EVB: 3 Years + 2 Months

Miss Ellen has, for the most part, been very well-behaved lately, which reaffirms we're (hopefully) past the batshit-crazy, possessed-by-the-devil, foaming-at-the-mouth phase of tantrums she went through in recent months. In fact, Ellen has been downright sweet the majority of her waking hours these past few weeks!

She continues to amaze us with her vocabulary, inflection and quick wit during conversation, and her imagination and ability to entertain herself are phenomenal. EVB is also taking greater interest in her sister, which is nice, but we find ourselves playing defense for poor June. Ellen loves to hug her sister. Hard. She also thinks it's totally acceptable to try to ride on June's back as June crawls around the floor. We're also busy trying to keep little 3-year-old fingers out of June's eyes, ears, nose and mouth. "Gentle!" is the word we're using most with Ellen right now. :)

And, off course, Ellen's sense of humor is still amazing. Some funny things from her mouth this past month:

• "I better go to the bathroom so my bladder wont't hurt."
• "Oh no you don't, Junie," when June is crawling toward something Ellen deems off-limits to her sister.
• "When I grow up, I want to be an astronaut ... then I want to grow into a doctor and a mom, but right now I'm just a little kid."

2012 Christmas Festivities

The girls had a fabulous time celebrating the holidays this year ... It was June's first Christmas and Ellen's FOURTH Christmas, if you can believe it! (Granted, EVB was all of two months old for her first Christmas back in 2009.) Our family was on the go for a good week or so as we gathered with extended family and friends as well as both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Here are some pictures of all the fun we had:

Trying to get a picture of June's sweet little baby neck ...

but she turned around and posed for the camera instead. :)

Note: I am typically anti-baby headbands, but June looked cute in Ellen's hair accessory (which just so happened to coordinate with her outfit!)

The sad "Christmas corner" of our rental townhouse. Not fully pictured: our even sadder looking "mantle" (aka stockings hung from 3M Command Hooks stuck to the wall)

JEB: 9 Months Old!

Little June Bug has now been on the outside as long as she was on the inside (give or take a few days)! June is continuing to grow and develop just as she should ... Here's what's she up to these days:

• Getting into a sitting position from her tummy
• Starting to pull herself up in her crib
• Improving her crawling technique
• Waving more and more
• Relishing in the joy of throwing things off of her highchair tray and onto the floor
• Refusing to take a bottle of milk (I think she's been spoiled by always having Mom around when it's time for a drink!)
• Still eating food three times a day (cereal for breakfast, cereal/fruit for lunch, and meat/veggies for dinner). She continues to eat pureed food, but can handle shredded cheese, cut-up bananas, soft-cooked veggie/chicken pieces, graham crackers, cheerios and rice cakes. June also continues to nurse four times a day with an occasional session or two during the night if those pesky teeth (or more recently a cold) wake her up. (We're trying to get back on track with sleeping through the night!) June is still taking two naps each day, too.
• Preferring to sleep on her tummy (though we still put her to sleep on her back)
• Graduating to a "big girl" car seat after Mom & Dad decided that she's just too heavy to keep lugging around in her infant carrier
• Riding like a big kid in the Target shopping cart
• Wearing 9-month or 6-12-month clothes (we finally packed away the last of the 3-6- and 6-month clothes), Size 3 diapers and mostly Size 3 shoes She still wears a few pairs of Size 2 shoes.)
• STILL working on those first teeth. I cannot believe at least one hasn't poke through yet, but it can't be long because I can see the tops of several pearly whites just beneath her gum.

We'll find out June's official weight and height in a few days when she has her 9-month appointment!

So much for getting a picture to show June's length!

We are remembering just how much we love this age and delighting in everything our little peanut does. :)

Sisters with Santa

Ellen & June survived their first trip together to visit Santa Claus. There were no tears this year, but Ellen was a bit apprehensive (or as she puts it, "Santa was a little shy"). However, we were able to convince her to stand next to Santa's reindeer, Donner, to remain in frame for the photo. June Bug was content as could be ... I think she was mesmerized by Santa's big, white beard!