Friday, September 24, 2010

first baby sign

Audrey did her usual 11 p.m. wake up last night (this girl just refuses to sleep through the night, like, ever), and when I went to get her out of her crib, she was opening and closing her hand like this:

milk sign

It was so cute! I haven't done a ton of signs with her so far, but I think I'll step it up now that I know she's learning them.

She's also standing up every chance she gets, and more importantly, has mastered how to get down from standing (which means I don't have to rescue her every 5 minutes all night long when she wakes up to practice her newfound skills). She says an excited hard k sound when she sees the cats, just like Olivia did, is starting to learn to clap her hands, and also knows what I mean when I tell her to dance, kick her legs, and pat her belly. She'll sit on the hardwoods and use her legs to spin herself in circles, then laughs when she gets dizzy. As her speech therapist recently said, she's a seriously cool kid. :)

Suddenly, waking up at 6:30 a.m. is her new thing ... which I really wouldn't mind if I wasn't up with her at midnight and then from 3-4 a.m. But I keep trying to tell myself that she won't be sleeping like this forever -- her first birthday is less than three months away, which seems absolutely insane!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

big girl goes to school

Olivia started preschool last week. I, of course, was terrified -- how would she do? Would she cry? Would I cry? We talked it up a lot, but then I'd hear her crying in her crib at bedtime:
"Mama! Please! Pleeeeease don't leave me at schoooooool!"

So I was understandably nervous. For her first day, I was scheduled to volunteer in the classroom. She did fine, but I thought maybe it was because I was there. Tuesday was her first drop-off day, and we talked a lot about how I'd give her a hug, leave, and then come back after a while. We got to school that day and waited outside the classroom until the teacher opened the door. O looked a little wary, especially because there were a few kids crying in the hall. When that door opened, though, she started pushing me toward the door, saying, "Hurry up, mama!" I was only there for a few minutes when she asked me if I was leaving and if she could have a hug. I'll admit that I sat in the car down the street from her school for the full two hours, sipping coffee, reading a book and missing her a little bit, not wanting to be too far away.

Today, we got to school and she clapped with excitement when we pulled into the parking lot. I hadn't even been in her classroom for 2 minutes when she TOLD me to leave. "Mama! You go bye-bye now! See ya!" When I picked her up, one of the moms told me that Olivia is one of the most social kids in the class. When there was a lull in conversation during snack time, Olivia said, "Hey! Let's talk about our friends! What are our friends' names?"



Sunday, September 12, 2010

a conversation with Olivia

It lasted for what seemed like forever.The phone rang, so I muted the song I was playing for her to answer it. She started whining:

O: bumcontrol!
me: what? what's bum control?
O: I said, bunnkinstrol.
me: (giving up on my phone conversation) Um, Olivia? I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're saying. Can you show me?
O (exasperated, louder): BUMCONTROL!
me: uh ...
O: bumcontrol?
me: does something hurt?
O: NO! i said, bunnkinstroll.
me: what is that? can you show me?
O: look at the computer and see.
me: Oh, it's on the computer? Is it a game?
O: Silly mommy! It's not a game!
me: a song?
O: yes! I SAID: bunnkinsroll.
me: bunkinsroll? a song? how does it go?
O: (hums an inaudible melody)
me: (finally figuring it out) Jenny Jenkins?
O: YES! bunnkinsroll jenny jenkins!

The song I had been playing before the phone rang was Jenny Jenkins by Lisa Loeb ... but I always change one of the lyrics to "roll, buddy bumkins roll" (we occasionally call Audrey buddy bumkins for some reason). She's always been so verbal and understandable that it was really puzzling and frustrating for us both for me to not know what she was talking about!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

9 months old

Audrey is 9 months old!

She has two teeth that finally came through ...

and, just like her sister, she has a fun little silly face that she makes when you ask her to. :)

brief hiatus

I've been slacking on updating the blog, but need to get cracking! This week is a big one -- Audrey turned 9 months old on the 7th, and Olivia has her first day of preschool tomorrow.

Another update and pictures soon ...