First dentist visit

I am so proud of my BIG boy for doing great at the dentist today!  We decided it was time to take him to the dentist for his first check up a few months ago, and we have been talking about going to the dentist and showing him videos of the dentist to get him ready.  I took him to a pediatric dentist and the dentist originally planned to do a simple examination while he sat on Mommy's lap in a special room (which she normally does for patients under 3 years old), but since he was so well behaved in the waiting area, she asked if he wanted to do a full cleaning in the big chair in the regular exam room, and he said yes!  He was so good, his teeth looked great, and the ladies could not believe that he is only two years old.  I am so proud of him!  The dentist gave him a new toothbrush and toothpaste, and he was so excited to brush his teeth when we got home.  Such a silly boy.

I took him to get his hair cut yesterday, and I was also amazed at how good he was for the hair stylist.  He sat in the chair, held my hand, and smiled at himself in the mirror the entire time.  He may drive me crazy sometimes, but when he behaves so well in places like that, I am reminded what a good little boy he is!  People comment all the time that he acts so much older than his age, and I think that may be because he has developed so much faster than "normal" in a lot of ways.  I am hoping he got most of the big tantrum, trouble-maker stuff out of the way already and that age three will be easier...although I know most Moms say it only gets worse after they turn three! 

Happy four months baby girl!

 Today Lily is four months old.  It is so crazy that she is already four months and that my maternity leave is almost over.  We went to the doctor for her four month checkup this morning, and she is still a very petite , little girl.  Her weight is 12 lbs 12 ounces (20%), her height is 24 inches (30%), and her head size was 15.5 inches (17%).  She has grown pretty steadily since birth, so the doctor is pleased with her weight gain. 

At four months, Lily is...

- wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.  I had no idea what size she will be during winter this year, so I have bought a ton of winter clothes in size 3-6 month, 9 month, and 6-12 months just in case.  This girl has quite the baby wardrobe, because I am completely addicted to buying baby girl clothes.  They are so adorable, and I love that I get to pick them out and she cannot yet voice her own opinion.

- eating an average of 22 to 24 ounces a day, with four bottles during the day (every four hours) and one bottle at night.  She is still taking her reflux medicine and still on Alimentum formula for her reflux issues.

- taking two good naps a day, usually a 2.5 hour nap in the morning from 9:30 to 12:00 and a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon between 2:30 and 4:00.  She takes her naps in the swing, and I am very worried about how they are going to get her to nap at day care, but I know they will figure it out!

- her night time sleep is very unpredictable.  Some nights she sleeps from 8:00 to 3:30, wakes up and drinks a bottle, and then sleeps until I wake her up at 7:00.  Other nights she wakes up much more frequently.  Sometimes she rolls to her tummy and gets upset and we have to go roll her back over.  Other nights she rolls to her tummy and sleeps that way all night.  She is very unpredictable.  The only thing that is somewhat consistent is that she is taking one full bottle almost every night in the middle of the night.  I try to get her to eat more during the day to prevent this, but she refuses.  So, for now, we are just going to keep trying different things and hoping that something works.  We have tried to let her cry it out a few times, but I don't think she is ready for it yet.  I do hope she gets better, because it will be very hard for me to go to work if she keeps waking up repeatedly at night.

- rolling over both ways, although she forgets how to roll from tummy to back sometimes.  Constantly sucking on her hands.  Loves to play with her feet and kick her feet.  Making very cute gurgling sounds and laughing.  Very, very smiley, and she has especially big smiles and laughs for her big brother.

Speaking of big brother, we went to the park yesterday and another kid was looking at Lily in her stroller while Frankie and I were playing on the playground.  He saw the kid and yelled, "Hey, Kid, get away from my sister!"  Then he looked at me and said, "Mommy, I am protecting my sister."  It was so, so cute.  He is absolutely going to be the most protective, loving big brother.  She is one lucky lady to have him in her life.

Sweet siblings

I love watching these two play with each other.  Frankie loves to be next to Lily all the time.  Sometimes, he likes to be too close.  Frank goes crazy because Frankie will lean on Lily, or bump her, or "get too close."  I agree we need him to be careful near her, but at the same time, I think we also need to let him play with her, so I usually let him do things like roll her over, wrap her up in a blanket (just not her face) or lay next to her on her play mat.  I think it is really important for him to feel like he is allowed to play with her.  Lily LOVES her brother.  When she is fussy, his voice really calms her down in a way that no one else's does.  She loves to watch him, and she loves when he lies next to her. She gives him huge smiles, and she lets him climb all over her without fussing.  I think he is going to be a wonderful, protective big brother, and I think she is going to be one tough little girl.  I foresee them being friends, but also competitors.  It is going to be so much fun to watch them grow up together!

Someone is so excited

...because she found her feet!  Silly girl proceeded to play with them all day yesterday.

All dressed up...

One of the most fun parts of my day is dressing Lily up in her adorable baby outfits and taking her picture.  She is usually a pretty good sport, and I love catching her different expressions.  Today, we stayed at home and practiced rolling over.  She has been inordinately fussy this week, and I am not sure why.  I thought she may be teething or that she may even have an ear infection after she threw up on me a couple of nights ago, but I do not see any signs of teeth and she doesn't really have any other symptoms of an ear problem, so maybe she is just going through a fussy phase.  I am getting more and more anxious about going back to work, and I am so going to miss playing dress up with my beautiful girl!  Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days:

Texas State Fair

We decided to brave the bad weather and head to the Texas State Fair this weekend.  We planned to peruse the fair for a few hours and then split up so that Frank could take Frankie to the football game and I would take Lily inside A/C for a few hours, but unfortunately the weather thwarted those plans.  As soon as we split up, it started pouring rain, and Lily and I were stuck in the car show, while Frank and Frankie were stuck in the stadium with no football.  

It was amazing to see the difference in Frankie from last year to this year.  Last year he could barely ride the rides, he could only ride with one of us, and he was really scared.  This time, he was able to ride a bunch of rides by himself, and he even rode one "super fast" ride with Daddy.  I think he had a blast!  We also enjoyed a Fletcher's corn dog and a few of the newer fried foods:  the bacon fried cinnamon roll and the Texas fireball, which was kindof like a fried jalapeno popper.  Both kids passed out on the way home, and then we watched the Texas Aggies beat Arkansas.  It was a great family day!

Here are a few pics from the fair:

Tummy time

Lily has really started to enjoy tummy time these last few days, really just since she has learned how to roll onto her tummy and back to her back.  It seems like only a week or two ago that she would lay on her stomach and cry, refusing to even try to lift her head up.  Now, she can lift it all the way up, and she often sits there propped up on her elbows looking around the room for the longest time.  Frankie was really early hitting most of his milestones, but, so far, baby girl has him beat....we will see if this trend continues!

Here are a few more pics from tummy time this week: