Abby is THREE!!

Abby is THREE! She's growing so fast.

Height: 37 inches (up from 35" at age 2) = 50%
Weight: 30.2 lbs, (up from 27.8 lbs at age 2) = 50%

Those awesome PJs are hand-me-downs from Eve, one of Grant's friends. They have been in Abby's pajama drawer for 8 months or more, and I've been telling her she can wear them when she's three. Do you think she was excited to wear them?

Potty: Accidents are VERY rare, but have been more frequent with the remodel going on. She still wears a Pull-Up to bed.

Clothing: 2T & 3T tops and 2T bottoms

Sleeping: She usually sleeps 8 p.m. - 7:30 a.m., but over the past month she's been getting up at 5:30/45. UGH! One good 1.5 hour nap though.

Abby-isms: "I hold you!" and "But I WANT to!"
She'll chant "Tony Romo - bam, bam, bambambam".

When we drop the kids off at school, we always remind Grant to be on green (behavior chart). She tells us that she stays on pink & purple. There is no behavior chart in her room, but to her pink & purple are the good colors so that's what she wants to be on.

Favorites:

Food: Ketchup and "Cheerios" (not together) The "Cheerios" get quotes because a long time ago, I started mixing Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Now that's her go-to for breakfast and snacks. Shocker - she eats the sugary stuff first.
Movie: Frozen

TV Show: Paw Patrol and Dora
Book: Richard Scarry's "Best Word Book Ever" - she loves it.
Toy: Usually, whatever Grant is playing with.
Milestones:
She can say the letters in her name but can't write it yet.

She can count to 20 in English and tries really hard to count to 15 in Spanish.
She can dress himself, but she still needs help with shirts.

She's been to the dentist three times and does really well every time (well - except the first trip, which was more of a wrestling match).

We had her birthday party at Chuck E Cheese the day before Thanksgiving. Abby LOVED Chuck E!!

I think she had a good time!

Abby is TWO!!

Abby is 2 years old! Here's what she's up to!

Height: 35 inches (grew 2.5 inches in 6 months) = 78%

Weight: 27.8 lbs. (gained 3 lbs in 6 months) = 74%

Head: 49.5 cm (up 1 cm in 6 months) = 95%

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyDiaper: None!! She wears a diaper at night, but that'll be a pull up soon (as soon as we run out).

Eating: She prefers crackers, goldfish, and chips (whereas Grant prefers fruit). She stopped taking a bottle right after her 18 month post! But she still wants a sippy with milk. She goes through phases where she sometimes wants ONLY milk - and doesn't eat much else.

Clothing: 18-24 months and some 2T

Sleeping: Still sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5 hours). She doesn't wake up easily. She likes to linger in her crib for a bit. She is always the last one awake in the morning, but then the first one awake from naps. She's started hoarding things in her crib and insists on taking things to bed with her every night!

Talking: The most beautiful word she uses is "Potty". Her vocabulary is too much to include here. We still struggle to understand some of her words, but it's about 1 an hour instead of all baby talk.

Songs: Current favorites are "I Love You" (from Barney), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Old McDonald, and Baa Baa Black Sheep.

Teeth: We went to the dentist for the first time in November! It was more of a wrestling match. Dentist suggested flossing between her 2 front teeth, but that has yet to happen. I mean - come on! She's TWO!

Milestones: The biting seems to be over now. Obviously potty training is a HUGE milestone! She just started jumping where both feet actually leave the ground (sometimes).

photo credit to Jesse Leos PhotographyGuaranteed Smiles: Tickles, kisses on her neck, anything upside down, pretending to go "night night" when she and Bubba play in her crib.

Guaranteed Crying: Still - taking her milk away or not letting her have it. Taking away one of the items (book, blanket, doll, etc.) that she's hoarding to her crib at night. Funny enough, I think she may make her brother cry more often than the other way around.

And here are Grant's stats from his 2 year old post.

Abby is 18 months!

Abby is 18 months! Here's what she's up to!
Height: 32.5 inches (grew 1 inch in 3 months) = 75%

Weight: 24.8 lbs. (gained 1 lb in 3 months) = 75%

Head: 48.5 cm (up 0.5 cm in 3 months) = 90%

Diaper: Still in 4's and still using night diapers
Eating: We've got a picky eater on our hands. She LOVES peanut butter crackers, PBJs, bananas, squeezies, & yogurt. We always have her try whatever we're eating, but she's very stubborn. She still takes a bottle at night. She's basically stopped humming while she's eating.

Clothing: 18-24 months and some 2T
Sleeping: Still sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5-2 hours). She doesn't wake up easily. She likes to linger in her crib for a bit. She is always the last one awake in the morning, but then the first one awake from naps.

Talking:

People: Mama, Dada, Bubba, Lola, Abby ("Ahd"), Grant (but just sounds like "Dah"), Papa, Rose
Food: Apple, Cookie, Nana (banana), Mmm (Milk - while squeezing hands feverishly signing and reaching up at the cabinet),
Animals: Duck (and quack), Cat (and meow), Bird (and tweet), Frog (and ribbit), Dog (and panting noise); Noises for Cow, Lion, Dinosaur, Monkey, Horse, Camel, Alligator, and cute face/lip noises for Fish
Things: Mmmm (more), Ball, Book ("Buh")
Other: Up and down. She can say "no" now, but it's still cute. I give it another 2 weeks.

About 6 weeks ago, she put two words together. "Bye bye, Dada."
Songs: Twinkle, twinkle (she can carry the tune and opens and closes her hands); If You're Happy and You Know It (she puts her fingers on her cheeks, claps, says hooray, but her favorite is stomping her feet);

Body Parts: She can point to ears, hair, head, toes, eyes, belly, hands, teeth, knees

Teeth: I lost count. You can see some gums in there, but it's mostly teeth.
Milestones: She's still biting Grant, but it's less and less, and he's getting better about running away. Putting words together too. Like "Hi mama" and "bye bye doctor".

Guaranteed Smiles: When you get on to her and she defies you - If she's standing on the couch and you tell her "Sit on your bottom, Abby" she'll either sit down or continue to stand and give you her toddler defiant smile.
Guaranteed Crying: Telling her "no" when she asks for milk (she wants a bottle) in the middle of the day; Brother taking away her toy; Brother getting food or something she wants; Walking away from something she wants when you're holding her.
It's interesting to reflect on the differences in Grant and Abby. Grant would completely tear up any book that wasn't a board book at this age. But the only books that Abby damages are pop-ups. She is gentler with the books. Plus they are her favorite toy right now. Grant would fall over and not make a peep. Abby cries and needs to be held any time she falls, even on the carpet. Grant took out his frustration at this age by hitting - Abby is still biting (mostly just Grant). Abby will SOMETIMES hit, but it's pretty rare. Now that this is in black and white, I'm sure she'll start hitting more just to prove me wrong.

And here are Grant's stats from his 18 month post.

Abby is 15 months!

Abby is 15 months! We went to the doctor today to get 3 shots and update her stats.

Height: 31.5 inches (grew 2.5 inches in 3 months) = 75-80%

Weight: 23 lb, 15 oz (gained 2 lbs 3 oz in 3 months) = 90-95%

Head: 48 cm (up 0.5 cm in 3 months) = 80-85%

Diaper: 4's. We're using night diapers now too.

Eating: Pretty much everything! She still takes a bottle at night. She constantly hums while she's eating.

Clothing: 12 -18 months.

Sleeping: Sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5-2 hours). Grant and Abby napping at the same time = BLISS!

Talking: Mama, Dada, Bubba, Lola, Mmmm (more), Mmmm (moo), and her favorite word is definitely "ROAR!" She says it for lions and dinosaurs. She still hasn't said "no", so the fun hasn't even begun! She signs for milk, more and please. Please is her go-to sign. In the evenings, she whines at my feet, makes me follow her into the kitchen, stands by the cabinet with the bottles and signs "Please" over and over. Then she walks to the fridge where the milk is and either whines or signs until she gets her milk!

She also seems to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle." I think she started this at 1 year, but I thought it was a fluke. At her doctor's appointment for her 1 year checkup, the doctor even commented. "Was that 'Baa baa black sheep?'" - I told him no - it was Twinkle, Twinkle. ;) Since it's happened more than once since then, we're going to go ahead a call this her first song.

Teeth: Molars are in!! Teeth brushing is sometimes fun and sometimes torture.

Milestones: Still waves goodbye, gives kisses, and mimics all sorts of noises/movements. After her biting spell, she now seems to have turned a corner. Now she only bites Grant and pulls my hair. She throws full-on toddler fits when she doesn't get her way. Face down on the ground, arms and legs hitting the ground. She now responds to "How big is Abby? SOOO big!" And she knows "up" and "down". She loves light switches (Grant loved them at this age too... and with Abby's recent fascination, he's drawn to them again). She also honks noses and can point to her head and toes.

Guaranteed Smiles: She's still a mama's girl - reaches for me all the time. She also LOVES to play peek-a-boo. This helps at night when she's getting in her PJs.

Guaranteed Crying: Her toughest time of day is getting into PJs. We thought she had ringworm on her back, so we treated it with Lotrimin. It got worse! The doctor said it's probably eczema and gave us some samples of steroid creams. Since I'm back-dating this blog, I can tell you it is working SO well! BUT because her back is still itchy, she scratches her back as soon as you lay her on her changing table.

And here are Grant's stats from his 15 month post.

Abby is ONE!!

Abby is ONE! Here's what she's up to:
Height: 29 inches (but they didn't try to stretch her) = 50%

Weight: 21 lb, 12 oz (Wii said 22 lb, 3 oz) = 65%

Head: 47.5 cm = 98% Both babies have huge heads. Hooray for C-sections!!

Diaper: 4's
Eating: WHOLE MILK!!! With Grant out of diapers and Abby off of formula, we effectively got a raise (roughly $150/month!).

Clothing: 12 -18 months. The 12 month old PJs look pretty ridiculous. I also just discovered that she can wear 2T leggings cuffed up, which will save me some money next year. And she can wear 2T-3T tops as tunics.

Sleeping: She would still sleep 12-13 hours each night if we let her. 2 naps are standard, but she could do just fine with just one.

Talking: Mama, Dada, Bubba, Lola, Baba (she asks for it when you give her a sippy - she'll be on the bottle a little while longer). I think I heard "more" over the weekend. Will she be like her brother and say "more" before she signs it?!

Teeth: By the end of the week, she'll have 8. We can see 4 poking through. Teething over the past few weeks has meant extra cuddles. We'll focus on the cuddles and not the pathetic crying fits.

Notice the ring in her hand in the photo on the left? See below about Guaranteed Crying.
Milestones: She is now walking between toys instead of crawling. She can take 8-10 steps consistently. She waves goodbye, gives kisses, and mimics all sorts of noises/movements. Clipping her nails is a huge challenge - she doesn't like to sit still that long. About 90% of the time she flips over on her changing table - so we spank her. Big Gaga says she used to poke her kids with a diaper pin, so I figure spanking is nicer!

This week we'll also be turning her around in the carseat!

Guaranteed Smiles: She's still a mama's girl - reaches for me all the time. She loves to watch her brother hit things or play with cars. She loves to watch Lola play fetch.

Guaranteed Crying: When Grant steals her toys, pushes her, or tries to sit on her. Or if you DARE take her toy away to do something crazy (like dress her or put her to bed). She has quite a grip and wants to ALWAYS have something in her hand, so she sometimes goes to bed with a maraca.
And here are Grant's stats from his one year post.

Abby is 11 months!!

Abby is 11 months now! Here's what she's up to:
Height: We'll recheck at 1 year.

Weight: 21.2 lbs according to the Wii.

Head: We'll recheck at 1 year.

Diaper: 4's
Eating: 7-8 ounces every 3-4 hours. She is eating about 6 oz. of baby food each day and eating lots more table food. She has just about moved from 5 bottles per day to 4. She's still inconsistent. But on the weekends, she naps when she should be eating, which effectively makes her drop a bottle.
Clothing: 12 month clothes.

Sleeping: She would still sleep 12-13 hours each night if we let her. This past weekend, she was down to 2 naps (and 1 nap one of those days). So her morning catnap is out the window now. Naps from about 11:30-2, then again about 4-4:45.

Talking: Lately all she says is Dada. Grant has started talking back to Abby, mimicking whatever she is babbling about. Abby LOVES it!

Teeth: 4. A few weeks ago when the fourth tooth came in, Abby kept grinding her 4 teeth together. It was awful!!! Thankfully she stopped that. But her latest thing is to bite my shoulder when she's on my hip. Even Grant tells her now "No biting Abby!"

Milestones: She is taking steps now! Unfortunately, this means we need to start buying her shoes. Womp, womp. And her hair certainly seams like it's going to be wavy. I have no idea what to do with wavy hair! Womp, womp again. Only because it will take me YEARS to figure out how to work with it.

Guaranteed Smiles: She's still a mama's girl - reaches for me all the time. She also likes talking to Grant in the car. For some reason, Grant always says "No funny, Abby" (as in - it's not funny, Abby). They pass toys back and forth in the car like it's a game and they both think that's funny.

Guaranteed Crying: Just about anytime I'm in the same room as her and NOT holding her. She cries and reaches for me. I think her crying Rose face is pretty funny, so I end up taking lots of pictures of it.

And here are Grant's stats from his 11 month post.