18 Months

Time has really flown by, Q is now 18 months old.  She's healthy and happy, has 12 teeth, and can repeat almost anything that she hears (and she does repeat almost everything she hears).  I won't bother listing all of her words here because she's really moved on to phrases.  Her most recent phrases/questions are:  why not? (which she always asks after I tell her no), what happened?, are you okay?, and of course, mine.

She weights 23 lbs. 7 oz. and is 32 inches tall which makes her almost exactly 2 lbs less and 1 inch shorter than Y at the same age.

She is a complete joy and fills our home with such joy and laughter and she has such a sweet and loving personality.  We are so very grateful to have her in our family.

Q at 12 Months

I had completely forgotten just how much fun it is to have a 1 year old in the house!  Q is really a little ball of fun now that she's crawling around.  She loves to follow her big sister around or even just crawl around on her own.  I'm never surprised to find her in a room alone playing, she's fairly good at entertaining herself but she is still very much a mommy's baby.

Over the past few weeks she has really begun to start trying to mimic words and sounds, they can be words or sounds from us or even from her toys.  It's too early to tell but I wouldn't be surprised if we have another early, clear speaking baby.  From a very young age we always heard comments about how clearly Y was able to speak.

She has more teeth coming in, the top two front teeth and that's been affecting her napping but she's still a great sleeper at night.  She's still a great eater, she loves to eat her baby food but she also wants to eat whatever food we happen to be eating as well.  She absolutely adores her big sister but she is also beginning to let Y know what she doesn't like.  She also likes to play with whatever toy Y happens to be playing with at the time, I like to explain to Y that it's what I like to call payback.  All-in-all they get along extremely well, but that can always change as Q grows older and even more strong willed and independent.

As for me looking back over the past year, I can't believe how fast it all has gone.  I know everyone says it and I know it's a cliche but it's still so very true.  Sometimes as I think about my baby growing up I get a bit emotional.  I know I've been through all these emotions before with Y and I'm sure I'll go through them again but each child is different and I can't help but want to hold on to them as long as I can.  I'm also having a hard time giving up breastfeeding.  When my babies are first born I really, really dread it but I do it because it's what's best for them (and what's cheapest) but by the time they are a year old and I can wean them I have a really hard time giving it up.  I guess I can chalk that up to trying to hold on to my baby as long as I can.

11 Months Old

I realize that this is a couple of weeks late but Q turned 11 months on July 1st, the day after we left for vacation and while it was my intention to write a post about it while on vacation, I forgot our USB cable for our camera.  And so, here goes...

Q is crawling!!!  She wasn't on the first but she started while we were vacationing in NC.  She's a funny little crawler, kind of scooting along on both knees, it's adorable!  She has a bright smile and whenever someone smiles or waves at her she buries her head in my shoulder to hide her face - pretending to be shy.  She is still a pretty great sleeper though we will shortly begin sleep training, baby boot camp as I like to call it.  She no longer likes to be rocked or cuddled to sleep, now that she's mobile she likes to be on the move...even when she's exhausted.  She is quite the eater, except when we're away from home apparently, while in NC she ate fried chicken, corn bread, macaroni and nearly everything else that was put in front of her.

I can't believe that in a few short weeks my sweet baby will be 1, time has flown by and we've enjoyed (mostly) every minute of it!

Another Princess

Up until last summer (2011) Y had never seen a princess movie.  But that ended when she went to spend a few days with Grandpa P and Nana B. for the first time without myself or B being there.  Well, ever since then she hadn't stopped talking about princesses (but don't worry she's still a big Tinkerbell and fairy fan). 

It was all quite strange to me because I was never into princesses as a little girl and I can't ever remember seeing any of the Disney Princess movies as a child, in fact watching them with Y was pretty much the first time I had seen them (that's not an exaggeration). 

So even though Y was almost 3 when she first discovered the princesses, that won't be the case for Q!  As you can see below Y has already started to indoctrinate her with all things princess.  I guess at this point I should express my gratitude for our second child being a girl!

Peaches

Q has several nicknames that we use interchangeably around here and I'm thinking that we may have to add one to the list - Peaches! 

I'm a fairly predictable person, I have a banana every morning with my breakfast but on this particular morning I was out of bananas so I pulled out 2 peaches instead.  I didn't plan on eating both but took out a second and cleaned it just in case Y decided she wanted one too.  Well sure enough I take one bite into the peach and Y asks for a bite of it and then asks for the whole peach.  It was no big deal, I was prepared for that happening.

As I began to eat the second peach I noticed that Q was staring at me, well actually she was staring at me eating the peach so I decided to put it to her lips so she could have a taste.  She proceeded to suck on it, I assume she was getting some of the juice from the peach.  After several seconds I took it back and began eating again and Q began staring again so I put it to her mouth again.  She again began to suck on it but then she just reached up and pulled it completely out of my hand - she was gumming my peach and would not let me have it back.  She sat in her chair for another half an hour eating my peach and would not give it back to me until she was done.  And at that point there was nothing left for mommy.

When I posted this photo on Facebook a friend pointed out that it looks like she's prepared to punch me if I tried to take the peach.  I hadn't noticed it previously but she might be on to something there.  Not sure if she would have punched me but she definitely would have thrown quite the fit.

10 Months

It's hard to believe that in 2 more months Q will be turning 1!!!  She is truly such a joy to be around and we are constantly getting comments on how mellow and easy going she is.  She is so loving and playful, it's hard to find her without a smile on her face.

Over the past month she has began to move so much more, I dare say that there's no safe place on the floor anymore.  If she wants it she will find some way to work her self over to it!  She rolls all over the place, she can sit herself up and she's just beginning to attempt to pull herself up from sitting.  I'm sure she'll have to work on it more but she's made so much progress over the past few weeks.

She's at the point where she mimics things, especially hand movements!  She will wave to herself in the mirror and to almost anyone else she sees waving.  Just this week I decided to add clapping to the list of hand gestures and sure enough this morning when I was picking her up to take her to her high chair, I clapped and she started doing it to.  I've now moved on to blowing kisses, hopefully she'll be mimicking that in no time too!

She still loves to play peek-a-boo with herself or anyone else.  When people smile at her or speak to her she likes to bury her head in my shoulder (assuming I'm holding her) and then she'll peek at them, wait for them to smile or speak again, and then bury her head again.  She gets very excited when B comes home from work and still gets upset if either of us walk into and out of a room without acknowledging her. 

We have attempted to add some table food to her diet by grinding it up with a mini prep processor and then adding it to her baby food.  She immediately noticed the difference and wasn't having it, after a few bites she refused to open her mouth again until I made her more baby food without adding our table food in with it.  I'm not sure if it has to do with her not having any teeth yet but so far she's not willing to eat table food.  She will eat crackers and bread so long as she can suck on them to make them soft and more easily edible.  I'm not too concerned, I know she'll get there when she's ready so for now I just stick to making my homemade baby food a bit thicker and chunkier.

Time Flies...9 Months Old

I know I say it every month but I'm going to say it again, I can't believe Q is 9 months old already!  Time is flying and in 3 short months my baby will no longer be an infant.  One thing for certain is that I'm enjoying every second of it and, unlike when Y was the same age, I don't find myself rushing anything.  I'm enjoying each day and I don't find myself consumed with wondering when she's going to crawl or walk, etc.  I'm definitely a much more relaxed mommy this time around, but from what I've heard with each child you supposedly become more and more relaxed.

Over the last month Q has decided that she'll roll around much more, if there's something that she wants she doesn't mind flipping over to her stomach in an effort to reach it.  She has also started sitting up on her own much more often.  Most of the time she wakes up in the morning with a bright smile on her face, she enjoys laughing and when people laugh at her, she's very ticklish, and she loves to take other's food if it's within her reach (though I rarely actually let her eat it).

For the most part she sleeps through the night, she generally wakes up and cries for about 10 minutes sometime between 1-2:30am.  I no longer respond to her cries which is why she just goes back to sleep, if for whatever reason she cries for longer and it's a distressed cry then I will respond but that very rarely happens.  Needless to say she's a very well-rested and content baby and still extremely mellow!

Q at 8 Months

Q is still one of the sweetest, most mellow babies I have encountered!  She smiles at pretty much everyone, especially when they comment on how beautiful she is, and when I have meetings or other church related stuff you hardly hear a peep out of her.  But don't be fooled, this girl is a talker!  If there's a toy in her hand more than likely she is babbling to it.

She can also prove to be quite demanding, most of the time that involves food and any item that she wants but I won't let her have, namely my cellphone and iPod.  She's a really good eater so far she has eaten everything I've given her with the exception of those little Gerber puffs, she's not a fan of that.  Also, the days of being able to hold her while I eat are long gone!  In fact if she even sees me chewing while I'm holding her she opens her mouth and starts to move it towards my face as if she's going to eat me, it makes me laugh every time but for some reason she never does this with B.  Maybe because she associates me with food.  She throws fits if she wants something that someone else has, as mentioned above.  Mostly with me it's my phone or iPod but she's also done it with Y a few times over a toy that Y happens to be playing with.

As far as gross motor skills go, she has continued to roll over.  Many people told me about how when their child started rolling they'd use it to get from one place to another until they learned to crawl.  Yeah, that's definitely not Q!  If you put her on her stomach she will almost immediately roll over to her back, grab the closest toy and be content with it.  When she tires of that toy she will roll over onto her side and reach for a new toy, once she has the toy in hand...back to the back she goes!  haha, I'm pretty sure she's going to skip crawling all together or she'll crawl like Y did initially, scooting on her back like an upside down inchworm!  She is pretty steady at sitting by herself now though we always have to stay close of have a pillow behind her because she likes to throw herself backwards at random.

She's happy and healthy and so much fun.  She loves to laugh at her big sister and her big sister loves to make her laugh.  I really love watching them together in moments like that.  B and I sure are lucky!

7 Months

Wow, time is flying by!!  Q is 7 months old, I can't believe it, but I am loving every minute of it!  She has really started to gain a lot of personality now, i've probably said it before but I'll mention it again.  I can see such a difference in her and Y's personalities already.  They both were/are very laid back and content babies but Y was far more serious and not extremely friendly towards other people, in fact I frequently get comments about how "unfriendly" she can be - I've learned to accept that it's just part of who she is.  Y on the other hand seems to smile at everyone, doesn't mind allowing others to hold her, loves to make us laugh and loves to have the attention of those around her.

If I, or even B now, walk into a room and do not immediately recognize her she can throw quite the fit, but most of the time she's pretty happy.  The reflux is really nonexistent now, she eats solids like a champ, sleeps great most of the time and yesterday she rolled over for the first time all on her own.  She wants to grab anything and everything, if it's in your hand she wants it.  I always get comments on how good of a baby she is because she really just "goes with the program."

We consider ourselves to be the luckiest parents on the earth to be blessed with our two girls whom we love beyond measure.  Our lives are infinately better because of all the joy they bring us and the love they have for us.

Here are a few pictures of our youngest princess taken today.  I still can't believe it's been 7 months already!!!

 

Finally

It finally happened!  The day before she turns 7 months old (today) she finally rolled over.  Granted she only did it once but she did it!!!

Y was Skyping again today with Nana B, Grandpa P, and Grandma G (great grandma).  I had laid Q down on the blanket with a few toys while I was eating my lunch.  I was standing and after watching Y and the computer screen for some time I glanced down and Q and it took me a moment to realize that she was on her stomach and I hadn't put her there, I had laid her on her back because she had just finished eating.  I squealed in excitement and told the grandparents and then moved the webcam so that they could see and then I texted B at work.

She's been close to doing it for some time now but this was the first time she actually did it.  Now just to get her to do it again...and keep doing it.  On the plus side I believe I've heard that it's easier for them to roll belly to back than it is back to belly, so if she was able to do that first I'm going to venture a guess that she's probably good to go!

Comparison at 6 Months

I decided to do an experiment today.  Thanks to all of the photos I took of Y as a baby I can identify exactly what she was wearing on her "month-day."  And so I decided to dress Q in the exact same outfit Y wore on the day she turned 6 months.  I did this because I struggle to find similarities between the two of them but it's not exactly easy when you're comparing a 3 year old to a young infant.  So here are the photos tell me what you think, do they look alike?  What features do they share?

Q is on the left, Y is on the right

A close-up
Again, Q on the left, Y on the right



6 Months

The past 6 months have flown by, I really can't believe it!  At 6 months Q is still such a joy, we love her so much.  There is no doubt that she adds so much to our family.  She loves to watch her big sister, chances are if Y is in the room then Q's eyes are following her (yes, this worries me sometimes.  I fear she is taking notes).  She has a quiet and calm demeanor but there is one sure fire way for me to make her cry.  If I have left her alone for a while, regardless of who else she is with, if I fail to acknowledge or play with her immediately upon re-entering the room she will cry.  It doesn't matter where I've gone, whether it was for a short time or a long time, she always cries!  She does it when I return from the gym but she has also done it when I had just finished having a shower.  On that instance she was playing on the floor and I had noticed she had spit up a little and so I passed by her on the way to get a burp cloth and you would have thought someone had pinched her.

We have taken her off of the Baby Zantac, she finished her last bottle about 2½ weeks ago.  She still spits up but she's not miserable when it happens and it doesn't happen nearly as much so we don't think there's a need to continue it.  She is eating solids twice per day, cereal at lunch and veggies for dinner.  Thus far she's had banana, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans.  Next we will be trying avocado, peas, squash and then we'll move on to some yummy fruit!  She's a great eater though when we first introduce a new food she always gives the funniest faces!

She's still a pretty good sleeper though some days she could do better.  But even on a bad day she's a better sleeper than her big sister ever was at this age so I try not to complain much.  All-in-all she's just an awesome baby and she (and Y) help me to remember the important things in life and to stay focused on what really matters.

Here are some 6 month photos:



Y wanted in on the photos.

It looks like a sweet sisterly moment but in reality it's just Q falling over onto Y, haha.



Toe Discovery

Guess who's discovered her toes?!?!  So this isn't a huge milestone but I just find something extremely adorable about baby playing with their feet!  I love it and aside from that it gave me an excuse to post more pictures.  She is too stinkin' cute!