Sibling Rivalry

Well, this was unexpected. Gabby has always been super close to Stanley. Ever since she was born, they have been playmates and cuddle buddies. Now, in her toddlerhood, Gabby is extremely bossy with him ("Buddy! No bark-in'!") and she fights with him over food and toys. I expected this within a few years between the girls, just not such squabbling between a girl and her dog. 

Sorry, Buddy. 

The Pee-Pee Book and Other Literary Problems

I don't know about you, but I don't think that's the title.

Gabby is very much into books these days. All books. Anything with pages, pictures, and words. She particularly enjoys books that rhyme, and she is very adept at memorization, especially if the rhyming scheme is good. 

This makes bedtime difficult for me, because since putting the girls into the same bedroom, my M.O. is basically to keep Gabby quiet so she doesn't wake Lilly up. So, now in addition to her usual, "I wake baby up!" outbursts, I am battling her passion for reciting every book at the top of her tiny (but powerful) lungs.

I added "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch to the bedtime pile, thinking it would be a sweet singsong-y way to end the evenings. It took one reading before I was being echoed as that little boy in the book "goo and goo and goo." She also memorized the song, but only the last word of each line, so she would mumble, "hmmmm-hmmm EVER, eehhhhhh ALLLLLWAAAAAYYYYS, hmmmm-hmm baby BEEEEEE." That book is out of the rotation now.

I also had to stop reading Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book. This book would be a fantastic book to lull any other two-year old child to sleep. Most of the words are made-up, so comprehension is low. The rhyming scheme never changes, it has a very steady rhythm that makes me drowsy when I read it aloud. No, the problem with this book is that she doesn't know what anything is, and so she gets bored. The number of pages I had to skip in the book was getting out of control. I knew she was going to ask me, "What's that?" when I got to the page with the machine that counts how many people have fallen to sleep or the page where the Bumble-tub Club is sailing along the river. It was just riddled with disruption and ritualistic asking of questions I had given answers to nightly for months in a row. It was madness.

A friend gave me a stack of books her daughter has outgrown. There were a few good ones in the pile. One of her new favorites is "Just Be Nice -- To Your Little Friends!" by Caroline Kenneth. This book is referred to as "The Pee-Pee Book." Because my child does not know the difference between pee-pee and Pooh. <Insert face palm here> Maybe I need to find a book about potty training...

4 Months Old and Some Changes to the Blog

Lillian is now four, count them, FOUR months old! She weighed in yesterday at her 4 month check-up and was 14 lbs 9 oz and 25.5". She is a tall, chunky, sweet little charmer. Gabby loves to read to her and hold her and "helps Mommy give Lilly a bath" by singing songs to keep her happy.

 
Soon Lilly will be starting solids, so I set her up in Gabby's chair to see how she liked it. I think she felt pretty big and cool sitting in her sister's chair.

So, back to news about the blog.. I am trying to figure out what to do with this as I rarely post or advertise the fact that I have posted. My posts have mostly just been a way to keep family updated, but now that the girls are actually doing things, I have a little more to say. I'll be updating a lot more often, so check in frequently!

3 months update

Lillian turned 3 months old a week and a half ago and here are some facts about her:

* she sleeps on her back and is a great night sleeper and napper

* she loves sitting upright in her bumbo or on someone's lap

* she is able to grasp a toy by herself, but she is working on controlling her hands (lots of accidental face-bonks)

* she started daycare last week and is doing excellent so far

Gabby loves her baby sister. She is calling her "Willy" and loves to give her toys or a blanket. She is still having some "twonager" struggles but we are slowly working through them and have high hopes for all the fun she will have this summer. 

Some pics of the girls...

Sigh... She's a big girl

A precious little gem

Lillian is 2 months old!

At 2 months old, Lilly is our sweet little charmer. She loves to smile and sit upright so she can check out her surroundings. She weighs 11 lbs 15 oz and is 23 inches tall.