Elektra had her 9 month pediatrician appointment today. Her vitals are:
19 pounds, 3 ounces
28.5 inches
44.5 centimeters head circumference
Her height/weight places her in the 60-70th percentile. As compared to 3 months ago, she:
grew 2 inches
gained 1 pound 7 ounces
grew 3 centimeters head circumference
She grew long, but she didn't gain a ton of weight which explains why she still fits in some 6 month clothes! DJ, at this point, was a full 3 pounds heavier for the same length, and was pushing the envelope on 12 month clothes!
While we waited for the doctor to come see her, Elektra stood in my lap and bounced, and tried to eat my necklace, and tried to reach the pictures behind us... all in all, very busy. The second the doctor walked in, all wiggliness stopped dead. Until the doctor left the room, Elektra didn't break a smile or anything. She just studied that doctor, watching him like a hawk, very serious business!! Only once did she break eye contact to feel the stethoscope while he was listening to her heart. And then she was very happy to gnaw on the tongue depressor he gave her. "A souvenir from Charles Street Pediatrics!"
He asked me the standard questions (sleep pattern, formula vs. breastmilk, mobility and other milestones, etc), and seemed surprised to hear that she's full on crawling. She's got Big Brother to catch now! She has been cleared to eat 3 solid meals a day, just no nuts, wheat, fish, chocolate, honey or eggs.
Elektra is "perfect" he said, but we already knew that. :-)
The nurse came in to administer the one shot she got today (the last dose of Hep C), and Elektra smiled at her. Then quick as a wink, the nurse administered the shot, and was about to put the band aid on by the time Elektra decided that the shot had hurt! She busted out her best boo-boo face + tears, and was over it 15 seconds later.
Elektra napped in the car back to Eleanor's, and then got in the swing on the playset. With her hat on to keep the sun out of her eyes and chewing on the strap, swinging away, she was one happy little camper.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
IO is not slow
Not that we didn't know that IO isn't slow, but I have never seen him hit hyperdrive.
This morning, he was all the way on the side of the yard, by the shed when he spotted a squirrel on the far side of the yard. He started to run - at the usual speed at which I see him run, which, to be fair, is by no means considered slow - and then, when the squirrel didn't move, kicked it into hyperdrive. He visibly doubled his speed and covered the yard in 2 seconds flat.
The squirrel, realizing he was now in immediate danger, turned 90 degrees and booked it to the fence. IO managed to make the turn and missed the squirrel by about a snout and a half.
The two of them were in a foot race to the fence first and the squirrel managed to leap and scramble up the fence just before IO ran face first into it. IO did slow down before hitting the fence, but he definitely didn't stop in time. LOL
The squirrel then ran the fence top, with IO in hot pursuit, jumping and barking the whole time until the squirrel launched itself - literally - to a low hanging tree branch. Lucky for the squirrel that the tree branch was on the OTHER side of the fence because when that squirrel caught the branch, its weight made the branch droop all the way down to dog level before it came back up. Had that branch been on the wrong side of the fence, that squirrel was dog food.
It's nice to see that our senior dog is kicking butt and taking names!!
This morning, he was all the way on the side of the yard, by the shed when he spotted a squirrel on the far side of the yard. He started to run - at the usual speed at which I see him run, which, to be fair, is by no means considered slow - and then, when the squirrel didn't move, kicked it into hyperdrive. He visibly doubled his speed and covered the yard in 2 seconds flat.
The squirrel, realizing he was now in immediate danger, turned 90 degrees and booked it to the fence. IO managed to make the turn and missed the squirrel by about a snout and a half.
The two of them were in a foot race to the fence first and the squirrel managed to leap and scramble up the fence just before IO ran face first into it. IO did slow down before hitting the fence, but he definitely didn't stop in time. LOL
The squirrel then ran the fence top, with IO in hot pursuit, jumping and barking the whole time until the squirrel launched itself - literally - to a low hanging tree branch. Lucky for the squirrel that the tree branch was on the OTHER side of the fence because when that squirrel caught the branch, its weight made the branch droop all the way down to dog level before it came back up. Had that branch been on the wrong side of the fence, that squirrel was dog food.
It's nice to see that our senior dog is kicking butt and taking names!!
Playing together
Yesterday, at daycare, DJ and Elektra happened to be near the sliding glass door. DJ was playing with the long curtain, and would pull it out and then let it go to watch it "fall" back into place. Elektra was in the curtain's path, and it would "cover" her on its path back to its resting place. Elektra belly laughed at the peekaboo play, and DJ caught on. He started playing peekaboo with her, and they would both belly laugh!
DJ would pull the curtain out, let it go to cover Elektra, and then jump up and down laughing and squealing with delight. Then she would belly laugh and try to pull it off of herself. DJ would then go to her, pull it off of her, laugh some more, and then she would laugh some more. Rinse, repeat.
I had been getting ready to take them home, but that made me stop and sit on the floor to watch them interact with each other, completely unprovoked by any adult in the room. It was AWESOME.
Jeff, Grace's dad, then said, "You can only hope that in 5 years, they play like that!" He is so right!
DJ would pull the curtain out, let it go to cover Elektra, and then jump up and down laughing and squealing with delight. Then she would belly laugh and try to pull it off of herself. DJ would then go to her, pull it off of her, laugh some more, and then she would laugh some more. Rinse, repeat.
I had been getting ready to take them home, but that made me stop and sit on the floor to watch them interact with each other, completely unprovoked by any adult in the room. It was AWESOME.
Jeff, Grace's dad, then said, "You can only hope that in 5 years, they play like that!" He is so right!
DJ fix!
DJ fix!
Finger foods
Elektra has now started to eat various finger foods. Her favorites include the all-time leader, Cheerios, as well as a few Gerber products: the puffed stars and the wagon wheels. She's also eaten some of the cheese puffs, too.
She hasn't mastered the pincer grasp, so she's still raking the finger foods and tries to stuff her whole hand into her mouth. Therefore, most of what she tries to eat ends up under her chin, but that's ok! It keeps her busy while we get to eat.
Unlike DJ, though, she's much less inclined to just hang out in the high chair for long periods of time. Lately, she's been quite fussy after dinner, leading me to believe she's tired and doesn't really want to play, but go to bed instead. Bedtime has been earlier than usual!!
She hasn't mastered the pincer grasp, so she's still raking the finger foods and tries to stuff her whole hand into her mouth. Therefore, most of what she tries to eat ends up under her chin, but that's ok! It keeps her busy while we get to eat.
Unlike DJ, though, she's much less inclined to just hang out in the high chair for long periods of time. Lately, she's been quite fussy after dinner, leading me to believe she's tired and doesn't really want to play, but go to bed instead. Bedtime has been earlier than usual!!
Clap! Clap! Clap!
On Monday morning, Steve and I were getting Elektra dressed to go to daycare when, while on the changing table, she clapped her hands together! Good girl!! She did it three or four times, and now she does it regularly! Way to go Elektra!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Elektra wants DJ's toy; DJ vs. the showerhead
We had a couple of interesting kid stories happen over the weekend.
Elektra wants DJ's toy.
DJ was playing with a plastic toy screwdriver. "DJ fix car" and would take the screwdriver to the toy car that he wanted to "fix". He was very diligent, and "fixed" nearly every car in his arsenal.
However, Elektra wanted that screwdriver, too. I don't know if she wanted it because he had it or because she had chewed on it before and knew that it felt good on her gums. Either way, she wanted it, and actively went after it. She would crawl to wherever DJ was, reach for the screwdriver and if she could get a hand on it, take it from him.
In most cases, DJ was so stunned that she took it, that he would simply look at me and say, "DJ tool?" There were a few times when he would gently take it back from here, saying, "No no Ta-ta!", but he usually didn't know what to do about that.
After a few incidents of this, I sat down on the floor with both of them, and although Elektra doesn't know how to share, DJ is learning, so I figured I'd use this as a teaching opportunity. I would take the toy back from Elektra to give it to DJ. The first few times, there was no problem. But there were other times, like when it was getting near lunchtime (so I'm guessing Elektra was hungry and not as even keeled as usual) that Elektra would fuss that I'd taken it from her or that she couldn't reach it to get it from DJ. The first fuss of "I want that!" over one of DJ's toys... and it will certainly not be the last!
DJ vs. the showerhead
A couple of months ago, we had a weekend's worth of incidents where DJ melted down when it came to bath time. This was so odd because he loves baths!! But we can't ignore the phase he's in, so deal with it we do. We've worked through most of those issues, but we had to take it one step at a time. First we had to show DJ how the tub fills with water. Then we had to put him in the tub, and then rinse his hair. Getting water in his face initiated meltdown mode again, so we had to be more careful the next few times.
Steve had installed a removable showerhead (with hose, of course), and DJ wanted NO parts of that, whatsoever. He was very concerned about it. One time, I asked him if I could turn on the shower. He said, "No! No! No! Shower off!" Ok then, shower off. And he repeated "shower off!" multiple times, proving to me just how flipped out he was about it. The showerhead has been installed for months now, and we hadn't used it, except to wash the dogs (so much easier!).
Last night, I had taken Elektra into the bathroom to give her a bath, and DJ said, "See Baby!" Steve brought him in just in time to see me use the showerhead on Elektra. DJ watched everything I did, and eventually said, "DJ turn?" Yessir, your wish is our command! I quickly got Elektra out of the tub so that Steve could take advantage of this opportunity.
Not only did DJ not fuss about the tub, he let Steve use the showerhead on him. Way to go DJ!
Elektra wants DJ's toy.
DJ was playing with a plastic toy screwdriver. "DJ fix car" and would take the screwdriver to the toy car that he wanted to "fix". He was very diligent, and "fixed" nearly every car in his arsenal.
However, Elektra wanted that screwdriver, too. I don't know if she wanted it because he had it or because she had chewed on it before and knew that it felt good on her gums. Either way, she wanted it, and actively went after it. She would crawl to wherever DJ was, reach for the screwdriver and if she could get a hand on it, take it from him.
In most cases, DJ was so stunned that she took it, that he would simply look at me and say, "DJ tool?" There were a few times when he would gently take it back from here, saying, "No no Ta-ta!", but he usually didn't know what to do about that.
After a few incidents of this, I sat down on the floor with both of them, and although Elektra doesn't know how to share, DJ is learning, so I figured I'd use this as a teaching opportunity. I would take the toy back from Elektra to give it to DJ. The first few times, there was no problem. But there were other times, like when it was getting near lunchtime (so I'm guessing Elektra was hungry and not as even keeled as usual) that Elektra would fuss that I'd taken it from her or that she couldn't reach it to get it from DJ. The first fuss of "I want that!" over one of DJ's toys... and it will certainly not be the last!
DJ vs. the showerhead
A couple of months ago, we had a weekend's worth of incidents where DJ melted down when it came to bath time. This was so odd because he loves baths!! But we can't ignore the phase he's in, so deal with it we do. We've worked through most of those issues, but we had to take it one step at a time. First we had to show DJ how the tub fills with water. Then we had to put him in the tub, and then rinse his hair. Getting water in his face initiated meltdown mode again, so we had to be more careful the next few times.
Steve had installed a removable showerhead (with hose, of course), and DJ wanted NO parts of that, whatsoever. He was very concerned about it. One time, I asked him if I could turn on the shower. He said, "No! No! No! Shower off!" Ok then, shower off. And he repeated "shower off!" multiple times, proving to me just how flipped out he was about it. The showerhead has been installed for months now, and we hadn't used it, except to wash the dogs (so much easier!).
Last night, I had taken Elektra into the bathroom to give her a bath, and DJ said, "See Baby!" Steve brought him in just in time to see me use the showerhead on Elektra. DJ watched everything I did, and eventually said, "DJ turn?" Yessir, your wish is our command! I quickly got Elektra out of the tub so that Steve could take advantage of this opportunity.
Not only did DJ not fuss about the tub, he let Steve use the showerhead on him. Way to go DJ!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Personal Blog
Welp, I've decided to dedicate this blogsite to the kids and general family stuff. When I decide to post stuff for me, whether as an update to my personal well being, a rant, or a need to be creative, I will be posting it to verve94.blogspot.com. I haven't deleted the posts from this site that I will copy to the new site just yet - tomorrow's task. But posts like refereeing and my braces and things I've already posted here will move there. I'll also post a link to this site to my personal blog and vice versa.
The Toddler Bed
Thanks to the generosity of friends of ours we met through autocrossing (and our willingness to help them empty their basement - ha ha), we have acquired a toddler bed in the shape of a VW bug, with sunroof!. The link I've posted is to a review site that has a picture because the bed is no longer sold by Step 2, so I can't get an original picture. To gauge its size, the best thing I can tell you is that it's designed to fit a crib mattress.
It's been in DJ's room since early March, and DJ has been very interested in it. "DJ car?" He likes to sit in it to read books and climbs in and out of it regularly. But since we only have one mattress, he can't lay down in it without our taking the mattress out of his crib.
However, we've noticed that DJ has been thinking about climbing out of his crib, though he hasn't done it yet. Thus, we decided to try having DJ nap in it on Saturday.
First, we re-toddler-proofed his room. Second, we let him play in his room and get used to being able to lay down in the car, stick his head out the "sunroof" which led to an incident of bumping his chin on the sunroof while "jumping on the bed, and generally crawl around and get the novelty of it out. Then we made sure he was tired. At that point, I took him into his room, laid him down on the bed, gave him his blanket, Binky, Tiger, and a book. I laid down on the floor next to him, and hoped he'd follow my lead.
Yeah, no. Who was I kidding?
After 10 minutes of DJ trying to play hide and seek with me, I had to lay down on him, for all intents and purposes. He was laying on his belly, so I put my arms across the backs of his thighs and my head on his back. He settled down, and soon enough, he was asleep. He had a really good nap - 3 hours!
That night, we tried putting him to sleep in the toddler bed again. After reading books with Daddy, he laid down in the bed, blanket over him, with Tiger, a book, and Binky. As we shut the door, he was still laying there. We turned to each other, and crossed our fingers...
It wasn't 5 minutes later that we heard, "Daddy? Nat-na?" (Daddy open?) just inside his door. Yeah, it would figure. Upon investigation, Daddy found that DJ had not only gotten out of the bed, but had also tossed Binky into the storage box on his dresser, and was ready to play. So we let him come back into the living room to play for 5 minutes with Yiayia and Papou (they had come over for dinner) while we switched the crib and the toddler bed, say ni-ta-ta again to everyone again, and we put him in his crib. From what we can tell, he fell right to sleep.
Although his nap on Saturday proved that he could sleep in the toddler bed without falling out, we're thinking he still likes the security of his crib. And that buys us more time with him in the crib. Everyone who has had kids has told us to keep them in the crib as long as possible, and the experience on Saturday proved how sage that advice is!!!
It's been in DJ's room since early March, and DJ has been very interested in it. "DJ car?" He likes to sit in it to read books and climbs in and out of it regularly. But since we only have one mattress, he can't lay down in it without our taking the mattress out of his crib.
However, we've noticed that DJ has been thinking about climbing out of his crib, though he hasn't done it yet. Thus, we decided to try having DJ nap in it on Saturday.
First, we re-toddler-proofed his room. Second, we let him play in his room and get used to being able to lay down in the car, stick his head out the "sunroof" which led to an incident of bumping his chin on the sunroof while "jumping on the bed, and generally crawl around and get the novelty of it out. Then we made sure he was tired. At that point, I took him into his room, laid him down on the bed, gave him his blanket, Binky, Tiger, and a book. I laid down on the floor next to him, and hoped he'd follow my lead.
Yeah, no. Who was I kidding?
After 10 minutes of DJ trying to play hide and seek with me, I had to lay down on him, for all intents and purposes. He was laying on his belly, so I put my arms across the backs of his thighs and my head on his back. He settled down, and soon enough, he was asleep. He had a really good nap - 3 hours!
That night, we tried putting him to sleep in the toddler bed again. After reading books with Daddy, he laid down in the bed, blanket over him, with Tiger, a book, and Binky. As we shut the door, he was still laying there. We turned to each other, and crossed our fingers...
It wasn't 5 minutes later that we heard, "Daddy? Nat-na?" (Daddy open?) just inside his door. Yeah, it would figure. Upon investigation, Daddy found that DJ had not only gotten out of the bed, but had also tossed Binky into the storage box on his dresser, and was ready to play. So we let him come back into the living room to play for 5 minutes with Yiayia and Papou (they had come over for dinner) while we switched the crib and the toddler bed, say ni-ta-ta again to everyone again, and we put him in his crib. From what we can tell, he fell right to sleep.
Although his nap on Saturday proved that he could sleep in the toddler bed without falling out, we're thinking he still likes the security of his crib. And that buys us more time with him in the crib. Everyone who has had kids has told us to keep them in the crib as long as possible, and the experience on Saturday proved how sage that advice is!!!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
A Fuss with syllables
As I was getting ready to leave daycare with the kids, Elektra started to fuss. I had already strapped her in the carseat and usually she calms down in it once she's moving. Today, she wanted no parts of it. As she started to wail she also started to say "ba ba ba" DURING the fussy wail. It sounded more like "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ba ba AAAAAAAAAAHHHH" It was hilarious!
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Rough Day for DJ
Yesterday was not DJ's best day.
First, he scraped his knee on the sidewalk because he let go of Eleanor's hand. The scrape is barely visible but to a toddler, any fall of any kind = wailing.
Then he was on the glider swing, and he let go. Well, imagine his surprise when he went flying into the bushes! At first, he didn't even cry. I think he was so surprised he didn't know what to do. Then he started to HOWL, and understandably so. He has some nice scratches down the side of his face from the bushes. To his credit, he stopped crying fairly quickly, and got back on the glider! Hopefully he learned that letting go is BAD!
Finally, last night, DJ managed to bump his eyebrow into the corner of the couch and now he has a little red spot there, too. Naturally, he wanted no part of the ice pack, so we're figuring he'll get a black eye eventually.
DJ, you need to stop leading with your head!!
First, he scraped his knee on the sidewalk because he let go of Eleanor's hand. The scrape is barely visible but to a toddler, any fall of any kind = wailing.
Then he was on the glider swing, and he let go. Well, imagine his surprise when he went flying into the bushes! At first, he didn't even cry. I think he was so surprised he didn't know what to do. Then he started to HOWL, and understandably so. He has some nice scratches down the side of his face from the bushes. To his credit, he stopped crying fairly quickly, and got back on the glider! Hopefully he learned that letting go is BAD!
Finally, last night, DJ managed to bump his eyebrow into the corner of the couch and now he has a little red spot there, too. Naturally, he wanted no part of the ice pack, so we're figuring he'll get a black eye eventually.
DJ, you need to stop leading with your head!!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Teething
Both kids are teething; there is no question that's what's going on for them right now. DJ has his fingers stuck in his mouth all the time, and Elektra is drooling like an open faucet.
I got enough cooperation from DJ that he let me feel in his mouth for those 2 year molars that have been taking forever to break through the gumline. I can confirm that all 4 have at least broken a point (or more) through, so DJ will be done soon enough!
Elektra, on the other hand, has no hard spots where teeth might be coming. She's gnawing on everyone and everything she can, no matter what the body part or item. If she can slime it, she will!!
Both kids got teething colds, too. They had mild (low 99s) fevers, and both have runny noses and coughs.
YET, despite their misery, both kids are playing hard and are relatively happy. We are so fortunate!
I got enough cooperation from DJ that he let me feel in his mouth for those 2 year molars that have been taking forever to break through the gumline. I can confirm that all 4 have at least broken a point (or more) through, so DJ will be done soon enough!
Elektra, on the other hand, has no hard spots where teeth might be coming. She's gnawing on everyone and everything she can, no matter what the body part or item. If she can slime it, she will!!
Both kids got teething colds, too. They had mild (low 99s) fevers, and both have runny noses and coughs.
YET, despite their misery, both kids are playing hard and are relatively happy. We are so fortunate!
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