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.

The Girls - July 2013

Harlie insisted on wearing her new princess jammies for this month's photo. I conceded because if anything is representative of who Harlie is right now, it's her wear-by-day-and-night princess jammies.

Harlie: Guess who's napping at daycare FINALLY!!! Woot Woot, this makes Scott and I so excited! Our evenings have been pretty delightful with a well rested Harlikins and it means we get to spend more time with her in the evenings which we all benefit from. Harlie has always been a great sleeper, but it's just not quite time to stop naps yet. She needs 'em.

Even though Harlie quit going to dance class last month, she's still a dancing queen, shakin' her stuff to Just Dance Kids on the Wii or teaching her sissy to "Dance! Now Freeze!" The profound impact that siblings can have on each other is so interesting. The fact that Ashlynne is already mimicking her sister is so cool as well as a little terrifying! ha!

Another passion of Harlie's has just emerged this month. We have on our hands a little wildlife enthusiast/explorer. :-) Come to find out, Harlie loves to watch survivalist shows and is obsessed with everything Shark! on Netflix. So yeah, not much My Little Pony this month. :-) Just this evening before bed she requested "the scariest one (shark show) Daddy."  She definitely doesn't get that from her sissy mama.

Some other relatively new things about Harlie:  Everything is "Awesome!"-- she only wants to wear seamless socks, if she wears them at all but usually she just wants to wear the same (sweaty, smelly) brown mary jane shoes to daycare everyday no matter what her outfit-- and she loves to randomly bust out singing "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" by Poison. The last time she did it, she and I were in Target. :-)


Ashlynne:
This has been a big month for little Ash. At the beginning of July, she started sitting up at the baby table at daycare and we got her a Bumbo for home. At first she would slouch over most of the time, but now she’s able to sit up in it with no problem. I think in the next couple of weeks she may be able to sit up unassisted. Her back is getting stronger everyday! At dinnertime, she’ll sit in her Bumbo on the table with us and tries to play skee ball with her toys as she launches them towards our plates. J
When she’s not causing a ruckus at the table, she’s actually eating with us now! Ash started solids on the 28th, just one day shy of her half birthday! We decided to have a picnic at the park across the street and thought it would be fun to let Ashlynne get her first bite there. She liked it, but was definitely a little skeptical about the mush on her tongue. It takes her a while to get it down, so we make it pretty thin for her. I think she likes being included though at dinnertime! I’m getting impatient because I want her to try ALL THE THINGS! . But for now we’re waiting several days between new foods, which is probably best anyway until she starts gaining confidence and gobbling it all down.
Ashlynne’s sleep schedule is RIDICULOUS right now. Swizzles goes down around 7:30, might wake up an hour or two later, and then definitely is up 3 more times (about every 2 hours) after that. Growth Spurt? Boredom? Separation Anxiety? Reflux? Gas? Got me!!!!!! J We recently switched back to the swaddle from first a sleepsack and then only her sleeper and it does seem to be helping her sleep longer the first stretch, and she’ll sleep about 4 hours before her first wake-up. Knock on wood, this becomes the trend. It is hard for me, especially since I should be pumping at 2:00am, and so most of the time she wakes and wants to eat, or she’s eaten an hour before and I don’t have much to pump! One thing that has been helping me save milk is nursing her at daycare when I drop her off. She consistently wakes up for the day around 5:30!, so the timing works out that I can feed her at drop off which often leaves me with an unused bottle of milk to take home. They are probably so sick of me at daycare because the last few days I’ve been feeding her 3 times a day there. At drop off, at lunch and at pick up. It’s SO much easier to feed her after work there, instead of at home, because there is a quiet corner I can sit with her in and then when we get home she’s not fussing and hungry while I unpack all of her stuff! Anyway, it’s working for us, so I’m going with it! J
I’d like to say Ashlynne is great at tummy time now and she would be if she wasn’t rolling onto her back all the time! Our little roly poly prefers to play on her side or back and has started rolling off her playmat, or getting blocked by the bendy poles that the toys hang from. It’s probably time to take those poles off, but since she likes to end up on her back anyway, they still give her something to look at and play with. Dilemma! J It’s so fun seeing her become much more active. She loves to kick her feet with the music, play the dancy freeze game with Harlie and dance with Daddy. Ah, it’s the best ever. She has also started doing this growl when she’s excited and it’s so cute. I wish I could get it on video but she never wants to perform when I have the camera ready.
This little girl puts a big smile on all of our faces. It’s amazing to see how much she has changed in six months. Time is flying way too fast for me.

The Girls - June 2013

 

Ashlynne: Oh my goodness, the 5th month with little sissy has been so much fun. She is so much fun to be around, you can't help but smile whenever she's near. Mostly because she's so full of smiles now. She'll notice us from across the room and smile, smile when Harlie comes over to say hi, and get distracted while nursing because she hears our voices. She'll unlatch, look up at me or over at whoever is talking and give a big old grin. Love it!  Changing diapers in one of my favorite things to do nowadays, because girlfriend loves the changing table. She loves the interaction with us and thinks it's playtime which it often turns into. Oh and the feet!!! She has recently discovered her feet and her not so little rump comes up as she grabs her feet and often pulls them to her mouth and it's just the cutest thing ever. EVER!  She loves to suck on everything, her toes included!

Our little baby is not so little anymore! Ashlynne had her 5 mo. well baby appt. and weighed in at 14 lbs, 1 oz. (25%) and 24.5 inches long (27%). This is a big jump from her weight at 3 mos. She's gained 4 lbs and 2.5 inches and I think most of it can be attributed to her pretty strict feeding schedule at daycare, her midnight feedings, and comfort nursing habits. I'll take the chub all day long though! she's even starting to get a little double chin! :-) Yesterday I packed up all of her 3 mos clothing...I just can't believe how fast time is flying. I feel like I blink and she grows an inch. Not fair!

Speaking of sleeping habits, Ashlynne is still waking 1-2 times per night but can be rocked back to sleep 50% of the time. She now goes down at home in a sleepsack but is swaddled at daycare which helps her nap longer.  She is a terrible crib napper and often ends up in the swing. These days at home it's so hard to put her down for a nap in her crib, she almost always wakes up the second we put her down. I have a suspicion she's starting to develop some separation anxiety which may be a contributing factor and I'll be interested to see how I report on that next month.

At the doc appt, Ashlynne received four shots and although she initially recovered quickly from the pokes, she was feverish and cranky for almost 48 hours afterwards. Note to self: do not schedule shots right before a holiday! Dr. Wang also said that her neck looked great and tested her range of motion. This was very encouraging. She's getting so much stronger on her belly and pushing herself up higher on her elbows.

In a couple more weeks we can start giving her cereal and boy is she ready. She is mesmerized by food, watching intently as it goes from our plates to our mouths. It actually makes us feel bad to eat in front of her, because you just know she wants what you have, She's so curious! I am hoping that a pre- bedtime snack might help her sleep through the night too but we will see.

And last but not least, I am very sad to say that Ashlynne got her first sunburn while in Tahoe last week. We had a great time and she was an absolute angel the whole time, but we underestimated the strength of the sun and patchy tree cover, which left her little face red and swollen for the last 2 days of trip. I think it hurt my heart more than it hurt her, which is a blessing...lesson learned for sure! Lucky for me her hair had just started to fall out at 4 1/2 weeks, so her scalp didn't get too red, but it wasn't fun sending her daycare with peeling cheeks. :-(

Harlie: Feisty, defiant and impatient would best sum up this last month with Harlie. She has really been enjoying her summer, but seems to be asserting her independence and fighting for control more than ever. Not sure how much of this is her four-ness and how much of it has to do with adjusting to the new daycare and sharing attention with Ashlynne. She still seems to enjoy her days at preschool and for the most part behaves while she is there, so I'm counting my blessings. We're trying to help her find a balance between following the rules and showing respect while being able to make some of her own choices. Mom's a control freak too, so it's been a struggle to say the least.

This is one of the reasons that she's taking a break from dance class right now. Hopefully, in a couple  months she'll be ready for it again. I do love to watch her get her groove on!

Some things she loved this month were: painting, singing the same verse from 22 by Taylor Swift and Call me Maybe by Carly Ray Jepsen over and over and over again (I think this is influenced by some top 40 exposure at daycare), wearing skirts, wearing shirts as skirts, decorating every room in the house with random toys, crepe paper and precious treasures (i.e. garbage - wrappers, weeds, dead flowers :-) ), wearing Mama's jewlery, and making Ashlynne smile.

Father's Day

I had plans to do a survey with Harlie, but daycare beat me to the punch. I think these are so cute!

The Girls - May 2013

Ashlynne: Strength development has been a little slow moving. I think the torticollis provides some obstacles but regardless, everyday Ash gets stronger and will play on her tummy a little bit longer.  At about 3 1/2 months we had a setback with her neck. Two weeks before, you could hardly tell that she favored her right side at all, and so I think we dropped the ball and got a little lax on her exercises. It was frustrating because she was about to start daycare where there was no way to make sure they took care with her positioning etc. It's doing much better now, but we continue to work with her and encourage her to use those muscles. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess.

Speaking of development, Ashlynne's sleep schedule has gone completely haywire -- I clearly didn't knock on enough wood since last month. Our once sleep-through-the-night-baby woke up 3 times before morning last night. This new trend started a couple weeks ago when I found her chatting and smiling one morning while on her belly in her Woombie. After smiling back at her I quickly sighed "Oh no". I knew the end of the Woombie magic had come....and way too soon! It is impossible for her to get her arms out of that thing so if she needed to push her self up from the mattress and her hands were down by her side, it could be bad news.  Since then she's been in a swaddle that helps her fall into a deep sleep, but she often has broken out of it a few hours later.  I don't know if it is a milestone (rolling), growing (chub a wub eats constantly), no more Woombie or a combination of all three that has contributed to the craptastic sleep schedule, but it's no bueno, man. She is usually up no less than twice in the night now. I think we'll be trying out the sleep sack soon and just maybe she'll find her way to her side or tummy because it's more comfortable and we'll all sleep a little bit better. Fingers crossed!

Some fun developments happened this month though that make all the sleep deprivation worth it. Ashlynne laughs now which is the cutest thing ever in the history of the world, no universe!  Especially the spontaneous laughs, where she'll just be chillin' and then burst into laughter at who knows what. That's the best! And when we can make her laugh, boy is that immensely gratifying.  I don't know if there is a greater reward than a baby laugh. Love love love.

She reaches for and holds toys now! Which is especially helpful when I leave her at daycare, so that I can set her down and distract her with a toy, instead of just watching her watch me walk out the door.  At home it's been fun watching her get to now her toys too. Her faves are Mr. Moosey and the monkey that hangs from her play gym. She loves to chew and suck on everything so it's about time to get her some teethers and other gnaw-friendly trinkets.

As I mentioned, Ash started daycare at 16 weeks old.  It's going well and her teachers seem to really care about her. She's also sleeping well there now, although half of the time it's in a swing. As long as she's sleeping I'm happy---just mind her neck please! Blessed with a cold after her first week there, I'm just glad she started daycare in May and not in the fall or winter.  I'm hoping she stays relatively healthy during the summer months, but we'll just have to see...it's a spit swap fest for sure. Keeping up with her bottle demand has been a challenge. I'm just keeping up with the amount of milk she drinks, but creating a frozen stash has been difficult. I just hope we can make it to six months and then once she's on solids I should be able to save up a lot more for the freezer. I've been able to visit on my lunch hour everyday which is the best thing ever. I wonder how long I will be able to do that before she starts crying when I leave. I love it so much, I hope that day doesn't come soon.

Ashlynne has really filled out this month. I think she's in the middle of a growth spurt and her cheeks and thighs have really plumped up, and she's just the squeeziest! I can wait to see how much she weighs next month, I think she's growing at a faster pace than Harlie did at this age which in interesting. Soon she'll be out of her 0-3 month clothes.

Harlie: Currently obsessed with Jake and the Neverland Pirates (also a fave of cousin Max), I'm wondering if there is a Peter Pan trend happening. Last month it was Tinkerbell, now it's Jake. :-) Although she still loves mermaids and princesses too. Gosh I can't wait to to take her to Disneyland. CANNOT WAIT!!!

Harlie is doing well at daycare. Some mornings she is sad to see daddy go but recovers quickly and enjoys playing with her new buddies. Jennifer says she is well behaved  and although she is not regularly napping, she'll stay quiet. It's difficult for me not knowing all about her day. She doesn't come home with a daily report like she did at Jessica's. The control freak in me still wants to know every single thing she eats and what activities she's done that day, but I supposed this is only preparing me for when school starts, and the loss of control that comes with that.

I've been especially nostalgic with Harlie these days. I miss her littleness and have been giving her more squeezes, breathing in sweat and sunscreen while telling her I love her and hoping to hear back "I love you too, Mama."

News alert: Harlie likes chicken again! Scott bbq'd some chicken thighs last night and Harlie just raved about how it was SO good! She had two pieces even. She's a funny one...keeps us on our toes. She is  hungry all the time as well (even daycare made a comment about how much she eats) and always wants MORE FOOD! Guess she must be going through a growth spurt too. In fact we're all ravenous in my house these days....this isn't so good for my grocery budget. :-)

Harlie started a new dance class with her pal Elinor. I like this one better because the parents can actually sit in class and watch instead of peer through the window. She has a recital next month which should be hilarious to watch. Gosh they are just so cute at this age...when having fun is the most important thing above everything else, like technique! :-)

What a week!

It's day one of my four day weekend and boy do I need it. Both girls started daycare this week....and luckily Harlie loves her new place, which makes me so happy and relieved. Scott drops her off and picks her up each day and says he's really pleased with the environment there. Oh, thank God. Ashlynne's first day at Baby Club Med (thanks Jessica for the analogy) was Monday and after 4 weeks at home with Scott, I was nervous about being prepared, but grateful I wouldn't be starting back to work the same day. I had become accustomed to being away from her  for 4 hours at a time, so now I just had to handle handing her off to PERFECT STRANGERS. But wouldn't you know as I fumbled my way around the infant room I totally started to lose it. I felt anxious as I put her milk away and stuffed her bibs and crib sheets into her cubby, cutely decorated with a big strawberry and "Ashlynne" written in Sharpie.  And then, as I bent down to take Ashlynne out of her carseat, my eyes filled with tears. Big juicy ones that I couldn't keep in by tilting my head back and taking a deep breath. I pulled Ashlynne out and hugged her tight, burying my face in her hair and then the ugly cry hit. Oh freakin' no! I was so embarrassed and sad and wanted to run back home with her. Luckily one of the girls was very sweet and reassured me that she knows it's hard and that they feel like crying for us when parents have to leave them for the first time (I can't imagine this is true but it did make me feel better). The best part of that day and every day since has been making my visit during lunch time-- to nurse and cuddle Ashlynne and witness a small piece of what it's like for her while I'm a work just around the corner.

Luckily her sleep improved as the week went on...

Each subsequent day has brought challenges, one of them being on day two when I sent 3 bottles of milk and was told at lunch time that they wouldn't be enough to last the day. Ashlynne hadn't been napping well and had been acting hungry so down the hatch all that hard earned liquid gold went. Not a great time for a growth spurt Ash. For real. This stuh-ressed me out so much that I had my mom pick Ash up early from daycare and had to come up with a strategy to boost my supply stat. Adding nightly pump sessions was obvious, and then dear Melanie gave me a ton of advice that I'll be using as well. Which leads me to today and the nursing vacation Mel suggested. Aside from helping Scott take the Toyota into the car shop, Ashlynne and I stayed in bed all day long...eating, playing, eating, eating, sleeping, and eating.

 Harlie joined us for a couple hours to watch Brave and snuggle. Then she and Scott spent the afternoon together having lunch and experiencing Glow Bounce at Bounce U. She had a great time and I was so glad they were able to have some quality time together, which can be hard to come by these days. Life is CHAAAAAOS lately. This video of the two of them makes my heart smile.


Glow Bounce - Scott and Harlie from Erin Wilson on Vimeo.

The Girls - April 2013

Harlie: We have a little ballerina in our house now! Harlie started attending pre-ballet class with her little buddies, Elinor and Emelia and is loving it. Now she sashays all around and asks us to play ballet music on Pandora. Nana bought H a new ballerina skirt and has been able to take her to ballet a couple times which is a special treat.

A growing affection for Tinkerbell and all things fairies has developed. She loves to put her wings on, play with Tink in the tub and search for fairies at the park. Today is her lucky day because we are going with Keri and Maz to a Fairy Hunt at McKinley Park this afternoon and she's so very excited!

The warm weather is making us itch to get outside and darnit I want a pool! At Cole's 5th birthday party last weekend, Harlie swam all around the pool with Cole's water wings on. It was the first time she felt comfortable being in the pool on her own when she couldn't touch the bottom with her toes. She'd jump in on her own and duck under for just a second without caring and it was a joy to watch. She's getting so big and I'm grateful for her adventurous little spirit...I hope it sticks with her.

Big news around her is also a new twin bed for Harlie's room that we picked up second hand from my old high school friend, Suzanne. Facebook wins again! Harlie loves her big comfy bed and was able to pass on her crib to Ashlynne.  What a trip to see a baby in her crib again.

Ashlynne:  We haven't had any problems with the transition from the pack n play to the crib which I'm so grateful for.  What is funny is that most mornings, Ash will end up with her head on the opposite side of the crib. She wiggles in her sleep and completes a 180 turn every night! Funny stuff.  She's still a champion sleeper, going 10 hour stretches most of the time. This is awesome with me being back to work... but I'm knocking on all kinds of wood, because I know it can change at any moment!

Teeth may be coming faster than they did with Harlie because Ashlynne is a drooling machine and has her little knuckles in her mouth all the time!  I don't see any little buds yet, so who knows...but she is definitely my hungry little hippo so I wouldn't be surprised. I'm back to work now and so far, pumping has been going well. I like to come home for lunch most afternoons to get a snuggle and a feed in which allows me to pump just 2-3 times a day.

Ashlynne had her 3 month well baby appt and is still growing slow and steady. Weighing 10 lbs, 2 oz, she's in the 3rd percentile for weight and the 6th percentile for height at 22 inches long.  Her torticollis is doing so much better and the doctor was happy with her improvement. She's doing great at tummy time and can keep her head straight on her own so much better now. This is a huge relief. she shouldn't need any extra intervention while at daycare and we will keep up her exercises in the mornings and evenings once we are both back to work.  Ashylynne also had her shots (FIVE! OUCH!) and slept a lot battling a little fever for about 24 hours. All is well now and she's back to her smiley sweet self.

Smiles ABOUND and we're loving it. Influenced by her big sis, Ashlynne lights up with smiles when Scott sings Firework to her and will even sing along. She loves to mimic the "Ah Ah Ah" parts of the song and it is the cutest. She's actually really interested in mimicking sounds and sticking her tongue out when Mama and Daddy do.  It's super fun for us because the connection just keeps growing and it's awesome.  Gah, babies!

I packed up all of Ashlynne's newborn clothes the other day. She still swims in some of her 0-3 mo clothes, but others fit just right and since I needed the room in her drawers for more warm weather clothes, I had to pack up the itty bitties. I swear the last 3 months have flown by now that I'm not still in the thick of newborn anxiety. It's bitter sweet for sure, but luckily more sweet than bitter.

Just look at how much she's grown:

Tears

I have a vivid memory of one of the last times Harlie fell asleep on my chest. I was sitting on my bed most likely watching Bravo DVR'd while I nursed her. When she had finished I laid her on my shoulder and she fell asleep. As I felt her sweet warm breath on my neck I told myself not to forget that moment, for it might be the last. For several minutes I just closed my eyes and kissed her head breathing in that intoxicating new baby smell, wanting to stop time.

Today, as I sit with the heft of my precious Ashlynne on my chest, the first tears since being back to work are rolling down my face. Lazy mornings like this will be few and far between now, and Ash is growing so fast that I fear moments like this will be fading fast too.

 A few minutes ago, I took a picture and sent this text to Scott (afraid that my voice would wake her up):

"I have so much to do but I don't want to get up. I keep thinking it could be the last time she sleeps on me like this.😥"

He looked up at me with a pout then said , "It's ok, we have all day..."

So yeah, I guess I'm not moving. Packing up those newborn clothes can definitely wait.

Just the way it goes...

Sweet Ashlynne,

It is terribly unfair that I have to go back to work in eleven days when we've just gotten to know each other. I can finally tell when you are tired, pissed off, or need a change of scenery. I know what things might keep you occupied for just 10 more minutes while I make Harlie her lunch, how to coax you into letting your stubborn eye lids give into sleep, where to tickle to get the biggest smiles and what songs will distract you while "we" do your exercises. 

Daddy gets to take over soon and while I wish I could be home too, I'm so happy he gets to have this time with you. I know it won't be easy, life has been pretty hectic these days....but just like all big changes, when journeyed through together, the bond grows stronger.  You are going to love being home with him. He's way more fun than I am. And he loves you something fierce.

Wish me luck Butter Cup. I miss you already.

Mama

The Girls - March 2013

 

Harlie: Picky McPickertons! Someone's tastebuds must be changing and Mama's not happy.  My eat anything try anything gal has been refusing certain food lately. Some of which used to be her favorite as a babe (sniff sniff).  She no longer wants to eat tomatoes, blueberries, frozen strawberries - "Warm please!" (fresh), strawberry yogurt, bananas (this one has been on the outs for awhile now) and chicken on the bone (Austin predicts she will become vegetarian).  However, she will go to town on some marshmallow chicks or pee pees as she calls them. "The Easter Bunny gave me chocolate PEE PEES!" :-)

This reminds me of some other words she mispronounces which make Scott and I smile like wisgusting, blueblerries and adocado.

Some of Harlie's favorite things this month are Austin's track meets, Star Wars, My Little Pony, taking care of her babies, eating ALL THE CANDY, picking out her own ensemble (and mom's too tired to care how eclectic it is) and refusing to do most things that are asked of her. She has her own agenda and wants to do it all her way.  Ballet starts on Friday and explaining to her that there are certain dress requirements has been a challenge.  She would gladly go dressed as a disco ball if allowed. But I guess honestly I would too if I was four.

 Ashlynne: Last week I took Ash to see Dr. Wang, and aside from learning that she now weighs a hefty 8 1/2 pounds (3.6 percentile -just like sissy at that age), we also confirmed that she has a condition called Torticollis ("twisted neck"). She's most likely had it since birth from being stuck in the same position in-utero. Basically it means that the muscles on the right side of her neck are shortened and so she tilts her head towards her right shoulder most of the time. Dr. Wang said that it will go away as long as we work to correct it. This means stretching and strengthening exercises 4-5 times a day, lots of tummy time and constant re-positioning.  We'll have her re-assessed at her well baby appointment. If she hasn't made progress, we'll have to start physical therapy.

In happier news, she is smiling a lot and is becoming more talkative with squeals and coos.  Her awake and alert periods are getting longer and longer and will tolerate playtime much more now. However her favorite activity is still nursing and she is a serious sleep fighter. She doesn't go down without a fight!  Last week this made bed time a big challenge. SO tired but she just doesn't want to give in to it.

However, best news of all is that once she's down, anywhere between 8:30 (yay) and 10:00 (boo), she now sleeps through the night until 6:30am!  It's pretty awesome. I really should be getting up to pump around 2:00am, but I have been enjoying my sleep!  

Ashlynne has really been enjoying bathtime and since she has some cradle cap we have been treating that with olive oil during each bath. It's working well and will hopefully keep it at bay.

Ashlynne's first Easter was yesterday and we all had a lot of fun eating and hunting and eating and eating!