EVB: 3 Years + 1 Month

So far, Miss EVB is doing a great job of being 3 years old. She's as funny as ever and maturing before our very eyes. Here's what she's been up to this past month:

• Surviving her first visit to the dentist: I was worried since Ellen has a bit of a fear of dentists due to "Finding Nemo" (She also calls scuba divers "dentists" thanks to the Pixar flick ...), but she did GREAT. Ellen was super cooperative for Jenna, who cleaned her teeth, and for Dr. Jon. (It helped that she got to watch "Super Why" the entire time she was in the chair!) EVB was thrilled to pick out a new toothbrush when she was done and she even got her very own "dentist floss." Ever since her appointment, Ellen has been obsessed with brushing and flossing her 18 pearly white teeth.
• Continuing to rock at potty training: I think it's pretty safe to say Ellen is potty trained, with the exception of a few slip-ups at nap/bedtime when she continues to wear a Pull-up. We've even braved longer outings in "big girl unders" and Ellen has stayed dry! At this point, I think Mom and Dad are the only ones with any hesitation about going sans the security Pull-up in public. 
• Eating like she has a tapeworm: Ellen's appetite has been insane lately. She's never been one to want food between meals, but lately there have been constant requests for snacks and second helpings at most meals. I'm thinking she must be hitting a growth spurt. :)
• Getting geared up for the holidays: Ellen had a lot of fun celebrating with her extended family on Thanksgiving. Coming off the heels of Halloween, Ellen informed us that for Thanksgiving, she was going to "just go as Ellen." ... Ellen is getting into the spirit of the next holiday by listening to Christmas songs and then singing them while she putters around the house. Her currents fave is "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas." She's also looking forward to decorating the tree with "do-nah-ments." :)

Post-nap hair as crazy as ever ...

So brave in the dentist's chair!

Enjoying a film at the Como Zoo (Ellen insisted on watching this documentary for 10 minutes before I was able to coax her away ... )

JEB: 8 Months Old!

Little Junie B. is 8 months old! She's continuing to check off some major milestones from her list and is just as sweet and happy as ever. Here's what's she's been up to lately ...

• Crawling: June is officially mobile. And fast! She's quickly turning her modified army crawl/inchworm thing into a very efficient mode of transportation. (In a matter of about two seconds yesterday, June scooted across the room and pulled over a big plant ... A good reminder for us to do some baby-proofing!) One bummer side effect of crawling: red, raw knees and elbows. :(
• Self-Feeding: Just this week, June has figured out how to pick up puffs and Cheerios from her highchair tray and get them into her mouth. She's working on her pincer grasp, but still packs her little snacks in to her tiny palm and then shoves her fist into her mouth. Junie has also started to drink water out of a sippy cup like a big girl.
• Waving: June is just starting to get this. It's a little half-hearted and infrequent, but we're working on it!
• Yelling: June has been expressing herself with lots of happy screams these days. It's noisy, but super cute. (She's also starting to make a few "mama" sounds. Yea!)
• Big-Girl Bathing: Now that June is sitting up completely independently, she can go in the ducky tub (one of my favorite baby items)!
• Teething (still): Everything goes into June's mouth these days. It's been a long wait for those first teeth to completely pop through, but I'll be surprised if they don't appear within the next month.

June is still eating food three times a day (baby oatmeal for breakfast, a fruit mix and/or yogurt for lunch, and some sort of veggie or meat concoction for dinner) plus a few snacks of puffs or cheerios. She's also eating cut-up bananas and recently tried shredded cheese. I'm also continuing to nurse June four times a day.

JEB is still rocking it in the sleep department: 12 hours (usually) uninterrupted at night and two naps (one at 9 a.m. and one at 1 p.m.) plus a third nap (around 4:30 p.m.) when she needs it.

Our peanut is still wearing size 3 diapers, 6-12 month clothes, size 2 or 3-6 month shoes. I'd venture to guess she weighs about 18 pounds.

We sometimes take June's temperament for granted. She is always so happy and smiling, she puts up with her big sister's antics, and she's content to just go with the flow. We couldn't possibly love this little girl any more than we do!

EVB: Swimming Lessons (Take 2)

Ellen started a new swimming class a couple of weeks ago. We were a little nervous about how she'd do since our first attempt at lessons last January was an epic failure. Lo and behold, Little Miss E. did a great job starting with the first class.

I think a few things are working in our favor this time around: Ellen is eight months older than she was for her first attempt (and, therefore, more comfortable doing things without Mom or Dad right by her side); the YMCA swim class seems much more organized than the community education class (duh, you get what you pay for ...); and the instructor/student ratio is awesome (as in 1:1, possibly 1:2)!

So far, Ellen is having lots of fun acclimating to the water and she'd even learning a few skills (front and back floats, "doggy paws," kicking, jumping in, etc.). It's been so much fun watching her venture out on her own without us and it's a bittersweet reminder that our little girl is growing up.

Practicing proper back float form ...

EVB listening to her teachers, Mr. Andre & Ms. Caitlin.

Practicing kicks!