Dancing front row

It's Family Fun Day at the YWCA. Belle is having fun. Emily is asleep in the wrap I am wearing. Craig is studying for NJ Bar. We all have jobs to do. :)

Ready for fun in the snow with Daddy

Emily and Mina

Belle and Joey's little sisters

Belle and Joey

Snow day

Belle loves her sister

Belle's nursery school teacher made a point of telling me that the students were singing a song about the people they loved and Belle sang about how she loves her sister. Lately, Belle barely smiles at me when I pick her up from school, but makes an excited bee-line to greet Emily. I feel a lucky that Belle loves her little sister. Emily doesn't yet know how lucky she is, but she'll appreciate it someday.

Fun Pictures

Belle sleeping with Kermit the Frog; two sisters on Aunt Julie and Uncle Mitchell's couch (yes, Belle is pantsless); two pictures of our happy girls.

Hi, from Aunt Julie and Uncle Mitchell's apt.

Silly times

Snuggling in Mommy and Daddy's bed, and then enjoying the musical mobile in Emily's crib.
A note on the pacifier:  Belle accepts that the are no "baba" (pacifiers) in her new big girl room, and she sleeps OK (not great) at night in her big girl bed without the baba. But she hasn't yet successfully napped in the room sans baba. She seems to have caught the sniffles, perhaps partially due to being worn down and tired from not sleeping well and not napping. So we found a loophole: Belle can use the pacifier in Mommy and Daddy's room (at least for Saturday afternoon and today's necessary naps). Belle will give up her nap soon, but until she does, we may take advantage of this loophole in the the baba agreement from time to time. Meanwhile, Belle continues to be a wonderful big sister to baby Emily.

Belle and Lital

In the elevator.

Let the hair accessorizing begin!

Bedtime stories

Belle in her new bed

Nap time!

Mommy and Emily

Snuggling cheek to cheek.

A Happy and Clean Emily

Napping

"It is so boring when Mommy and Daddy make me sit in my bouncy seat while they shower. Yawn. Zzzzzzzz."

Look where Belle slept last night for the first time:

Belle slept in her "purple room" in her REAL big girl bed last night!  She LOVES her new room and finally asked to sleep in it, rather than just read bedtime books in it.  She knew the rule: no babbas (pacifiers) in the big girl room and so she never actually asked for her pacifier at all during the bedtime process.  She had trouble settling because she was so excited to be sleeping in her new room in her new bed (she kept saying all through the bedtime routine how excited she was and how much she loved her new room).  When we said goodnight and left her, she was singing and talking (and there was no pacifier in her mouth to keep her quiet or calm her down), but she didn't actually call for Mommy or Daddy (we just listened with one ear to her sweet talking and singing).  Twice before 11pm and once at 4:30am, she called for us.  Craig went to her and sang her a song or read her a book.  He reported that she never actually asked for the babba, but rather she wanted the company (and song or book).  I, of course, didn't go to her because she and I both know that I'm a huge sucker and would have given her the pacifier or agreed to sit on the floor of the room or something like that.  Not Craig.  He calmed her down and got himself back to bed within minutes.

The bottom line is that it was not such a bad night.  We are making a big deal about what a big girl she is; how proud of her we are.  I gave her a present this morning (a magic wand), and Craig made a special breakfast that the two shared together (scrambled eggs).  She needs a good nap and then we'll try again tonight.

One note on the pic: I thought Belle would look so tiny in her big girl bed, but it's just the opposite: Belle looks like a real little girl (not a little baby) in her big girl bed.  She is nearly two-and-a-half and she seems so grown-up to me.  No more crib, no more toddler bed, no more pacifier (well, hopefully no more pacifier soon, since one pacifier-free night does not a two-year-old habit break).

Canada Dry and Gatorade

Canada Dry Ginger Ale is far superior to Schwepps, and orange-flavored Gatorade beats other flavors of Gatorade and Powerade. You see, I've become a bit of a connoisseur of such beverages of late. I've been dealing with variations of stomach bugs on and off for the better half of the month. It's a bummer to be under the weather, it's a trial to feel less than100% while fulfilling my mom/wife responsibilities, and it's quite taxing to nurse through the days like today when I ate almost nothing. I recall battling cold after cold after cold during Belle's first winter, which is clearly not a coincidence. That lack of sleep required of a mom to an infant coupled with the many new responsibilities and stressors (plus the aforementioned biology of my body taking whatever it can from me to produce sustenance for my infant) weakens my immune system. It's not the end of the world: it's afforded me the opportunity to become a connoisseur of electrolyte-full beverages (I even tried salty-tasting Pedialyte) and tummy-settling ginger ales.

"Emily is a train conductor!"

So announced Belle after she put this hat on Emily's head. So goes silly times before dinner.

Emily's 3-month check-up

I took Emily for her three-month check-up today.  Emily is growing well and the pediatrician is pleased.  Emily is 23 inches long (34th percentile), 13 pound and 7.5 ounces in weight (77th percentile) and her head is 15.5 inches in circumference (32nd percentile).  The important take-away, according to Emily's doctor, is that she is growing and she is growing proportionally (she is nearly in the same percentiles as she was at her two-month check-up).  Emily also showed off her skills to the doc: she smiled and even laughed; responded with voice to conversation; held her head well showing off her strong neck muscles.  Emily is A-OK.

One interesting thing the pediatrician noticed is Emily's coordination in getting her left thumb in her mouth. All babies are soothed by sucking but most young infants can't physically get their own finger in their mouths.  Instead, they accidentally poke themselves in the cheek or nose. Not Emily. She shoves her left thumb so far into her mouth that she sometimes gags herself.  Time for me to push the pacifier.  A pacifier can be limited and eventually removed.  Thumbs are hard to regulate.  My brother gave up his pacifier at he 3.  I was still sucking  my fingers when I was in elementary school.  Here we go, baba!

Full Moon

Craig: That was a delicious dinner. I sure am full. Belle, are you full?
Belle: No, I'm not full. The MOON is full.