The Girls - August 2013

Harlie:

 

This was a big month for our big girl!!! A lot of firsts for her. She started the month out with her first time roller skating at cousin Mazzy’s 7^th birthday party! She had a great time and wanted to go FAST FAST FAST all the time. Even poor Maxie got run over by Auntie Erin as Harlie tried to race around the rink. *Note to self: Let go of Harlie’s hand next time* All the 2008 babies are getting so big it’s such fun to watch them run around in a pack doing all the big things now.

The day after the party was Harlie’s first trip to the dentist. I was so nervous about how her experience would go since she’s been afraid about getting her teeth drilled and not wanting it to hurt, but we assured her that she’d just be getting her teeth cleaned and counted, and so luckily there wasn’t any kicking and screaming to get her there. She was shy at first around the hygienist, Sue (a good friend of the Uncle Josh and Auntie Keri), but after some treats and jokes, she came around and was happily cheesing for the camera and handled the x-rays like a pro. We’re happy to report NO cavities and Sue and the dentist said her teeth look great! As we left, Harlie asked when we could come again! Yay!

Bathtime has turned officially changed to showertime for Harlie. We got her a hot pink loofah (ok I think technically it’s called a mesh sponge, but we all say loofah, right?) and Scott taught her how to set the water to the right temperature and wash her hair and body and she takes it all very seriously. Yesterday she was calling for me with concern in her voice and I was a little worried she had slipped, but when I got there she pleaded with me to help her close the shower curtain all the way (the rings stick to the rod sometimes), so she didn’t let the water out! J I can’t tell you how awesome it is to just send her off to take a shower and have her do it all herself!

Harlie has become increasingly interested in drawing and painting lately and creating little picture books. Just recently her drawings have started to become much more detailed and it’s fun to see her imagination come to life. She also enjoys completing her “homework” pages from a kindergarten prep workbook I bought her, which is encouraging. Lucky for us, she idolizes her big cousin Mazzy so if Harlie can do homework (or anything for that matter) like Mazzy does, she’s all over it! It’s hard to believe she’ll be starting school next year.

Ashlynne: 

Oh my sweet baby girl. She is getting so big and active. While she isn’t sitting up on her own yet, she loves to roll and roll all over the place. You can’t turn your head for a second before she’s rolled herself across the room and is chewing on the blinds or has her legs stuck under the couch. I think she may be close to sitting up, since she'll sometimes teeter for a couple seconds before eventually toppling over. I can't wait for that, because then maybe she'll stay put for a few minutes at a time. :-)

Knock on wood I think we may be lucky enough to have another little foodie on our hands. Ashlynne is enjoying solids and really loves bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes and carrots.  She's not a big fan of avocados right now though, and I'm hoping it doesn't stick like with her brother! But she's continuing to grow at a steady pace. I just took her for her 7 mo. well baby appointment and she weighed in at 16.6 pounds (37th percentile) and is 26 inches (34th percentile)long. Since birth she's gained almost 10 pounds and grown 6 inches! I'm thrilled because her height and weight are still proportionate but her percentiles have increased about 10%, since her 5 mo appointment.

Ashlynne's sleep patterns remain about the same....waking usually at least once a night, but sometimes she'll surprise and sleep all the way through. Solids seem to be definitely helping, but we will probably need to start sleep training before it becomes a consistent thing. It's not ideal to do that right now with everyone's close sleeping quarters and besides, my heart's not in it anyway, but from experience, I know that's most likely the path we need to take when we're ready.

Little sissy continues to be a really happy and sweet baby, showing us her snow angel-jumping jack moves whenever she's happy to see us and flashing that million dollar smile of hers. She loves to talk and squawk and scream when she's excited. She can hold on to our arms now when being carried and gives the best hugs and open mouth kisses.

We're seven months in and  smack dab in the middle of magic baby bliss-land! I feel so lucky.