Wordless Wednesday -- Rite of Passage

Celebrating Four

When Lydia woke up on her birthday, the first thing she exclaimed was "Today is the first day of me being 4!"  She was pretty excited!

We have an 3.5 foot inflatable birthday cake that is pulled out for every birthday (we bought it when Colin saw it at the store when he was 3.) Next to the huge birthday cake, we had placed her brand new Disney bike w/pink camo helmet.  On top of the cake, I nestled the Max & Ruby stuffed animals.  And I put a new bracelet and a tiara in the pouch on the front of her bike.

She was a bit overwhelmed at first, but quickly got excited and tried out the bike.  We all had to get dressed and out the door, though, because the boys' school was hosting a family breakfast.  So, we went off and Lydia wore her tiara and enjoyed baked goods at school before sending the boys off to their classrooms.

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She's Four!

 I can remember sharing my pregnancy news on my blog more than four years ago, then sharing our baby girl's birth on April 29, 2007.  (I spent some time  yesterday re-reading the posts during my pregnancy and it brought back so many memories!  It also reminded me how this blog used to be a small-picture of our life and it has become much more big-picture.)

Did you know I chose her birth date?  I have email proof that I decided months before she was born that April 29 would be a good birthday.  The pregnancy was tough on me, but I wanted her to be full-term.  On April 29, she would have been full-term (her "due" date was May 14) and it was a Sunday which meant that my sister wouldn't have to take a day off work to keep the boys.  Bo was working a job where his weekend was Sunday & Monday, which meant that he wouldn't have to miss any work.  It just seemed like the perfect day.

And then it ended up her birthday!  Of course, it didn't go quite as I expected.  I had every intention of having another VBAC, but my blood pressure was high, and bed rest was difficult and not really helping keep my blood pressure down.  We didn't have much choice but to force her out.  On the plus sides, my sister didn't have to miss work to keep the boys and Bo had the day of her birth and the next day off of work.  My doctor was great, the delivery went fine, (and Lydia is convinced that her dad was a doctor on that day because she has seen pictures of him in his scrubs for the OR) and I went home 2 days sooner than they usually  let c-section moms go home.

She's been a joy and a delight ever since. She will quickly tell you that she is my angel child.  She also will tell you that everyone looks at her because she is just too cute.  And, that she is.  Humility, however, is in short supply.

Her hair is down to her waist, and she proudly exclaims that she wants to grow it to her toes!  (But, she is starting to get used to the idea of getting a trim one of these days.)

Her brothers fight with her and play with her and delight in reading to her.  The first question she asks after I pick her up from childcare is "Are my brothers home yet?"  When we're spending a day at home during the week, she asks by 10AM -- "Isn't it time for my boys to be here yet?"  I worried when she was born whether or not they would be close, but my worry was unfounded.  They are definitely close and find ways to play together all the time.

Bo likes to say that she is just like me -- stubborn and willful and insistent and independent.  I think those are all wonderful qualities to have.

She is also kind and inquisitive and spunky and loving and intelligent.  Her favorite spot in the evening is curled into my arm while I read a chapter book aloud.

Happy Birthday, my dear Lydia Jane!  I can't believe 4 years have gone by!  I treasure each day I have with you!

Last year's post

Her Last Day of Being Three

Unlike my boys, she can't wait to turn four tomorrow!  I remember each boy feeling nervous about turning four, but Lydia is ready to face the next year head on!

And she's 2!

A week ago, we celebrated L's 2nd birthday! It's hard to believe that she's 2 years old already - so much of the last 2 years seems a blur to me.

She is our little angel baby! She is the most gregarious of my 3 children, with plenty of spunk and independence. She is extremely verbal, with more words than I can count. At her recent well child visit, the doctor said "Well, 2yo's usually have about 50 words by this time, but I think she's said more than 50 in the 5 minutes I've been in here - so no worries there!"

For a few months, she called both C & N a name that sounded like C's name. And then she started calling them both N's name. In the last week, she has finally started calling them each by their own name, which thrills them. Her big brothers dote on her, and do a wonderful job of playing with her and helping her learn.

She knows most of her body parts, recognizes at least a dozen animals, and wants someone to name every letter she sees. She loves books, and is always asking someone to read to her.

I love watching her learn and process new things. It's such an exciting time in a child's life and I am grateful for the chance to experience it again. She is generous with hugs and kisses and expects plenty in return.

My parents were in town for her birthday, so we were able to have a nice family celebration where she received some princess stuff, a stuffed horse (her latest animal obsession), some Barbies (yes, I know she's young - we made sure there were no choking hazards) and her favorite -- the Rose Petal Cottage. She absolutely adores this cottage (which is much larger than DH anticipated . . . but it's worth it!) She also received the Rose Petal Birthday Celebration set and has had a great time serving us cake throughout the day.

All of her favorites were covered this year - she also received Elmo Live and a new Princess Mix & Match book

I think she had a lovely birthday, and I know I enjoyed celebrating it with her :) Oh - and she had a princess cake -- which I think you can see how happy she was with that!

Cute L Things

She loves to write. On anything. And Everything. We have to hide all pens, markers and crayons from her creative force.

If you ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, she will look at you quite calmly, bring her finger to her lips and tell you to "Shhhhhh" I often get "Shhhhhh! Mom! Shhhhhhhh!"

She's still nursing before bed, but when she's done, she will quickly scootch off the bed, run to the door, pull it closed behind her and run off. I've turned it into a "Kiss Daddy Goodnight" routine so after she kisses him it's back to bed.

Speaking of bed, she has learned to climb out of her crib. She came out of our room last night rubbing her head and telling me "boom" I knew it was a matter of time, because she is my monkey.

She climbs on EVERYTHING. She will move anything to give her an advantage of height and see how high she can climb. We often find her standing on the table or the kitchen island if she's been out of sight for a few moments. Last night, DH found her standing on the stove. She will scale the pantry shelves. I'm not sure how to channel that skill right now, but I'm working on it. (And also looking for an extra long baby gate to keep her out of the kitchen)

And that's her in a nutshell!

L at 18 months

16 months, a little late

I remembered the day L turned 16 months, but didn't do an update post. Since I took her in for her well-child visit today, I thought I'd do one today.

She's 22 lbs, 5 oz and a little over 30" tall, which puts her height and weight squarely at the 25th percentile. Her weight had been lagging behind her height for a long while, but it's caught up now.

She received one vaccination today, and while she flinched, she never cried out. My mom says I never cried at vaccinations either. I don't need to take her back until she's 2 (well, unless she gets sick enough to warrant a doctor visit before then.)

The doctor asked if she was drinking whole milk, and I responded that she was. I also volunteered that she was still breastfeeding. (WHY do I ever volunteer anything at the doctor's office?) He looked at me a bit shocked and said "Oh. Well, you need to cut that down. I don't ever want a patient to come in here at their 2 yr checkup and still breastfeeding." I just looked at him. I waited a few beats, then said "We're both perfectly fine and I don't see any reason to quit before she's ready." He then volunteered that in rural India some women breastfeed until 4 or 5 years of age! But he had only been breastfed for a year. I looked at him again, and responded "Well, I know women right here in town that breastfeed until their children are 4 or 5. I bet they just don't admit it to doctors like you."

Personally, I imagine L will wean sometime between now and her 2nd birthday. She's busy, she eats a lot, and she nurses 1-2 times a day right now. I was irritated by his attitude, however, and wondered how he'll feel if his wife decides to breastfeed their children past a year? (he doesn't have any children yet) Oh, I have more I could say about it, but this post is about my darling L.

She is a daredevil. She climbs the ladder of the playfort up and down with no problems whatsoever. She climbs on the tables, on chairs, on everything. She walks backward, forwards and is beginning to run. She loves when the boys chase her.

She understands what is asked of her perfectly. She has about 5 words that we know -- Up, Mom, Dad, Hi, and Shoes. She MUST wear shoes and is quite insistent whenever she wakes up that they are put back on her feet. She knows she can't go outside without shoes on, and she never wants to miss a chance to go outside.

She still loves music and is adding new steps to her dance routines daily. She will walk around with her hands on her hips and tapping her toes at any hint of music.

Those are the highlights I can think of. I'm sure there's more, but she'll be 17 months by the time I post this if I don't hit publish right now!

15 months

Hard to believe that 15 months have gone by since L was born!

She is a busy bee these days! She walks very steadily and I'm sure we're close to running! LOL! The boys had a cooking class that met once/week for 4 weeks and I really noticed how her walking has improved during that time. We just waited for them at the community center during their class, so she wandered the halls and flirted with all the people visiting the community center (which is also a senior center. Those women just wanted to eat her up and she ate up all the attention!) I realized how 4 weeks ago she was still pretty wobbly and wanted to hold my hand quite a bit. Yesterday, she wanted nothing to do with holding hands and was raring to go -- up and down and up and down the long breezeway -- only stopping to wave and chat with anyone who might catch her eye.

She also loves going to the library, but she won't sit in her stroller while I look for books! She wants to walk, and take books off the shelves, and talk with anyone who crosses her path.

I mentioned a few posts back about how friendly she is, and it continues to astound me. Most other kids are completely taken aback by her - but she plows right on, trying to hug them, trying to talk to them, trying to play. She has no fear!

She eats heartily and pretty much anything. She sleeps a solid 9-10 hours a night and naps once a day (like her father, she doesn't seem to need much sleep.) She still nurses a few times a day. She's still short when I compare her to other kids, but she's solid.

She uses a few signs regularly (eat, drink, finished, more, milk, no.) She doesn't have many understandable words, but she gets her point across. She seems to have a special fondness for N, and the fondness is reciprocated. I think those two are going to get into lots of trouble together in the future!

14 months

L turned 14 months yesterday. She has spent the last month learning to walk, and really caught on in the last week. She toddles around unsteadily, and reaches out for anyone's hand to help steady her walk. She is an excellent climber, however, and has no problem climbing up onto her brother's beds or the couch.

She is still an amazingly happy baby. She is friendly, and will flirt, smile and wave at just about anybody. She is always amazed at seeing another baby/toddler and gets very excited when we pass one in the library or elsewhere.

She has a healthy, hearty appetite and is adventurous enough to try most foods. She eats a solid 3 meals a day, plus snacks, and still nurses 3-4 times a day. She is definitely growing!

She clearly says "UP" and "HI!" Other words are obvious only to family. She can clearly sign "EAT", which is added to "FINISHED". She continues to nod and shake her head adamantly to express "YES" and "NO." She babbles quite a bit and carries on conversations with herself in the mirror regularly.

She likes to empty containers and fill them up again. She absolutely adores music! She will bop her head and dance to pretty much any music that is playing. She loves it when N sings to her and will often prompt him by saying "baa baa baa?" so he will sing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to her.

She is funny and likes to be the center of attention. She will call loudly and wave her arms if she thinks nobody is paying attention to her. She likes to go places, but doesn't like getting into her carseat this month.

No new teeth again this month, but with 8 she has plenty. I'm expecting her to make some language leaps in the next few months now that she has started walking.

13 months

Our little girl is 13 months old today.

She eats everything we offer her -- with the exception of vegetables these days. You can see her to the left after enjoying a triple berry smoothie!

She isn't walking, but can stand on her own and does a fair share of deep knee bends. She spreads her legs so far apart when she stands that as she tries to move forward, she falls to the floor. We're just waiting for that first step, and I know she'll be running before we know it.

She can climb up stairs with no fear, and laughs hysterically from the top and waits for someone to bring her back down the steps.

She loves to look at books and to have books read to her. She especially loves books with flaps, books with photographs of babies, and a Care Bears book that has a moon that lights up when pushed.

She doesn't sleep through the night, but I'm trying hard to help her do so. She outgrew the co-sleeper that was attached to her bed, so DH put together one of our cribs. It's in our room (we don't have a room for her -- and the real estate market crash means we have no equity left in our home which has put a damper on our plan for an addition -- our house lost over $50K in value in the last 6 months . . . ), but a few steps away from our bed. She starts out the night in her crib, but ends up in our bed between 1 and 3AM. Unfortunately, that means I usually end up with 25% of my body hanging off the bed and waking up with a crumpled spine. This is the first time we've had a toddler and haven't had an extra bed in the house -- with C & N I was usually sleeping part of the night in our spare bed. I'm not sure what the answer is, but it may involve me sleeping on the floor for the next couple months.

We are trying to enclose our back patio to make room for our office and then give her a room of her own. Unfortunately, we can't afford to do even this at the moment. If we do that, I will move our futon back from my parents home and put it in her bedroom and we'll have an extra bed again!

But, back to my youngest! She is finally over her illnesses over the last month -- (ear infections and then a staph infection) and is much happier.

She nods and shakes her head appropriately. She waves. She uses the sign for "finished". She uses a sign for "yes" (which is similar to finished, but she uses only one hand.) She grunts a lot to express her desires (see video here.) She's a very friendly child and interacts with most people who come in contact with her.

She loves all types of music, including N singing to her. She bops her head and dances along whenever she hears a beat of any kind.

It's so much fun watching her grow and learn new things.

L at almost one

I realized I haven't done a milestone post about L in a while.

She's 11 months, 2 weeks and still an absolute joy.

She claps, blows kisses, and loves peek-a-boo.

She speed-crawls, but doesn't stand independently or try to walk (other than cruise). She is starting to use various things like a walker, though, so we might see about getting her one for her 1st birthday. I really like this wagon/push toy.

We haven't yet found a food that she won't eat. She isn't interested in being fed mushed up foods, though! She'd much rather feed herself. She prefers to drink from cups that aren't spill-proof (like Tupperware cups with sippy lids), but has recently figured out how to drink successfully from those cups that are spill-proof (they require suction when she'd prefer it to just pour in her mouth.) She still nurses 5-7 times a day so I feel like I'm always preparing food, serving food, cleaning up after meals or nursing her.

She recently had a big growth spurt and pretty much skipped over 9 month clothing into 12 month sizes. I swear she literally grew before my eyes one night -- I put her in the highchair for dinner, and by the time she finished eating she had popped 2 of the snaps on her shirt.

She's likes to empty things out, but isn't interested in putting things back yet. She especially enjoys emptying my wallet -- going into each pocket and crevice to complete remove everything. She also likes our phones and remotes and gets tickled pink when the phone rings as she holds it. (yes, I'm guilty of calling my cell from our land line just to watch her giggle in amazement!)

She takes at least one solid nap a day, usually 2. She doesn't sleep through the night, but since she still sleeps with us, I couldn't tell you when or how often she does wake up. My best guess is that she sleeps from 9:30/10 until about 4 most nights, and then after she eats she sleeps until 7 or 8.

milestones

Last Wednesday, C lost his other front tooth while at his enrichment program. It has left him with a delightful gap-toothed smile.

Around the same time, L sprouted her 6th tooth -- giving her 4 across the top.

L's favorite game of the moment is peek-a-boo and she will spend countless minutes covering her head with whatever is nearby in hopes someone will squeal "peek-a-boo!!" Thankfully, her brothers are still enamored of her, so they comply quite regularly.

She showed me today that she knows how to climb when she climbed the stepstool someone had left in front of the pantry. Not 10 minutes later, she escaped out the back door and was crawling over the rocks to find the boys. I think she may be a little monkey.

She prefers sleepers without feet, mainly because she likes to hold onto her toes while she's nursing down at night. Footed sleepers frustrate that desire. Unfortunately, I bought a pack of 3 on clearance and can't find any more.

N is blossoming academically. He recently started a 1st grade math book and a 1st grade spelling book. He is clearly ready for both. His handwriting has gotten much better and he's willing to write in lowercase. His reading is getting better each day and he is able to get through early readers with very little assistance. He also complains MUCH less than a few months ago about doing schoolwork.

what is she eating?

Someone asked me what L is eating these days, and I thought I'd post it here so I can remember in the future.

She is nursing 5-10 times a day.

She lets me feed her yogurt and some jarred fruits and vegetables. She much prefers to feed herself however!

She likes brown rice, shredded cheese, pancakes, waffles, peas, cubed pears, cut up bananas, sweet potato spears, mashed potatoes, small pasta, toast, Gerber puffs, cheerios, cubed cooked carrots . . . and whatever else I can cut up small enough for her to eat!

She needs help still drinking from a cup, and does not like the cups that are not open. I don't think she understands the sucking part required from the leak-proof style.

As sick as she's felt lately, her appetite hasn't really suffered.

standing alone!

Development hasn't stopped with illness! L was on the bed with us last night while we were watching a show and was on her knees and then pulling up while holding on to the headboard.

And, then, she was standing independently! It lasted just a few seconds, but I'm sure that she'll start standing for longer periods and her first steps are close at hand!

I keep teasing DH that she'll take her first steps while he's gone (he leaves for his cruise next Sunday.) She just may . . . but somehow I think she'll wait for Daddy to come home.

C took his first steps right before he turned 11 months old. DH wanted him to take his first steps in our own home (we had been renting) and we moved into our house when he was 10 months and a couple weeks. A week later, he took his first steps!

N waited until he was 13 months old to walk.

9m checkup

L had her 9 month checkup today. She weighed 16 lbs 4 oz and is 27" long. That puts her around 25% for weight and almost 50% for height. She gained 3 lbs 2 oz and 2" in 3 months, which is a pretty good gain for her! At 6 months, she had been hovering around the 10% percentile for both height & weight.

She had a finger prick for hemoglobin and her polio vaccine. She didn't cry at either, which surprised both the nurse and me. When I talked to my mom this afternoon, she said I never cried at shots either. My sister, on the other hand, would get hysterical.

Her length means we need to start looking for a new carseat -- one that can sit backwards (she'll be that way until she's over 20 lbs) but that is tall enough for her height.

more teeth

L has been having trouble getting comfortable to sleep, and has been unusually cranky the last couple days. On a hunch, I just ran my fingers along her gums and felt one of her top teeth about to break through.

It explains the crankiness! Now, if only I could remember where I put those teething tablets?

ETA: She has THREE teeth trying to break through on the top -- one has just a sliver through, the other two are pushing against her gums. I did find the teething tablets, but she is miserable. poor thing :(

sitting up

L has been crawling farther and farther each day. Today she went from a crawling position to sitting up by herself. She's very confident pulling herself up to standing and cruising along furniture.

It's so much fun watching her grow and develop. The boys are so excited to watch her learn new things as well -- they are almost as fun to watch!

infant CPR

I was nursing L late this afternoon, when she suddenly pulled away and began to choke. The scary, silent choke that screams that the air passage is blocked. I immediately flipped her over, did a sweep of her mouth and knocked her on the back. A small piece of black plastic came out, along with a bunch of mucus. She must have had the plastic tucked in her cheek, and swallowed it while nursing.

With my heart racing and my baby screaming, I sat back down in my chair and cuddled her close. Once again, I was grateful for the infant CPR class DH & I took soon after C's birth. While it is something that I hoped never to use - I have used the lessons I learned about choking at least once with each of my children.

I always tell new parents to take the time out of their busy lives to attend an infant CPR course. It's just a few hours -- and the lessons learned last a lifetime -- and probably save a few as well!

L is fine. She finished nursing, then took a nice long nap on my lap. She's sitting at my feet now, tugging at the stuffed ornaments on our Christmas tree.

If you have young children in your life, PLEASE take an infant CPR course. We probably need a refresher course, since it's been seven years since we last took the course. I'm off to search for local classes!

forward movement

I forgot to post a few days ago when it first happened, but L has figured out how to crawl! She's not fast yet, and she has to be motivated, but she's done it enough times to say that she is now a crawler!