Better Late Than Never

So, I'm a little behind.  I know, I suck.  Bristol, I already understand why you're going to have love/hate issues with me, especially as a teenager.  I'm already short-changing you.  *sigh*  Welcome to real life, little girl.  Just know Momma loves you!  

Without further ado, let's get on with what this little lady has been up to for the past three months!

Right around the 6 month mark, Bristol's blocked tear duct cleared up.  Michael and I don't even know when it happened.  One day, I just realized that her eye had not been tearing up in awhile.  Nice!  No tear duct surgery for this little momma!

Bristol started to sit up on her own at 6 months.  Now, she can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting up on her own again!  I've even walked in on her in the middle of the night sitting up in her crib.  Talk about freaky...

We started solids with little miss around 6.5 months.  As of today, she has tried oatmeal cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, butternut squash, green beans, bananas and apples.  At 8 months, I have started to give her stuff other than purees, like bagels.  She is all about the big stuff.  Out of all the purees, she actually really likes the green beans the best!

As of now, she seems to have a food allergy to the oatmeal cereal.  :(  We have tried it several times and she has barfed all over the place within two hours of consuming the cereal.  It was the saddest thing dealing with her barfing, but at least we know now.  

Bristol is still being breastfed and is on formula.  I was so done with breastfeeding, but managed to make it to the 6-month mark.  Once we hit 6 months, we started to supplement with formula.  I really hated pumping and really didn't have the time to do it with two active kids.  The formula has taken so much pressure off of me.  Now I can leave B and now fret about the amount of breast milk in the house.  

We were just using milk based formula, even though Bristol seemed to have an intolerance to dairy in my diet when I was exclusively nursing.  We went about two months with no issues, but then she started to get really fussy at night.  She wanted to be held, then didn't.  She wanted to nurse, but then didn't.  She just couldn't get comfortable.  I took her into the doctor thinking it might have been an ear infection, which it wasn't.  After going through a bunch of stuff, the doc and I think it may be the formula.  I'm trying to slowly wean B from breast milk, so she's getting a lot more formula now.  Maybe she can't handle the milk based like we originally thought.  We are now trying the Gentlease formula to see if that helps.  So far, so good.  

Speaking of the doctor, at the 6-month checkup Bristol weighed in at 17 lbs (64%), measured 27" long (84%), and her head measured in at 42.5 cm (45%).  She's growing like a weed and following right on track!  

Bristol has her two bottom front teeth.  She got her first tooth on her 6-month birthday.  She really sucks at teething.  She is an absolute bear when those little pieces of enamel are breaking through the gums.  We use a teething necklace, Hyland's teething tablet, cold wet rag, teething toys and nothing seems to soothe her.  I really don't like giving the kids medicine unless it's seriously warranted, but we've given her Tylenol once because she seemed to be in so much pain from the teeth.  

Bristol goes to bed between 6-7 for the night and still wakes up 1-4 times a night.  Ugh!!  We were hoping that by switching her to formula, she would sleep through the entire night, but that has not been our luck.  She is ready to go for the day between 530-7 AM (UGH!!!).  She generally naps about twice a day.  She is really getting short changed on her naps, though.  Joey and I hate being cooped up in the house, so we have somewhere to be every day of the work week.  Unfortunately, this messes with B's morning nap.  She will sleep in the car or stroller, but those naps aren't nearly as good or long as they could be in her crib.  

Right now, B's eye color is pretty cool.  They are a darker blue, with a hazel/greenish ring around the pupil.  They are really pretty and very unique.  I think I read that an infant's eye color is established by the time they are 9 months, so this may be her permanent eye color(s)!

B is a super happy baby.  She smiles with her toothy grin all of the time.  She sticks her tongue out a lot and she laughs all of the time!  Joey is her favorite person ever.  She laughs at him all of the time.  It's so cute to watch her bust up laughing when Joey does something silly, even if that's just running through the living room!

B is crawling now.  It started just as a roll, but now it's a pretty ugly Army crawl.  She drags her body everywhere, but she's pretty dang fast!  She will sit up, fall down, roll around, army crawl, and then sit back up!  You've got to watch her now, because she loves some cords and is pretty strong.  I've caught her pulling the bean bag chair out of the way so she can get to some cords!  Since Joey is pretty much out of the "baby-proofing" stage, we've become slack with all of the baby proofing.  We have now stepped up our game since little miss is mobile and NOSEY!!!

Speaking of nosey, she has to be involved in all of the action.  If you're not talking to her or showing her some sort of attention, she will let you know how this makes her feel by yelling or crying until you pay attention to her!  If she's eating and hears a noise, she will stop, sit up, and check out the noise.  Then, go back to eating.  It really gets frustrating, especially when she is in a dark, calm room and still is nosey! 

She can give kisses, even though they're more like a catfish sucking your face.  She likes to cuddle at bedtime.  She is into everything!  She really likes Joey's toys, the TV remote control, and my phone.  Joey will rip stuff out of her hands, which really makes B mad.  She will yell, cry, crawl over to Joey, and bite him on the leg!  Ugh!  Another biter!  

Bristol really likes to swing!  She likes watching Joey swing more!  It really makes her chuckle! 

One thing is for sure, this little lady has us all wrapped around her finger! 

Happy 6th, 7th, and 8th month birthdays little lady!  

Half of 10

Bristol is 5 months old this month!  So much has happened this month for baby girl...

She had her first play date with her bud, Avery, who lives just a few houses away.  Avery and B loved having a staring contest while (p)laying on the play mat.  The cool thing about this friend is that A's older sister is Joey's buddy.  A and B are only 2 months apart, with B being the oldest.  And Joey and A's sister are only one month apart!  How cool is that?!?! 

Bristol has really come into her own with her fashion sense.  

Bristol's love for her brother just keeps getting deeper and stronger.  

Bristol is getting so much stronger and that much closer to sitting up on her own!  I think that is my favorite time in a babe's life, sitting on their own.  A couple of more weeks and she'll be a pro at sitting up.  

She has definitely found her voice.  Most days I have to shush her so she doesn't wake up Joey during his nap time!  She likes to yell and babble loudly!  She really likes the sound of her own voice!   

Bristol started rolling over while in her swaddle this month.  This meant "no more swaddling!".  This was super scary for us since that was the way she slept the best.  However, while my Mom was here, she was able to get her to sleep in her crib un-swaddled for long periods of time!  So very nice! 

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Bristol!  We love you and can't wait to see what the next month brings!  

Bristol #4

Miss B turned 4 months old this past month.  Wow, time is flying now!  I'm not going to lie...I wanted time to fly when she had colic, but now that that's gone, I want time to take it's time because I love this little baby girl so much and I want to soak up every minute I can (since we're not having any more babies!!).  

Bristol has started to teeth this month.  Big fat boo to this!! She's sucking and biting on anything she can get her hands on! 

She is such a happy happy girl!  She smiles and laughs a lot!  It's so refreshing to see! 

Bristol is not one to just sit in the corner/bouncy seat...she usually fusses until you pick her up and actually interact with her! 

Just when I think she's outgrown (or not grown into them, period) something, she shocks me.  I had taken this photo to place the swing on a selling website.  However, B actually fell asleep in the swing, in the grass, with all of the vehicles driving by!  She also fell asleep in the swing the next day!  Needless to say, we still own the swing. 

Her favorite place to sleep is still on a breathing body.  She'll sleep in her crib or car seat without too much objection, but let her lay out on you....she's in heaven! 

B is a very smiley and laughing kid!  She loves to be tickled and watch her brother run around and be wild!  Those two things can get her going like nothing else!   

Speaking of which, her brother is still her favorite person.  She always smiles when she seems him enter the room.  I really hope they keep this bond up in the future!

Bristol has also discovered her feet this month.  Anytime that she can, she has her feet in her hands or her mouth!  Who needs a pacifier when you have a foot?!?!

Since B is teething already, we have invested in a teething necklace for her (and Joey for those pesky two-year molars).  Don't worry, she doesn't sleep in this necklace, we actually put it on her ankle with a sock over the necklace to keep it in place.  The necklace is made of pure amber.  When the amber is close to the skin, it is supposed to go into the skin and release a "calming agent" (for teething, headaches, joint pains, etc).  I'm not sure if it's working or not, but she's not too fussy when she's wearing it.

 

On cue, Bristol started to roll over and lift her head up at the 4-month mark.  Just like the books said.  

Overall, B is a very happy, easy going baby.  As long as you stick to "her" schedule, you're good to go!  :)   

At B's 4-month checkup, she weighed in at 15 lbs, measured in at 25.5 inches long, and her head measured 40.5 inches.   She's doing great and growing right on schedule.  Her left eye still has a plugged tear duct...if it hasn't cleared up by one year old, they will probably do surgery.  :(  Hopefully, this tear duct gets its act into gear before July!  B also has cradle cap, but not that bad.  Doc said just to rub some olive oil on her head to help clear this up.  

Happy 4th month birthday, B!  We love you!

Joe-Mama

Man, I haven't solely blogged about Joey in awhile!  Since I'm not doing the monthly updates on him, I haven't really updated all of you on his development.  Well, let's make up for some lost time, shall we? 

Joey's vocabulary is amazing!  He is saying new words and longer sentences every day.  I read somewhere that toddlers can learn 6-8 new words a day.  6-8?!?!  Time to pull out the dictionary and increase this boy's vocab!

With that being said, Michael and I seriously need to watch what we say.  Joey says the word "shit".  When he stubs his toe.  When he drops something.  When he makes a mistake.  Oh well.  At least he uses it in context!

Joey is really using his brain to put things together now.  When you ask him questions, you can see him actually think about your question and his response.  It is so cool to see him actually thinking during our conversations.

He remembers so much more now.   Every night before bed, we go over what he did that day.  Now, he's telling me stuff he did that day, or days, before!  It's so crazy to see how quickly his memory is kicking into gear.  However, I need to remind myself of this when I make empty bribes/promises to get him to do something!  

Joey is still obsessed with animals, especially feeding pigs.  Since we have attended a few fall farm events, J has been able to feed a lot of pigs.  He now thinks he is a pig farmer.  As long as he's not a pig truck driver, we're doing good!  ;)  (that is an inside joke...no offense to pig truck drivers!)

Joey got an upgrade with his ride.  Thanks to all our of friends and family, we were able to score a used double BOB stroller.  If you don't use strollers, then you probably have no clue who BOB is and what's so special about him.  Well, my friends, BOBs are some of the best strollers you can buy.  They maneuver so easily.  I was pretty pumped when I found this one on Craigslist and it was the same amount of money as we were given as gifts!  Thanks friends and family!  You guys are AWESOME!

Joey is so friendly and outgoing!  He requests, I mean, demands to see his "friends" as soon as he wakes up from naps.  When he sees kids, he will run up to them, while yelling "Hi kids!".  I really hope he keeps that outgoing personality.  It will make life as a relocating military brat a little easier.  

However, he does have his shy moments.  He's actually been in a mommy phase the past few days.  I have no clue what has caused this, but as sweet as it was that first day, it's getting kind of old now.  He even tells Michael that he needs to go take care of Bristol so I can go read to him (before bed).  Michael's been following Joey's requests, but we decided no more of that.  I have to deal with Joey when he wants Daddy in the mornings and Michael has left for work, so Michael can deal with Joey when I am busy with Bristol.  

We upgraded Joey to a double bed, along with a whole new room decor.  His room is covered in dinosaurs, per his request.  Dino bedding set and wall decals!  He loves it!  So much that he won't nap in the car anymore.  He wants to go home to his bed.  It's kind of cool that he's like that, but it sucks when we're going to be in the car for a little and hoping for that car nap.  Those days are long gone.  

Joey is seriously trying to show off his growing independence with the word "No" and yelling.  When we ask Joey to do something that he doesn't want to do, he will yell "No" at us.  Or he'll tell us what to do in a yelling voice.  This is very frustrating as a parent, but I know it's part of the growing process.  However, we're not playing that game in this household.  I calmly, yet firmly, tell him that he does not yell at people and when he can talk to me in a normal voice, we will have a conversation.  

He's so smart.  He knows where things belong and how to do a lot of things.  We will find various toy tools in our decorative scarecrow's pockets, Bumble Bee transformer in time out, and coins in his pockets.  Makes me smile every time when I come across one of these things.  

Even though he is Mr. Independent, he still wants to be carried.  We actually purchased another Ergo baby carrier, so we could wear both kids.  This has actually helped out tremendously!  Joey gets to be carried and we don't have to worry about him darting away from us in super crowded Southern California!  

Joey is so inquisitive!  "What's that?" may be his favorite question.  Everything is so new and exciting to him.  It's really cool to be part of it all.  When we do anything with him, we try to explain it as we go.  No time like the present to get him trained!  

I must say that 2.5 years old is a very trying age, but it's fun at the same time.  Joey is still a toddler, but becoming such a little man at the same time.