh well.
--so, one of her new favorite places to play is in her jumper. she’s big enough that she can reach the ground, and that she isn’t so far down that her arms get stuck and she can’t use. once she figured out that it bounces, she went nuts. she jumps up and down and laughs. it’s really funny. and now that she’s reaching for things, she can investigate and play with all the toys on the jumper.
--we started sierra on cereal this month…we tried right at 4months. she wasn’t quite ready, and her tongue reflex pushed everything out. she also made one crazy face…like “what in the world is this in my mouth!” i’m not sure if it was a texture thing or a taste thing. either way, she wasn’t sure she liked it. we tried every couple days, knowing the reflex disappears around 4months old, and she’d be “ready” to try solids. about a week later, it all clicked. we still get the face as she gets used to the texture and taste, but she opens her mouth for the spoon, and swallows (most of) the cereal now. it’s really cute!