9 Month Check Up 5.31.13

Caroline's 9 month visit to Dr Clifford went really well.  Her growth is right on target. She was "released" to eat table food (she technically already does). He just wanted her to avoid things with seeds and the usual-peanut butter (nut products). We also discussed head bumps!  Caroline has taken some spills and has had a headbutt or two with her brother.  The poor child always has a bruise on her noggin'. He said that was normal when babies start making their way to crawling and walking.  Head bumps are only a concern if the throw up or seem dizzy.  We've kept an eye on her, and she seems to do fine after each fall.  She did fall down some steps at my mom's house this weekend and threw up, but I think that was because she was so upset after it.

Took a spill after standing in the tub...
A Big No No!

Dr Clifford did think she was a little ahead with standing up and trying to walk already. Tillman was right at a year before he started doing this.  I think that is why she has so many spills!  She blazing the trails sooner than most. I think she also has someone to copy and watch, big brother, Tillman. She wants to keep up with him.  He does wrestle with her, and I must say, she holds her own and give him a run for his money!
Caroline's ears were checked and all was clear. She continues to have her "daycare snot nose," but so far, no ear infections. He also checked out her diaper rash scar from a few weeks ago.  She skin is very pink in the areas the rash was really bad.  He stated that it should go away in 6 weeks.  It was a burn, so it will take awhile for the skin to repair itself.

"Black Eye" after a headbutt with Tillman!
This is C's mean look at the camera flash!

I also asked him about he shaking her head back and forth at times. She'll do this when she is nursing and just in general. He stated it was another way that they communicate. He doesn't think it means anything specific, but just like grunting and other things.  I guess once she starts talking more, these type "communications" will go away.

Caroline's 9mo stats:
19lbs 3oz (65th percentile)
26 3/4 inches (14th percentile)
17 3/4 inches (80th percentile)
BMI 18.9

32 months 5.12.13

Loves his bow tie!

What's that noise?  This is Tillman's favorite question. He ask it every other minute. I think he just likes asking the question.  However, he did go to the ENT this month to get his ears checked out. One of his tubes had fallen to the ear canal, so that ear is completely healed and functioning properly.  The other ear still has the tube in place, but Dr. White states that it will likely fall to the canal as the other tube did.  The tube wasn't the only thing they pulled from his ear.  Tillman had tons of wax build up. When I saw it come out of the ear, it made me feel like a bad mother. On one side, it was a pea size ball that come out. When thinking about his question, "What's that noise," I wonder if his hearing is just heightened since he got his ears cleaned.

Waiting for the ENT

When he went to the ENT, he spent the afternoon at my office. He was really good.  I think he was excited that I let him play with a stapler and scissors  Who knew that would keep him entertained for 2 hours! Of course I was watching him with those items, I think he enjoyed them so, as they are generally "no no" items.
Tillman even had the chance to go to daddy's work too this month. He was out two days from school this month due to a high fever. We didn't go to the doctor, as he didn't have any other symptoms. He always has fun when he goes with daddy to work, as he gets to ride the tractor, catch up with "the guys," and be his daddy's best bud.  Just this morning, he requested to go to work with daddy. I can see it now when he gets to school age, he will fake being sick just to get to go to work with daddy!

Playing with scissors and
paper at Mommy's Office

Tillman is still being "recognized" by others when it comes to his agility.  When we went to a birthday party, Tillman was able to climb up the jump castle without assistance. The parent was amazed.  We don't think much of it, but when at parties we can tell he is a little bit ahead. Nick made a good point the other day. Most kids are growing a rapid speeds. Tillman has been the same weight (roughly) for a year and is about to wear the same summer clothes as last year (with a few exceptions).  Tillman has had time to adjust to his size, so he is able to be a little more coordinated. As where other kids are growing a rapid rates, and it is kind of like wearing clown shoes...they just can't get used to their size since they are growing. We think Tillman will be small.  I think we are going to look into him being a Jockey! We live in horse country, so I think that sounds like a plan.

Fam Jam with buddy,Cole. Playing with
bubble although it looks like he ate them.

Tillman is also starting to be scared of the dark. This seems to have started over the past month. He has always had a night light in his room.  He doesn't like to go to our den if the lights are not on, and Nick turned out the hall light when Tillman was upstairs, and he started to whine about it being dark.  Too funny. I have no idea what triggered this, but he certainly doesn't like it all of a sudden.

Jump Castle with his fireman badge!
The fireman told him to be a good fireman
he needs to listen to mommy! 

Potty training is...going...I guess.  He will pee in the potty any day, but when it comes to the other, he will NOT! Tillman will beg to go "play outside," "water the plants," anything to go outside to do his business.  He also will only pee at school, so when he gets home, I'm sure he is uncomfortable.  Well yesterday, I let him out the front door to go water some plants, and I'll be darn if he didn't leave a gift for me on the front porch! :-)

9 months 5.20.13

"Rub Adub Dub my baby in the tub"...
That's what Daddy sings to me!
See how long my "do" is without curls!

This month has been filled with sickness for our house hold. April started off with mommy in the hospital for kidney stones, Tillman staying home for fever for a few days, Daddy not feeling well and missing work, and Caroline with the stomach bug for two weeks! Poor Caroline started off with a fever for a day, and then threw up for two weeks. As soon as we thought she was better, she would throw up again. She just started eating food again after 3 weeks. Her whole daycare room had the mess. She was sent home 3 times in two weeks. Poor thing lost 2 lbs during all of it, but she is on the mend and eating like crazy now!  

Watching big brother play in the water...
AND chewing on the side of the tub!

It is funny with the second child, we didn't rush to the doctor as we did with Tillman. We are learning (and saving money) what the doctor would say. Plus it is much easier to get a "sidewalk consult" with your nurse friends then to drag the whole family to the doctor. With a GI bug, what the doctor will say is as long as she has 3 wet diapers in a 24 hour period she is fine. If not, then they'd have to give her fluids and some anti-nausea medication. Caroline had the 3 wet diapers, so we were good to go!  Her poor bottom was blistered from all of the bug effects too.

Curly after bath time!

After getting better, she is eating 3 food meals a day. She had yogurt for the first time last night and loved it!  Another great thing, she doesn't seem to mind green beans and squash anymore! She is also enjoying puffs!  Her hand to mouth coordination is improving, so she can pound those back while I get her meal prepared. She'd love to help with the spoon.  Caroline seems to be a "do it myself" type girl, so I'm sure it won't be long until she will want to feed herself (oh, the mess to come!).

Riding in daddy's truck

Caroline's sleep patterns have changed as well. She used to sleep through the night, but since the GI bug was keeping her up at night, she now wakes up around 2A or 3A. This makes for one tired momma!  This little girl knows how to stand up in her crib. She has even knocked the monitor off the side of the crib and pulls on the mobile. It is time to lower the mattress, as it won't be long until she is toppling out of it!  She can really work herself up in a "tizzy" if you don't get to her fast during those nightly wake ups.  I attempted to let her cry it out last night, but she wasn't having it. After about an hour, I went up to get her. Well she had a bad diaper, and her poor bottom was all red.  Don't you know that made this mommy feel really bad!  

This is the "I'm not tired look" and it is 9PM!

Speaking of sleeping, she also is tuning into a night owl. She used to be ready for bed around 8, and now she  feeds and isn't going right to sleep. She has been staying up until 9:30. We've got to work on her sleep schedule. It is crazy how wide awake she is at that hour.  She really doesn't take many naps during the day, so she must just be her daddy's child with not requiring that much sleep.  That may be good for her, but her mommy needs lots of sleep, and she is wearing me out!

Fam Jam in Marion Square

Caroline continues to be our "easy going" child. She is often just a long for the ride. She will generally go to anybody that will hold her. Over the weekend, we were at a family function (=mommy break time) and all of her cousins and aunts were holding her. Everyone commented on how content she was. She didn't cry or get scared by not seeing a familiar face. Also at daycare drop off she will generally crawl right in the room and begin playing. One day I had to take Tillman to the doctor, so I popped in to her room to say "hi" to her. She came over and loved on me. When it was time to go, I put her down and she crawled right back to the carpet and began playing again.

Sick day for Daddy and Caroline

Our crawler continues to get into Graham water every chance she gets, but recently she has been making her way into the bathroom and heading straight for the toilet. I've caught her playing in it numerous times. She is always on a mission to some place to make a mess or to a "danger" spot AKA steps!  She is very good with getting up steps, but going down is a challenge and someone certainly needs to be near.  She has made it up 3 steps on the stair case, and lost her footing and fell.  She has also crawled to our den steps (slate flooring) and has had a few close calls!  All of her crawling and pulling up has led to bruises on her knees, face and arms. 

Caroline and Cici during her morning nap!

Caroline is a walker in training. She loves to use the walk-behind toys to get around. She also love moving around on two feet if you hold her hands. She seems so proud of herself to be moving around, but if her eye catches something she wants fast, she drops to her knees and starts crawling to get it!  

As she is a walker in training, she is also a talker in training too!  She loves to say momma.  This is different than Tillman as he always said da da!  

Caroline's 9mo Stats

Teeth-3! She cut an upper tooth this month that she loves to grind with her two bottoms. When she eat her puffs she tries to line up her teeth to chew it...pretty cute!

Diapers-size 2

Clothing-6 months. Sleepers are no longer "ok" for daycare, as she gets all tangled in them, so we've been putting on more separates to make sure she has freedom to move!

Bow size-the bigger the better!

Shoes-not really wearing them since it warmed up, but I think 6-9 months.

Feedings-Mommy milk (morning and night), Similac during daycare, jar food (3 times), oatmeal, and puffs!

Mommy and Me Photo Session

For Mother's Day, Caroline and I had a "girls morning" and went to have our pictures "made." It was a fun time. Caroline enjoyed the camera, but she didn't too much enjoy staying in one place for long. She wanted to get on her knees and go! Here's a few from the photo session.

This was my dress when I was her age...32 years ago!

Love those chunky thighs! (not mine...hers!)

Life of the party!

Ready to walk!

Kissy Kissy

Just the girls!

Crawling after the camera

Everything goes straight to the mouth!

Blue Eyes and Curls!

4.20.13 8 months

8 months comes with a lot of "firsts."  Caroline has gone from sitting on her own to crawling, pulling up, and standing for a few seconds without holding on.  She is growing up way too fast and is becoming a hand-full fast!  Now that she is on the move, she is getting into the dog bowls (and making a mess)! She loves Grahams water bowl. As soon as you put her down on the floor, she is on a mission to get to that bowl. You know she is getting close when Tillman starts stay "no no Caroline." She even went over to the bowl when Graham was eating. Graham looked at her like "what are you doing?" He even backed up from his food because she was splashing water everywhere.
She is also clapping her hands and saying MaMa, DaDa, Uh Oh!

One thing is for sure, she is passed the "luggage" stage, the stage where you just carry them around and put them down (and they stay in one spot). Now that Caroline can move, she is crawling every chance she gets...even in the bathtub. You have to watch her like a hawk in the water.
Another favorite spot that Caroline likes to crawl is to the bar stool. She loves to pull up to stand and then bend over to gnaw on the foot rest (gross is right). It is metal and she is teething, so I'm sure the cold of it feels good. Speaking of teething, she still has two teeth (lower fronts). She has been sticking out her tongue a lot lately and she chews on it. I think she is feeling her teeth with it.

She is also starting to figure out who is familiar and who is a "stranger."  She is particularly leery of men....apparently. Anytime a dad comes to pick up another child in her class, she starts to cry. She has just started that this week.  It is only with men. The teachers can't figure her out, but she really gets cranked up and they have to cuddle her to get her to calm down. She seems scared and freaked out. She did this to my dad, and I didn't think much of it, but I think she is already having boy drama!
Caroline's eating this month has really changed as well. She is now on mostly formula. It breaks my heart. I was hospitalized on Good Friday for kidney stones and infection for several days. I was trying to pump while in the hospital, but I was dehydrated and on a lot of meds. Unfortunately, my body read that as no demand, so I only make about 8 oz a day now.  It still works out that she gets a bottle of mommy milk in the morning and nurses before bed. I feel fortunate to still be able to do that for her. She is also eating a lot more food.  She gets oatmeal each night and is eating twice at school. Her little chunky legs are so cute!

Caroline did have a virus this month, and she had to stay home from school last Friday. Her fever was 102. With the second child, we are starting to learn what is viral and what the doctor would actually give meds for. This was viral, so we managed her with Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I wasn't dosing her appropriately for the first part of the day, as I didn't think she had changed her weight too much, but she now weighs 18.6 lbs, so she now gets the same dose of medicine as Tillman!  Seems crazy, but as soon as I gave her the right amount, she seem to be able to manage her fever.  The fever went away in 24 hours.  She slept extra late on Saturday morning, so that was good for us both!

She had a rough week this week too. Started off the week not going to school due to a fever. Went to school on Tuesday, just to start throwing up and having the stomach bug. She was home Wednesday and Thursday and back to school today.  The stomach bug was the pits. She went through 7 outfits before going to bed on Tuesday. She was in the stroller watching Tillman play outside. Tillman came to me and said "Caroline made a mess!"  I knew exactly what he meant. Poor thing was a mess!  She slept long and hard on Tuesday night and most of the morning on Wednesday. I would have sent her back to school on Thursday, but I visited her room at the daycare, and all the children were sick, so we kept her home.

She is on the mend and Nick and I really enjoyed keeping her and having some one-on-one time with her. Nick really enjoyed his time since his time is often geared towards Tillman.  She got to sleep in daddy's arms and go to work with him on Wednesday.  Ironically, it was "take your daughter to work day" according to the radio, so it was meant to be!

4.12.13 31 months

Tillman has been extremely active this month. With the weather getting warmer, all he wants to do is be outside.  He went to work with Nick for the first time last weekend. He LOVED it!  He wore his khaki pants and boots just like his daddy.  All he needs now is a Sunburst Landscaping shirt, and he'll be set. Tillman got to ride on the tractor, help put out landscaping flags, meet a few clients, and finally meet Roberto.  Roberto has worked for Sunburst even before Nick and his dad purchased the company.  He often will call Nick when we are all getting ready in the morning to get out of the house.  Tillman hears the phone ring, and insist on talking to him.  Roberto is a good sport and talk to Tillman.  When Tillman says "bye" to Roberto, Tillman also says"I love you!"

Tillman's speech is coming along. He's also great a "bossing" Caroline around and telling her "no no."  It used to be that he would just say single words or simple sentences, but he is now developing sentences.  Yesterday I asked he he went to Church.  He said "yes, I went to church. I sang Jesus Loves Me."  This was while he was getting his hair cut, and he turned around to the lady cutting his hair and said "I go to church" while nodding his head.  When he nods his head when talking it is like he is extra sure of himself.
Tillman eating has improved...drum roll please.....He now eats meat (besides Chick Fil A)!  He is requesting it. Before he wouldn't have anything to do with meat.  We'd try to put it in food/hide it, but he'd find it while chewing and spit it out.  He is eating grilled chicken, sausage, and hot dogs.  He is also starting to request things for dinner. When Nick went to the store, he asked Tillman what he wanted to eat, and he said "hot dogs." Nick and I both looked at each other like "what?" Sure enough he ate the whole thing for dinner. He love "dips/sauces." He enjoys dipping his meat in a little ketchup. No dunking for Tillman, he only gets a speck of ketchup on his food.

I think Tillman is at a good point in development. He can express what he wants and is less frustrated with us trying to figure out his needs.  I am glad to be over the hump of frustration and a screaming child because he wants something and we have no idea what he is saying or pointing.
Many toddlers are in a toddler bed at this point, but we still have Tillman in the crib. He doesn't try to get out and he likes it.  I don't know how the child sleeps, as he has 5 blankets, 4 stuffed animals, some books and other things in the crib. When I go in to check on him at night after he is asleep, I often have to hunt for him. The crazy kid insist on having all of those items in the bed.  The other night I checked on him, and he had pulled this huge dog (like the size you win at the fair) into the crib with him. The dog was on top, and Tillman was under a blanket. The dog is bigger than him. I guess he pulled the dog by the ear to hoist him into the crib.
Health wise, Tillman has had a great spring. We continue to have runny noses at our house, but we just consider that the norm.  He knows to get a tissue and he can even wipe it himself now (mister independent). We take him back to the ENT to get his tubes evaluated. I hope to get the tubes removed soon, and hope that he will be cleared for ear infections!

7 months 3.20.13

Cheese...see my two teeth?

If I had to sum Caroline's 7th month into one sentence it would be-  7 months for Caroline brings pulling up, developing preferences for foods, and lots a squealing!

Caroline is pulling up with no help.  She first mastered it at daycare.  Caroline pulled up on the exersauser. The teachers said she was pretty determined. As soon as she got up, they were surprised and so was she, as she plopped right back down on the floor.  When playing with her, all she wants you to do is hold out your fingers, so she can stand.  She gets the biggest grin on her face when she is standing.
Sitting up is also a breeze. Bath time is so much fun for her now. She loves to splash in the water and could play in the tub for hours.  Tillman and her both take after me. There is nothing much better than a bath! She is very coordinated with sitting up. She can go from sitting up to a crawl position.  Still no movement with the knees, but she walks her hands out, and scoots on her belly.  She is quite mobile on her belly. Nothing much stops her, and she does a pretty good job with keeping up with Tillman.

Love those blue eyes!

One thing is for sure, Caroline doesn't like all vegetables... especially squash and green beans!  She starts gagging every time she eats these two items. While it isn't funny that she is gagging, it is pretty funny that she knows what she likes and doesn't like.  She is always to open her mouth for anything, but when she gets one taste, you know if she will like it or not by her reactions. She does very well with all fruits. I can't blame her, I'd pick fruits/sweets over veges any day! She's had pears, bananas, apples, peaches, green beans, squash, some meat dinner (didn't like that either), and peas. Oh, she even had some grits one morning.  We sure have to make sure she is a G.R.I.T.S (girl raised in the south!).

Loves the bath!

Caroline is still sporting her "toe curling" squeals everywhere she goes!  She will look at you so serious and barely open her mouth, and it is the highest pitched sound you've ever heard!  I just can't believe such a little thing can let out such a loud sound!  She does it very often, but if you are not paying her very much attention, she will do it until you pick her up!

Check out my curls!

From "toe curling" to "hair curling," Caroline's hair still styling the ringlet curls.  Although, her hair is starting to get really long, so the curls tend to pull out.  However, a little bit of humidity or a dab of water will bring them right back. If he curls were not there, she would have already had to go for a hair cut, as her hair is down to her mouth in the front. We're starting to use more bows in her hair.  This has been fun.  One of the daycare teachers bought her one and surprised me when I picked her up one day.  They say that bows often get pulled out by the child or another child comes along and swipes it!

Health wise, Caroline continues with her snotty nose.  I think the whole nursery has it. She doesn't know much different, so it doesn't seem to bother her.  She does, however, hate to get her nose wipes, and especially hates the NoseFrida Snot Sucker!  Although she doesn't like it, it is a blessing to have and we use it all the time to help clear her out.

Mom...I'm trying to take a bath...
lay off the camera.

In stat news, she is in 3-6 month clothing. The 6 month bodysuits fit well, but the pants are too long.  I think she is going to have the same shape as her mommy and brother-short legs and a long body. She continues to drink mommy milk 5 times a day, gets rice cereal for one meal, and then vegetable or fruit for another meal. Still just has two teeth in the front.  There are white places in her gums, so more should arrive soon.  She is still in 3 mo Robeez. Those little shoes help keep her socks on.  Not really stat related, but noteworthy, she has the softest skin I've ever felt.  I just love snuggling with that chica!