15 Months Old posted late

Stella,

Another month has passed and you're another month older. I can't believe what a big girl you are now. You're a little better at listening this month than last, but are still a little wild woman. You are following simple directions more consistently and respond better when we tell you "no". You're repeating a lot but so much is jibber jabber that it's hard to decipher the real words in there. I need to get a video of your "talking" because it's so cute and nearly constant. You have a LOT to say! Your sleeping hasn't improved a ton this month although you had ONE night where you slept all night long and I even had to wake you to nurse before I had to leave that morning. You generally are up once a night, but some nights are worse than others. I was convinced you were cutting your canines on the top earlier this month and then they went away and your crankiness improved, without any new teeth. My new thing is worrying about your bottom tooth. You have 3/4 of your bottom teeth and I recently learned your Aunt Charlotte also doesn't have that tooth. So now I'll worry until it appears...or not. You are going through a huge mama phase and cry a lot of the times I pass you off to others, even Daddy. I had to stop dropping you in the childcare area at the YMCA because they would come get me since you were crying so much. It's a bummer, but I'm hoping a little time will solve that problem and we can try again. Your eating is hit or miss and you still love meat. You love dairy although it definitely makes your reflux worse. With your cold we actually had to increase your reflux meds this month because you seemed uncomfortable a lot and weren't eating as well. You are down to one nap a day and usually nap at the same time as your sisters. You nap anywhere from 2-3 hours most days and I love that down time when everyone is sleeping. It's so nice when the house is so quiet, although it never seems to last long enough. You have such a big personality and add so much to our family. I just love you little Stella.

crazy girl

Looking at the trees at the tree farm

The only Santa she would go near

Not so sure about him...

Accidental twinning with Mama

Christmas Eve 

She wanted to carry her stocking just like her sisters did. 

More twinning 

I'll jump on any breastfeeding bandwagon. These pics were going around social media so I made one for us too. 

18 Months Old

It seems each month I'm more and more behind on these updates. I'm not sure if anyone is even reading them, but I love looking back and reading about how they were at __ months old.

The girls are so much fun these days. I think they're to the point where I consider them to be more fun than work....most of the time. They are listening and following simple directions consistently and both trying to talk and communicate quite a bit. They are so full of personality and W and I are constantly amazed by their different strengths.

Lucy- You are so good at communicating to us what you want or need. You're starting to imitate anything and everything we say or do so we need to be careful around you. You are walking everywhere and just about running now too. You figured out how to stand up in the middle of the room without holding on to anything but first figured it out in the tub. We couldn't understand why you were so proud of yourself standing up until we saw how you managed it. You are such a great eater these days. If you told me that a year ago I would have laughed at you. One of your favorite foods is carrots. You are sleeping through the night about 50% of the time. The other nights you are up usually once and daddy sometimes has to climb in your crib with you to calm you down. This is the best way we've managed to keep you out of our bed. You now have 12 teeth including 4 molars. The only teeth you are missing for now are the canines. You're still wearing mostly 12-18 month clothing. Everyone keeps saying how much you are looking like your sister and I think it's because you're eating so well and gaining weight. You still love Elmo and seriously zone out when we turn on the T.V. We joke you get your love for T.V from your daddy because he was the same way as a kid. You love playing with the magnets on the fridge and puzzles. It's so fun watching you learn and grow.

"Cheese"

Playing with her Sesame Street cards

Getting ready for Mexico. 

Clara- You are getting so much better at walking. The physical therapist noted your balance was a little off and your right hip looked to be lagging behind the right when you walk, so we are seeing an orthopedic next week to check it out. Most likely it's nothing as you are improving so much every day, but we just want to be sure. You are walking all over the house with your sister and love carrying things with you. You love the little tins we have of pretend food (pineapples, peas and carrots, tea) and also the jewelry we have for you to play with. You finally got a molar and did so great with it. It didn't affect your sleeping at all but you're eating hasn't been great. You love your fruit but don't really like to try new things. I think you'd just eat fruit all day every day if we let you. You're trying to talk more and more but the accuracy is still lacking for sure. I love that you're trying more and gaining confidence in doing so. You are so thoughtful, kind, and sweet to your sister and you are always bringing her things. You always think of her and it's so incredibly nice. You love throwing things out in the trash and will walk 3 rooms away to do so if you have to. You are getting more and more brave in public. In music class you love picking up the instruments and strumming the guitar. You're venturing out more away from me and with the other kids. You're getting so big and smart!

Lovey on her head and fast asleep. 

Love that little face

The girls took their first trip to NYC this month and we had such a fun time at a children's museum. They are so much happier now that they are able to walk everywhere and get a little space from each other. This really helps with the fighting. They still have their moments, but the fighting lately has been much better. They are so into imitating everything the other one does and it's seriously so cute (and also seriously annoying at times, lol). They've discovered the dogs water dish and toilets so we are always on the lookout for water play around here.

In matching outfits with their buddy Jack. 

Helping Mama making guacamole

Passing out in the car is a regular occurrence with only one nap a day. 

#MicroblogMondays- Treat Yo Self

I'm not great about putting myself first anymore. I put Lucy and Clara before myself almost always. When we go shopping I tend to buy cute things for them rather than myself. It had been at least a year since I had gotten my hair done. 

My sister was out this weekend and I decided to take advantage of the fact that she's a cosmetologist. I had her cut and highlight my hair for me and I love how it came out. Despite my perms in middle school I've never actually dyed my hair. I've had a ton of new hair growth since having the girls and I practically have bangs without ever cutting any or trying. My sister did a nice job of cutting my hair to better mask all of my crazy little hairs growing in the front. 

My new dew!

My crazy hair last weekend. 

I've also been making an effort to buy clothes for myself. I love buying stylish clothes for the girls but I realized it was silly they always looked so great and I was wearing the same things as always. Comfort was winning out. So lately I've purchased some items for myself. I realized I feel better about myself when I put a little more effort into my appearance. 

I've totally cut processed foods from my diet. We bought the book 100 Days of Real Food and have been following the recipes and guidelines there. I've started making my own bread and other items like hummus. We are still eating dairy (organic) and bread (whole grain) so I'm not dieting. I'm just trying to make a lifestyle change for everyone and so far it's going great. I'd be happy to share recipes or meal plans if anyone is interested. 

W and I started PiYo a few weeks ago as well. It was tough to stick to the schedule with my sister in town this past weekend, but otherwise we've been doing well with it. We've only done 3 different workouts so far and they definitely range in difficulty. I had been wanting to try PiYo for quite some time and love that it's just a video to pop in. It doesn't require motivating to get to the gym and arranging childcare. 

I'm making an effort to put myself first more often and it really does feel nice. I've gotten some new clothes, cut and dyed my hair, changed the way I'm eating, and started exercising regularly. Already I feel so much better. I hope it lasts!

16 Months Old

Another month has flown by and Lucy and Clara are another month older, bigger, and smarter. This month we celebrated their second Christmas and the girls really got into it. I made them a felt tree with ornaments that they loved decorating it day after day. They also loved the Frosty the snowman singing stuffed toy we have. They got into opening presents and loved all of their new toys.

The girls are still napping twice a day. Their typical day is something like: get up around 7 and nurse. Around 8:15 we go downstairs for breakfast. They take a morning nap from 9:30-11ish and then get their sippy cups with milk after. We do lunch around 12:15 and then they take an afternoon nap from 2:30/3-4:15ish and then have an afternoon snack when they wake up. We do dinner around 6:30, baths at 7:15 and then it's a story, nursing, and bed. I'm not sure when we'll go to 1 nap a day but I know the girls still need their morning nap so it might be a while. Lucy seems to need less sleep than Clara regularly. The girls definitely went through a growth spurt and are growing out of their clothes left and right. Things I just bought already don't fit. They're in mostly 12-18 month clothing. 

15 Month Pediatrician appointment

Going for a hike on a semi-warm day.

Lobster dinner on New Years Day. 

Early morning with Daddy. 

Everyone is working hard in the kitchen. 

Looking for our Christmas tree

Eddy helping the girls with their snack

The girls weren't a fan of Santa

Watching Daddy hang Christmas lights

Lucy and Clara are fighting and loving each other more and more. They both will try to bite and hit each other when frustrated but then will also comfort one another by sharing toys or giving the other one a lovey or paci. It's seriously so sweet. I would say they play nicely together about 80% of the time. If there's ever 1 of anything they will find it and fight over it. I guess that's what sisters do though. 

Lucy- Your little personality has really started to come out and it appears you're a sneaky little devil. You think it's funny to do things you know you aren't supposed to do and then have this great fake laugh that accompanies it. You've really gotten into walking and can take about 7-8 steps consistently before falling. This month was crazy for you with teething. You got 6 new teeth including 2 molars on the top popping through that I had no idea were there until I felt them the other day. I was so excited and surprised to find them there. For some reason when you're teething you get constipated so that's been a challenge recently. We refer to your little frequent poops as "butt nuggets." You're so much better for your physical therapy sessions and we're seeing real progress. This month was tough with eating because of all the teething, but you seem to be back in it. You love new foods and are a much more adventurous eater than your sister (for now at least). Your sleep was really bad at times this month but the past few days you've finally gotten back to going longer stretches. Your speech and language really took off this month and you are consistently saying 5-10 words and using about 10 signs. You are imitating like crazy and love to tell me my food is "hot" right before I take my first bite. You and your sister love to act silly together. You really got into Elmo this month and will try to sing the Elmo song yourself. You often will find one of our phones and start to try to sing the song as a way to tell us you want to watch/see it.

So many teeth coming in!

Clara- You're such a silly little girl. If we ask you, "where's silly Clara?" you'll tilt your head back and roll around on your back. It's so cute and funny. Your sister loves to join in on the fun. You're getting better at walking and give in to the peer pressure of your sister doing it so decide to join in. You can take about 4-5 steps consistently without falling. You definitely have to be in the mood though. This month you got 3 new teeth so now have a total of 8. You're working on molars and almost always have a finger in your mouth. Hopefully they will pop through soon and give you some relief. Teething seems to make you cranky and kills your appetite. This past month you also got sick for the first time and I think that also affected your appetite. You aren't very into new foods but love fruit, especially strawberries and pomegranate. You're more interested in using your silverware and will try hard to use a spoon or fork. You still slept pretty well this past month despite teething. There were a few nights that you woke up, but most nights you went your solid 11-12 hours. You have 2 words you say "yum-yum" and "hot" and you use about 10 signs consistently. This month you learned the signs for "up" and "help" and you are great at using them. You're also understanding so much more and following directions more consistently. You aren't really imitating consistently yet but hopefully Lucy will influence you there. You still love to play and are so focused during play. You have a great attention span and persist when frustrated. You're getting better at puzzles and love doing them with me. You also love Elmo and will try to sing the Elmo song with your sister.

I can't believe how fast time is going by. The girls really are changing from babies into little toddlers with personalities and preferences. I love watching all of the changes.