Trying to stay on top of it all

Emma is pulling up on EVERYTHING right now - the gate, the side table, the pack-n-play, the couches, our legs... She is one determined little girl, and seems to run a mile a minute. And she's awfully proud of herself. Earlier this week she walked along the length of the couch, to get at the computer. I think that's going to be her big motivator: getting at the laptop. And tonight I caught her pulling up on The Wall with one foot on a bucket (the one that the blocks go in). She is payback for something...

One night this week Emma grabbed Dusty's tail while Dusty was lying on the back of the couch. Dusty took it pretty well; she didn't retaliate, she just got up and left. I probably should have been doing a good job keeping Emma away from her, but I'm glad she didn't try to scratch her or hiss at her or anything.

Emma's baths have become a nightmare lately. She will no longer sit in the sling, but if she's just sitting in the tub, she is constantly reaching - reaching for toys, reaching for the edge of the tub, trying to pull up. It's impossible to wash her. Whoever has to give her a bath needs a drink afterwards.

Emma has also started holding her own bottle just this week. She'll only do it if she's laying on the floor in the Boppy pillow - - otherwise, she can't lift the bottle up high enough. But it's so nice to get all 3 of them fed at once! I didn't get any pictures of it yet, but she will also do this one handed. I guess she just didn't want to show off when I got the camera out.


We got some portraits taken a few weeks ago (I had to get them in the mail to family before I posted them here!), and it was literally a day or two before Rebecca decided that she can sit up, so that's why she's got a blanket behind her in the shot of the 3 of them, and why she ended up in the bucket (?) in the Halloween group shot.

J, E, R


The fam


Miss Emma, with a bit of a devilish grin, no?


Julie


Rebecca


And another one of all of us.


And we got some costume pics:

Julie


Emma


Becca. Not quite thrilled at this point.




Julie is crawling, sort of. She is definitely moving forward, in little surges. She pulls her knees up, then kind of pushes herself and falls forward. Becca and Emma are still going to win in a race for a toy, but I think at least Julie feels a little less helpless, and it able to get toys herself.

Julie:


Julie has also started smacking her lips when she's eating. It's too funny. I think it stems from her fishy face. She still LOVES her puffs, and is very good at feeding them to herself. She's in a rush to get through her solids every night before we'll give her the puffs. Emma has started picking the puffs up, putting them in her mouth, and then spitting them back out. Better than the hurt look she had been giving us. And Becca can pick them up and get a few in her mouth.

Julie also likes to run toys over her lips to make funny noises.

Becca tried to give Greg a kiss earlier this week. Of course, all she can do is lick his cheek. But it was sweet. I think she's giving Julie a kiss in the photo below:


And sweet Becca:


We bought the girls a new toy this week, Sillytown. We finally got it unpacked and put together today, and it holds their interest for a little while. There are these little "heads" in the middle of it that go up and down and the girls like to treat them like a whack-a-mole.

Sillytown pics:

Emma


Becca with the Sillytown car


E, R, J

Julie:


Greg watched the girls all day on Saturday so I could get out and go shopping. It had been a long week, with not enough sleep and capped off with an insanely frustrating day at work on Friday. By the end of the day on Friday, I felt delirious - - these waves where my brain just totally disconnected. On top of that, I tried jogging again on Wednesday night for the first time in 18 months (I've just been doing the elliptical so far, which is ok for maintaining weight, but I really need to get back to jogging to lose weight.) and my whole body just ached. I went to bed when the girls did, and Greg, bless his heart, went to they gym AND then came home and made bottles for Saturday. He's the best.

So, thanks to our friends Lisa and Eric, we've happened upon the children's books of Mo Willems. I just learned that he used to work for Sesame Street. Anyhow, Lisa and Eric got us the Pigeon series, which are just hysterical. (And Greg does a really good Pigeon voice.) We just found his Piggie and Elephant series and love those, too. If you are looking for something a little non-traditional that parents will like as much (more?) than the kids, these are a hit at our house.

We are down to 4 bottles a day (and 3 meals of solids) as of last weekend. We tried this about 2 weeks ago, but I don't think we were clear enough with daycare, and they ended up giving them all of the bottles. The girls did pretty well today, and we may also be converging on an 11am nap. The girls are still eating fruits and vegetables, and we've also introduced yogurt recently. They're old enough for meat; I'm not quite sure what I'm waiting for. We may wait until after Thanksgiving to let them adjust to the new schedule.

Becca eating something green. She's still a spoon grabber.


I'm not sure what was going on on this night, but every time Emma got a taste of water, she'd make these horrible faces. It was hysterical. She'd make the face and then laugh.


Our pediatrician has the H1N1 vaccine again, and we've got an appointment to get them for the girls next week. I'd still like to get one, too, but I'm afraid I'm coming down with something already. I don't feel awful ... yet. Just the first hints of a cough, sore throat, and my chest hurting when I breathe. I'm hoping nothing comes of it. Maybe my nurse kitty will make it all better. Dusty has been sleeping in our bed again for the last couple of weeks. I guess it's the cold weather; I thought she was doing it last year because I was pregnant. She likes to curl up behind my legs and pin me in bed.