Halloween 2011

We all met at Scott and Jenn's for their traditional chili dinner before going out trick-or-treating. The whole gang was there. Next we went to trick-or-treat Grandpa and Jason. Bailey rang the doorbell and just walked right in! We hoped she wouldn't be doing that to all the houses that night! Then we headed to Surprise Valley to trick-or-treat with Aiden and Kenzie. We had to make a stop at our house, as Sydney was crying freaking-out hungry and it was getting to be bedtime for her. TJ put her down and Bailey and I went to Julie's. We got a later start than last year, but still had plenty of candy. Some guy at a house back in the cul-de-sac had jumped out and scared Kenzie. She was pretty shaken up the rest of the night. Nana and Papa joined us towards the end. They got a lot of loot! Bailey was Silvermist (from Tinker Bell), Kenzie was a witch, and Aiden was a baseball player. Sydney will be able to go with us next year!!

Sydney is 6 months old!

Sydney is 6 months old today! Wow, has the time flown by. She is showing her personality day-by-day and it is so fun to watch. She is still a spitter; though she has some good days and some bad days (6 shirts in the morning)!

She checked out at the doctor A-O-K. She weighs 15 lbs, 14 oz (50th percentile) and is 26 1/4 inches long (75th percentile). Her head circumference is 16 3/4 inches (60th percentile). We have started solid foods including rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots and squash. She tried green beans the other night but didn't particularly care for them. TJ has some great video of the faces she was making while trying to swallow them down.

She loves her satin-trimmed DeeDee and pulls it up to her face when we lay her down for a nap or for the night. She is a snuggle bug. Sometimes after having a bottle, she will attack your face (cheek or chin or even neck) with her mouth and slobber all over you. TJ and I think it is so funny; Bailey not so much. She doesn't like to get slobbered on by her little sister. Whenever Sydney hears Bailey in the next room, she turns her head and tries to find her big sister. When B enters the room, Syd just follows her around with big eyes and a smile. She just can't wait to play with her.

She is getting used to a predictable schedule. She wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30. Diaper change and medicine immediately. That settles in her tummy for about 15-20 minutes, then oatmeal, followed by 4 oz of formula for breakfast. Then she plays in her exer-saucer or jumper, or sits on the floor and plays. Roughly 2 hours after she wakes up - 9ish - she lays down for her morning nap. Anywhere from 1 to 2 1/2 hours. Up at 11 or 11:30 for lunch. We just added apples to the mix, so that or a vegie, then about 4 oz formula. Then some more play time, then down for afternoon nap about 1ish. Sleep hopefully 2 hours, up at 3 for 6 oz. formula. More play time. Dinner of a vegie mixed with oatmeal to thicken it up at 5:30. Play time while we eat, usually on the tray of the high chair so she joins us for dinner. Then bath around 7pm, downstairs for her medicine and quiet time. We read some books or watch Baby Einstein. By 7:30-7:45 she is hungry and eats about 6-8 oz of formula upstairs in her room. Then a few books, then she is ready to get in her crib. She has been sleeping through the night more nights than not.

Time to Get Messy: Pumpkin Carving

We bought a couple of pumpkins today and decided to turn them into jack-o-laterns. Last year, we had pumpkins, but we didn't carve them.  Bailey was so excited to stick her hand in there and get all the seeds out, even though it was messy!  She wanted to make sure to save the pumpkin seeds.  Daddy told her how he saved the seeds, baked them in the oven and then ate them after he carved his pumpkin as a little kid.  Afterwards, we had to go outside on the deck to light them so she could see the pumpkin-turned-jack-o-lantern flicker.  Sydney was long asleep...she'll have to join in next year!

Fall Days

These are a couple of cute pictures from October. We have had an "Indian Summer" with some nice fall days in the 70's, but this week looks like back to the 60's. I have finally made the summer-to-winter switch for both girls' clothes. Sydney probably has 30 pairs of pants! All thanks to Aunt Julie and cousin Mackenzie for passing along the clothes...and Nana, as she probably bought a lot of them too.

Bailey is very excited about the "fall" weather, the leaves turning colors and falling off the trees, and upcoming Halloween. She wants to be a superhero...and a worm. Two costumes in case she pees in one, according to her. Not sure where she got that. She says, "I have a butt crack," when she means she has a wedgie. Lots of "Guess what?" to begin any sentence.

We have started Sydney on rice cereal 2 weeks ago and she attacked it! We have a great video of her first time and Daddy stopping to clean up a spill. Sydney grabbed the spoon and put it directly in her mouth! Very coordinated! This weekend we started Oatmeal which she seems to like as well. Next week we'll start some fruits and vege's! We'll probably try sweet potatoes first--as that was Bailey's first food and she loved it. Sydney is getting closer to sitting up. She'll balance for a few seconds, then begin to topple over before being caught. She is getting stronger each day. And when she is on her belly--and especially reaching for a toy--she can spin 360 degrees! She's getting more mobile each day. I can't believe how fast these 5+ months have gone. She'll be 1-year-old and walking before we know it!

Harrison Classic Oct 2011

Bailey ran the 2011 Harrison Classic today. A one-mile run/walk for kids 13 and under. We were in the last group to go, with the strollers, as Sydney and I ran and walked it with Bailey. Daddy was on-call yesterday and had cases today. We saw Magnus and Scott at the start as well.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon--sunny and in the upper 60's. We started off running but soon switched to walking. We went back and forth the whole mile. I told Bailey it was fine to walk and take a rest--I wanted her to have FUN! She sure did. She got an apple, string cheese, organic baby carrots, and chocolate milk at the end. And, a medal for finishing! On the walk back to the car, she told me she wanted to get some more (race) numbers so she could have five in her room to play with. I think I will start a binder with all her race numbers. It was a great day!

Bailey earns Bowling game!

We started a sticker chart for Bailey for incentives to help around the house and take care of herself. She was so excited and proud of herself when she got a sticker. We told her when she received 50 stickers, we would take her bowling. It only took a little over a week. We had a wonderful time bowling. B bowled 66; Mama knocked down 80, and Daddy had a whopping 154! Four strikes and 3 spares! Bailey and I each had a spare. Bailey tried kicking the ball like a soccer bowl on one turn. By about the 6th frame she got bored and wanted us to play with her hair. She needed a buddy to bowl with! After the bowling, we played some video games and skee-ball and she got a lot of tickets. Instead of turning in the tickets for a prize, she wanted to keep them for herself. We had a great time and Sydney did great too--she slept through the whole thing!

Sydney Rolls Over!

Sydney rolled over today, on 9-10-11. She had been so close this week (yellow shirt). Lying on her back she would swing her hips to the left and start to get her shoulders over, but just couldn't get all the way over...beyond her left shoulder. Saturday she did it! These pictures are immediately following. She looks a little surprised. Her left arm still looks a little stuck under her body. She can really squeak and squawk while she rolls. Great job Syd!

UPDATE 9/17/11: The very next Saturday she rolled from belly to back! Although she doesn't go that way often, she can still do it. She usually gets mad and starts squawking when she is tired of being on her belly.

First Day of Pre-K Blue

Today is the first day of school for Bailey. Three-year-old preschool. Some days she tells me she wants to stay home with me and Sydney. (I can't blame her. I dropped out of 3-year-old preschool because I wanted to stay home with my Mom and little sister!) She is in the Blue room and will be with the same two teachers for the next two years. Miss Whitney and Miss Chinoah will help Bailey and her classmates prepare for Kindergarten. We are looking forward to learning a lot and having a great year!

TJ goes to South Africa

TJ was gone for 9 days on a work trip to South Africa. It was a special course on spatial frames and he got to do a lot of hands on learning. The girls and I had a busy week without him, but we were so glad he returned home safely. And Bailey was so excited because there were presents in the suitcase!

Bailey Quotes

Bailey and Sydney and I went for a walk this morning. Bailey saw a bird in this pine tree. She tried to point it out to me and said, "In that pineapple tree!" I proceeded to take the picture of the tree to put here on the blog...and afterwards, she said, "The tree isn't smiling Mommy!" Oh right. Why would I take a picture of something that isn't smiling? Her comments made me giggle.

Bailey was wanting to play with her DeeDee while I was feeding Sydney a bottle one late morning. She had a corner and wanted me to grab the other corner with my feet and hold on. I did and she would laugh as she pulled and then I would let go. She would say, "No DeeDee for you!" I responded "No soup for you!" -- the famous line from one of the Seinfeld episodes. She ran to the kitchen and returned with a Cars the Movie can of Chicken Noodle Soup and shouted, "Yes! Soup for me!!!" We ended up eating the soup for lunch.

I started to do an Ab routine on an App from my iPhone one day. Bailey asked what I was doing. I commented how I was working on getting rid of my tummy after being pregnant with Sydney. She came over and lifted up my shirt to take a look at my belly. About 5 minutes into the routine, she came over to me and lifted up my shirt again. "Is it all gone Mommy?!" she exclaimed!

On a side note, Bailey has started to call me Mommy instead of Mama. Pretty much around her 3rd birthday. Not sure where she heard that...I kinda liked Mama. But Mommy is good too!