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!

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!