Dear Baby

The Rundown: 8 months & 2 years

(Arlo fresh from a bath & Everly having just been caught attempting to give her balloon puppy a “baf”.)

Stats:

Everly: You are riding that 25 percentile curve all the way through your second year of life. At your 2 year check up, you were 24 lbs 8 ounces and 34 3/4 inches tall. You’ve got a closet full of size 5 shoes and you’ve got a serious opinion on the ones you like best. Your crazy, wispy hair is starting to grow in thicker and you still sport the most radical bedhead the world has ever seen most days (despite my attempts to tame it).

Arlo: My long and lean boy continues the same growth pattern too - 17.9 pounds and 28 1/2 inches long. You are wearing 9month clothes like a champ although some of the pants can be a little baggy in the waist. You are wearing a 2.5 shoe (when you wear shoes).

Teeth:

Everly: Your pediatrician confirmed that all of your second year molars are in! Now that all your major teeth are in, can I just tell you that you have always handled teething like a champ. From the first tooth to the last molar, it never seemed like a big deal to you. 

Arlo: After months of sporting two little bunny teeth, you’re about to get some new ones! Your 4 front teeth are just beginning to break through the surface of your gums. You’ve done really well with teething, fussing only here and there. You love chomping on a cold teether when they really bother you.

Feeding:

Everly: Your appetite rocks! It hasn’t always been this way, but you are turning into a great little eater! While you’re still not a huge fan of some green veggies, you’ll pretty much try everything and when you love something, you’ll clean your plate and ask for seconds! Among your favorites right now: shrimp, cheese tortellini, peas, pizza (of course), blackberries, chicken legs, & baked sweet potato fries.

Arlo: You were 6.5 months old when we introduced you to solids and it’s been a slow climb as we introduced each new food to you. I’ve been a little more cautious in giving you new foods since you’ve had some bad reactions to dairy and soy in the past. The good news is that you’ve done great with everything so far and we’ve even had success re-introducing dairy to your diet! You went from loving purees to hating them pretty quickly, so now you mainly eat small pieces of soft foods that you can pick up and feed to yourself. Among your favorites: nitrate free deli turkey, avocado (your favorite!), blue berries, cheese slices, banana, & little pieces of whole grain bread. You still love to nurse and we’re just going to keep going with that as long as you’d like!

Talking:

Everly: Uh, little lady, you pretty much say it all. Like full on complete thoughts, sentences, ideas. It’s incredible to be able to openly communicate with such a tiny individual. You tell us when you are happy, sad, and tired. You ask us if we are happy, sad or tired. You say things like “Look mama, I made something!” or “You got a booboo? You need to go see Dr. ‘Nan?” (your pediatrician’s name). You tell me about your days at preschool “Sadie Wren was sad. Sadie Wren’s mommy gone” “I play on slide!” and you come home singing songs like The Farmer in the Dell but change the words to things like “Arlo takes the cheese!” (Oh, it makes us laugh!) We are astounded by what you know and what you observe and how well you articulate your wants and needs to us.

Arlo: One day, out of the blue, you just decided you were going to start making real, serious vocal sounds. You went from baby goo goos to “da da” “bop bop” and “ma ma” now you say them all the time. You’re not quite old enough yet to really associate those words as our names, but you sure do love saying them.

Awesome Stuff You’re doing:

Everly: You are very empathetic to anyone and everyone who is sad or hurt. You’ve been this way for sometime, but lately you’ve take an interest in wanting to fix it. If any of us get a “boo boo” you are there, wanting to see how it gets bandaged up and giving hugs and love. One of your favorite games to play is “Dr. Nan” where you pretend to be the doctor and we come to you with a boo boo and you put ice or a band-aid on it. Who knows, maybe one day you will grow up to be a doctor or nurse!

We’re trying our best to get you interested in potty training. You totally get the idea of using a potty you just don’t want to. You tell us when you pee or “boop boop” but whenever we ask if you want to do it on the potty you say, very matter of factly “Um, no!” We don’t force the issue, so instead we are reading lots of potty related books and we hold up your big girl undies and say “When you go on the potty, you get to wear these!” (Just like your mama, you are very motivated by clothes!) Last night you were walking around diaperless and we had our first poop on the floor incident. We don’t want to associate accidents as a bad thing, so I said “Oh look, you pooped! and it was on the floor! That’s ok, next time we can try for the potty!” and you just said “I pooped! No potty!”  Your dad and I just laughed - What else could we do!?!

You want to talk so much more than your vocabulary allows so sometimes when we ask you a question you’ll say “blah lah blab blob blo blo lah go outside” It’s like you want to sound like an adult with a lot to say, but don’t always have the words so you just make up sounds that sound right. It’s hilarious.

You started preschool last month and you LOVE it. You go 3 days a week and are really enjoying the montessori curriculum. You call it “Henry’s house” after your favorite little boy in the class.

You know how to put on your own coat or sweater and have almost figured out how to get your shoes on by yourself. You need a little help putting them on your feet, but have figured out how to close the velcro - you are on your way to independence sweet girl!

Arlo: You are super mobile these days buddy! You’ve been crawling since you were 6.5 months old and pulling up to a stand since about 7 months. Recently you’ve been letting go and we’ve seen you stand on your own for a few seconds before falling down. You’re also learning to “cruise” along the length of the couch or the stair railing in the playroom. Yesterday you figured out how to crawl on top of a low stool by yourself - that was crazy to see! There isn’t anything or anywhere that you haven’t figured out a way to get to if you really want!

You LOVE music! Your sister has always been the same way and I think it’s a mix of a genetic predisposition (from both sides of your family) and being exposed to it every single day for hours at a time. You will take a drumstick and bang on a drum and strum daddy’s guitar to make noises. You also love to start bouncing up and down when you hear music.  

You have really perfected your 2 finger pincer grip. You can pick up small puffs or peas quickly and easily. We think that your peripheral vision looking down is not very good, because you tilt your whole head down to see things sometimes, but once you’ve got a direct line of sight, you are able to go right for anything. You also are drinking out of a cup -  you just decided to bypass the sippy! So at every meal, we give you a little breast milk or water in a cup and with our help, you gulp it down. 

You are really funny and goofy! I think you are going to be a little clown because you are always making funny sounds with your lips and then cracking up. You love to laugh and when we laugh at you, you will repeat your actions to make us laugh again. You’re such a nut!

We are really having a ball with you two lately. Life is finally slowing down and feeling manageable. The fall and winter months were such a whirlwind of highs and lows and it’s nice to be in our new home, with everything doing well and just enjoy the day in/day out of this beautiful life together. Thank you for being such wonderful kiddos!

Love,

Mama

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  • The Rundown
  • 8 months
  • 2 years old
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