Two year and 4 month stats

We had our two year well check last Tuesday.  We brought in all three kiddos for well checks at the same time (the girls for their 2 year and Hudson for his 4 month - time flies!). Luckily, Hudson was the only one due for vaccinations or that could have proven to be a not-so-wise decision.  As it turns out, we were able to do Hudson's vaccinations at the end of the visit and simply take the girls out to the car before the nurse came in with the shots.  Whew - crisis averted!

Overall impression from the appointment:
3 very healthy kiddos.  Dr. Moore identified a heart murmur with Brianna, but he said it is benign and shouldn't cause any problems in the future. Thank goodness! I have a heart murmur too, also benign, also found by Dr. Moore when I was just a peanut.  I wonder if it isn't something genetic that I passed on to her? Hmm...

As usual, our kids are tipping the scales for both weight and for height.

Here are the stats, by kiddo:

Baby A - Miss Olivia - 2 year well check
Weight: 34 lbs 7 oz  (98th percentile)
Length: 37" (99th percentile)
Head circumference: 50 cm (96th percentile)

Baby B - Miss Brianna - 2 year well check
Weight: 34 lbs 14 oz (98th percentile)
Length: 37" (99th percentile)
Head circumference: 48.5 cm (76th percentile)

Note their height at 2 years - 37".  That's tall.  And let me tell you what I know about that.  I have read from several sources that if you take your child's height at age two, and multiply it times 2, the number you get will roughly be that child's height (in inches) as an adult.  So, lets do the math here with the girls.  37" x 2 = 74"!  That is 6'2" tall!!!  I'm a perfectly average 5'6". My family isn't overwhelmingly tall, so it must have come from Si's side! I have a couple of volleyball players on my hands! WOW!

Both girls have slowed down in weight gain, and have slimmed down through the waist (although I'm guessing this is common at this point because they are still so high in the percentiles for size!).  After their 8 month appointment I changed them from Vitamin D milk to 2% milk, against the advice of my pediatrician.  At this visit he told me I could switch them to skim if I wanted.  They are big girls. But they are proportional, not overly heavy for their weight.  Just tall, and appropriate weight for their height.  It's big for their age though...they do look like 3 year olds....

The girls are still wearing a few 24 month items (I am squeezing them into some 24 month fleece Carter's outfits this winter because Carter's doesn't do actual outfits past 24 months and I LOVE the fleece outfits), but really they are in mostly 2T pants and 3T shirts.  They seem to be interested in potty training and tell me that they need to go...as they are going...they've only actually pottied in the potty once so far...sigh...one day my patience will pay off, I just know it!

So, what about the little peanut?  

Well, there's nothing "little" about him!

Baby Hudson - 4 month check
Weight: 19 lbs 11.5 oz (100th percentile)
Height: 25.5" (61st percentile)
Head circumference: 43.5 cm (91st percentile)

He's already wearing mostly 9 and 12 month clothes. 6-12 month clothes are still okay, but most 6 month clothes are way too small. 12 month PJ's are the norm. He's in size 3 diapers.  He eats 6-7 times a day (4.5-5 oz bottles if bottle fed).  This kid LOVES to nurse. I love it. =).  He is becoming a distracted eater though, so that makes me a bit sad.  They grow up SO fast! He's also sitting up on his own already, something the girls didn't do until they were at least 6-7 months old.  I think he is able to do it simply because of his size -  he's so round - his fat rolls hold him up! HA!

Hudson has been sleeping through the night for a while now.  He goes down at about 10 PM and gets up between 7:30 -8 AM.  I am so blessed. Occasionally he will wake up at 5 AM, but I don't feed him if he wakes up at that time, so he usually just talks for a bit then goes back to sleep.  He's a really good baby.  Very mellow.  Goes with the flow. That is perfect for our crazy chaotic household!

I think I am going to wait a little longer before I start him on solids.  The pediatrician gave us zero guidance on starting solids.  I suspect he thinks that since we just went through this with the girls that we kind of know what we are doing.  True that Dr. Moore, true that.  I'm taking my sweet time with this one...if he will let me =).

So that's our update!

Hope you are having a great week!

Until next time -
Megan

We are TWO!

The girls turned TWO last weekend! Oh my!

I remember when the girls turned 1 as if it were yesterday.

It was so bittersweet.  My precious peanuts were no longer my little "babies".

And not only that, everyone who already had kiddos older than mine felt the need to tell me that the second year would go even faster than the first did, so to hold on tight! I didn't believe them.  How could it possibly go any faster than the first year already had?! Well it was possible alright! I feel like this last year has gone significantly faster than the first year did. Crazy.

I suspect the major difference between how we (as parents) view "Year 1" and "Year 2" is that the first year the kiddos are hitting so many huge developmental milestones (rolling over, sitting up on their own, crawling, first words, first steps, first foods, sleeping through the night, etc.) that there are more huge accomplishments to document and keep track of.  And pictures - oh the pictures - we had pictures taken so many times the first year! Newborn, 6 week, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 1 year.  And year two?  18 months, and two years. Maybe one more time in between somewhere, if we were lucky.

The second year the kids are building on what they learned the first year....they learn how to run, hop, and jump; how to color, how transfer items from one container to another, how drink from a cup or water bottle without a lid; how to use silverware properly; how to use multiple words together (like today at lunch "lights up more please" - Olivia asking us to turn up the lighting in the dining room during lunch); how to communicate with each other and show love and affection; learn that they have a choice (I want to wear this, not that).  It's no longer a year of firsts. Accordingly, I don't think we (as parents) document it quite as much.  That sure doesn't mean that not as much happens though!

So, what's new with our two year olds?

Miss Olivia - 
Olivia is our little diva! Loves to be dressed up, clean, and cute. She is Miss Independent. She hates having her hair done. She always wants to be first to do anything and will race her sister to the bathroom to go potty, to the dinner table to eat, and to the door to go outside. She's defending her first born status I think...I'm older...I get to go first...LOL!  

Olivia has become very attached to her baby doll "Llellow" ("Yellow" for those of you who don't speak toddler), and insists on putting "Llellow" in Hudson's swing, car seat, bouncer, exersaucer, etc..  Super cute.  

Olivia is becoming more and more verbal every day.  It is common for her to speak in 3-5 word sentences ("Mommy go work, bye!").  She likes to do lots of different activities, but she doesn't like to do anything for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. Unless she is outside...she LOVES to be outside.

Favorite foods include: eggs, ham, cheese, macaroni and cheese, ice cream, bananas, and yogurt

Miss Brianna - 
Brianna is our lover. She loves to cuddle.  When she gives you a hug, she will pat you on the back as if to say "it's okay Mommy". She will hit, or kick, or pull hair, just so that she can give a hug and kiss afterwards.  We've tried to explain to her that you can give hugs and kisses without hurting someone first, but she just doesn't get it! 

Brianna is very attached to her blanket "Bella".  I have no idea why her blanket has a human name and Livvy's baby has a color name, but whatever! Bri looks for "Bella" constantly when we are at home.  She doesn't  have to have her always, she just wants to know where she is at all times. Interesting.

Brianna loves to sing, dance, jump, and color.  She has been working on her ABC's and knows almost the whole ABC song.  She gets stuck on L-M-N-O-P, just as I know I did when I was little =). 

Favorite foods include: "K" (Special K cereal), yogurt, string cheese, peaches, cupcakes, and ham

Both girls can identify all of the letters of the alphabet and love going for walks up and down our block, stopping at each of the political signs in people's yards, and pointing out the different letters.  I'm so proud.  LOL. They also know all of the neighbors by name, and know where they live.  Awesome. That should come in handy when they start escaping out the front door when we take our eyes off them for 20 seconds to go potty...=)

The girls have their differences as well, naturally.  While Bri likes to sing, Livvy really doesn't.  Conversely,  Bri doesn't really talk much (in actual words) and Livvy talks a lot. Similarly, Bri excels physically - running, jumping, and spinning - where Livvy lags a bit behind. It's funny really.  We watch as one girl surpasses the other in one specific developmental area; and then almost like clockwork, 3 months later the other girl comes up from behind and surpasses the one that was previously in the lead.  It's amazing to watch.  We are so blessed to have twins =).

So that's what's going on here with our two year olds!  We had our two year well check this week too, but this post is already long enough, so I will post those stats separately =).

Hope you guys are having a wonderful fall weekend!

Until next time -
Megan

A vocabulary explosion!

Leaps and bounds.  That is the best way to describe the increase in the girls' vocabulary skills over the past 2 weeks.  Their development is literally growing exponentially each month.  One of these days they are just going to take off and start speaking in full sentences.  Seriously. They have started repeating everything that we say, verbatim.  Wow!  It sure makes you think about what you say when it comes right back at you from the mouth of a 2 year old! =)

In the last two weeks the girls have gone from using one (relatively advanced) word at a time (cupcake, opposite, cookie, cantelope, etc.) to using two words together in a sentence (bye bye mom, cookie please, no Bri, bless you, oh geez, darn it) and our favorite possessive pronoun – mine!  They can carry on a conversation with us, or interject into our conversation using just a couple words at a time, making it utterly apparent that they know exactly what we are saying. Oh my!

Their personalities are continuing to develop, and the differences between the two girls continue to amaze me. 

My baby A – Miss Olivia - has become very maternal over the past few months and is becoming increasingly task oriented.  She has taken to her baby doll recently and loves to swaddle her, feed and burp her, carry her around, and put her in the swing.  She likes to pick up and put things in their place.  She is a master at putting together puzzles. She is very good at following instructions.  She is also very much into role playing – picking up bags or purses, filling them with goodies from her toy box, then putting them over her shoulder and pretending to leave (I suspect like momma does when she goes to work).  She is happy to play independently.  She is a total people pleaser. She is very tender hearted – she is quick to anger, but is also quick to get her feelings hurt – so we have to be very careful about how we discipline her.  Likewise she is very concerned about others, so if someone else gets hurt she wants to make sure they are okay, and will do whatever she can to comfort them.  She always wants to be part of the group, and never wants to be left out. She learns the best by simply watching others. This girl doesn’t miss a thing.

My baby B – Miss Brianna - is very artistic and creative.  She can sit for 30-45 minutes at a time and color pictures.  Even after that period of time she gets upset when you take the paper and colors away from her.  Quite the attention span for an almost 2 year old!  She learns best by touching, feeling, and experimenting. She enjoys singing and loves to read books.  She also loves to dress up in pretty dresses and dance around the house.  She is very determined – if she wants something she will do whatever she thinks she needs to do to get it – regardless of the risk of getting hurt or getting in trouble.  She is a pretty messy eater, and dances happily to the beat of her own drum.  She doesn’t seem to care what others think of her.  She loves to sleep and is a hard sleeper (don’t wake that girl up!). She loves to snuggle and read books.  She prefers one-on-one interaction to group interaction, and doesn’t really care whetehr or not she is included in a group.

Both girls are doing extremely well with their little brother.  They snuggle him, give him kisses, and talk sweetly to him.  If he is crying, they try to console him.  Livvy will fetch a new diaper, cover him up if she thinks he is cold, talk to him, give him kisses, stroke his head, and will try to help burp him.  Bri will talk to him and cover him if he is cold, but isn’t interested past that point.  I’m just so very pleased that they don’t hate him!
Although really, who could hate this snuggle bunny?!?!

Both girls are very interested in their ABC’s, and they love to try to sing with us.  I often hear Bri sitting by herself chanting “A, B, C, D, E, F, hmm, hmm, hmm” or trying to hum row-row-row your boat. It’s really quite adorable.  It seems that every 2 days or so she adds another letter to her ABC repertoire.  At this point she has seemed to skip G and has latched on to H.  We are working on G. LOL.  Livvy isn’t quite as interested as Bri seems to be to learn her ABC’s (I never hear her practice, although that doesn’t seem to be how she learns anyway does it?!), but she does like to join in and try to sing with us when we sing. 

It’s amazing to watch them learn and grow!

What has amazed you about your kiddos this week?

Until next time –

Megan