JEB: 13 Months Old!

Even though it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating her first birthday, June hit the 13-montn milestone on the 15th. It's been a busy few weeks for our little lady in terms of new skills and development. June can now:

• WALK! She took her first couple of steps on April 5 and has been taking more and more every day since. In fact, walking is now her preferred mode of transportation.
• Brush her hair
• Assist in brushing her teeth (June's job is to hold the tube of baby toothpaste while I brush.)
• Hold up her finger to tell you that she's "1"
• Make a pig and duck noise on command (though they sound pretty similar ... and they are pretty much the noises she makes when she points to any picture of any animal).
• Say "Ellen" or at least something that sounds pretty close to "Ellen"
• Say "Dada" ALL the time (when referring/pointing to Adam), but also when she's not sure of or can't say a word. (For instance, no matter how many times we tell her that her name is June, she points to herself and says "Dada" ... At this point, I'm pretty sure she does this because she thinks it's hilarious when we react by saying, "No, you're name is June!")
• Deliver books to your lap and grunt loudly until you read them. Again. And again. And again.
• Grunt and point to tell you all about the apparently VERY important things that are on her mind
• Feed her babies bottles and food, complete with sucking/munching sound effects
• Take her babies/buddies for rides in doll strollers or anything with wheels that she can push
• Tuck her babies into bed
• Pick mom's nose while being nursed
• Show her teeth on command by way of a super-cheesy smile
• Fold her arms over her tummy in satisfaction after handing someone something or completing a task
• Sing some "la la" sounds along to the "Elmo's World" theme song
• Wear a purse ... June is particularly obsessed with a little red purse we have. She is often found looking extremely proud as she wears it on her little arm.

June continues to be a good eater. Her current favorite foods are Mexican rice, turkey and mandarin oranges. Recently, June had her first free chocolate chip cookie at Target and, of course, she LOVED it. She's slowly but surely drinking more cow's milk with meals, but still nurses about four times a day.

June has four teeth (two on top and two on the bottom) with a fifth tooth (on top) working it's way through her little gum.

June is still doing pretty well sleeping at night (going to bed around 7 p.m.), but will occasionally wake up and let us know that she is awake. :) She's still taking a morning nap around 9 (if we're not out and about) and an afternoon nap after lunch.

JEB can still fit into many of her 6-12-month clothes, but now wears mostly 12-18 months. Still in size 4 shoes and size 3 diapers. :)

Junie's hair is staring to fill in and get longer in the back, so we're seeing some good "bed head" lately. Even with crazy hair, we still think she's one cute little peanut who gets sweeter by the day!

 

Some crawling for old time's sake

"I'm 1!"

 

Feeding Elmo a carrot

Taking Bunny for a ride

Taking Mouse for a ride

Walking with a purse: Fancy!

June's wobbly, looks-like-she's-been-drinking walk

This red purse really does hold all a girl's necessities ...

"I'm so cute, there's no way you can refuse to read 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' for the 87th time today."

EVB: 3 Years + 5 Months Old!

Ellen is now 3 years and 5 months old! It's crazy to think about how much she's grown (physically, intellectually and emotionally) since a year ago, around the time June was born. She's such a "kid" now ... EVB continues to be Miss Independent and (still) does a great job entertaining herself (and everyone else) with her imagination and gift of gab.

Ellen's latest funnies:

• When showing her a hand-cut silhouette we had made in her likeness, "Oh, that's me when I used to be black!"
• Starting sentences with, "Mom, there's something I need to ask you ..." or, "Mom, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

We sure love our sweet, funny girl and can't believe that she's almost 3 and a half!

JEB: 1 Year Old!

Junie B. turned 1 on March 15 and it was a very fun-filled day. June enjoyed a special lunch date with Mom and Dad where she housed an entire grilled cheese sandwich (along with some fruit and snacks we brought from home)! In the evening, big sister Ellen returned from Grammy & Grandpa's house in time for June to open presents and try her first-ever bite of cake. We celebrated with our larger family on Sunday with a St. Patrick's Day-themed party. Miss June had a lot of fun and it was so nice to have everyone over to celebrate our special little lady.

June is continuing to do well. She's the biggest sweetheart; always hugging and kissing Mom, Dad and Ellen, as well as her dolls, stuffed animals, remote controls, Mom's iPhone, etc. In addition to "mama" and "dada," June has added "nana" (banana) and "pff" (balloon, anything that even remotely resembles a balloon, and ... well, anything June wants to tell us about or make sure we notice) to her vocabulary. She's still a big clapper and now a pointer, too. We're still waiting for June to take her first steps, but I don't imagine it will be long since she's doing great at standing and cruising, and looks like she wants to take off and follow her sister around. June is more and more interested in the toys in our house and loves to organize (take things in and out of bins). She also loves to hide small toys in or under something and then put her hands palm-up as if to say "Where'd it go?" Super cute.

She's still a great eater (and even added a 4/4:30 daily snack to her daily intake). She's also added cow's milk to her diet, which she seems to enjoy. June Bug has been doing a wonderful job sleeping through the night lately, despite some top teeth poking through her gums. June is starting to wear more 12-18 month size clothes, but is still rocking the size 3 diapers. We'll get her official 1-year stats at her doctor appointment later this week. :)

Such a lover :)

Big girl on her birthday!

Celebrating with Mom, Dad & Ellen

Birthday party cake

Junie's smash cake

Happy girl!

Little people

Hanging out with Omma Lynn

Mommy & the birthday girl

"Happy Birthday to June!"

June like smooshing her cake more than she liked eating it.

Stealing a moment with Daddy

Loving the tissue paper

Hugs for her new baby doll, "Harpo"

Hugs for one of her birthday cards ...

Gavin, Sophia, Ellen, June, Madelyn, Scarlett & Ben

The fam 

All partied out.

June's First Romp in the Snow

March 5, 2013

EVB: 3 Years + 4 Months Old!

Our little blonde-haired lady had another great month! Ellen has been lots of fun lately (no surprise there) and continues to have the biggest personality in the house. EVB is growing like a weed and looking more and more like a big kid ... She's gaining lots of independence in terms of personal-care tasks and can now be trusted to use the bathroom/wash her hands and brush her teeth on her own, and she is making progress when it comes to getting dressed by herself. (She does great with underwear and pants, but still needs help with most shirts and socks.) Ellen started a gym games class at the YMCA where she gets to run around with other kids her age and learn about teamwork and following directions, and have lots of fun. I think this will be perfect for our crazy girl who has endless amounts of energy and has been cooped up inside most of the winter!

A few funny Ellenisms as of late:

• "In a minute" or "pretty soon I will" is how Ellen responds just about every time we ask her to do something ... Girl likes to march to the beat of her own drum on her own schedule!
• Ellen's imagination is through the roof lately; she and her make-believe friends are always going on "ventures" to magical places.

 Miss "I don't want my picture taken" Ellen ...

Ellen's playdough snowman. (Mom assisted a bit.) Ellen helped me make this playdough, so she was extra proud of her creation.

JEB: 11 Months Old!

Seriously?! June will be a whole year old in just one month?! So crazy ... Little Red has had a big month. In addition to finally getting her first teeth, here are some highlights:

• June seems to understand A LOT. She knows what "no" means and likes to test us by doing exactly what we ask her not to do (e.g., dropping food/cups off of her highchair tray). June will also shake her head "no" while doing something she knows she shouldn't do, which is pretty darn cute.
• JEB has finally ditched the army crawl and now just crawls normally, up on all fours.
• June continues to be a great eater. Current faves are toast, peas, mac & cheese and avocado.
• June still does not like to drink milk from any source other than Mom ...
• Little peanut is starting to get the hang of sleeping through the night after a few tough "cry it out" sessions now that we are in our own house and no longer sharing walls. 
• June perfected the traditional clapping of the hands on Valentine's Day. This is her favorite new trick and she like to clap for herself whenever she accomplishes anything. She's even modified the traditional clap: if she's walking with her walking toys, she will stop, keep one hand on the handle and then pat her free hand on her tummy to give herself applause. Smart girl!
• Our little lady now removes her paci on command (or sometimes before we can even ask her to) when we go to get her from her crib.
• June loves to bounce/jump in her crib or while standing on someone's lap.
• JEB is showing greater interest in books. Her favorite is "I Love You Through and Through" ... She giggles out loud when we read it to her.
• Junie can also give kisses by either leaning her head in to your face or by coming at you with a big, open mouth!

June is nursing four times a day, still eating three regular meals, taking two naps, going to bed around 7 p.m. (and waking for the day around 7 a.m.), wearing size 3 diapers and size 6-12 months clothes. (I think we'll break out some bigger size clothes in the next few weeks.) And, of course, June continues to be enthralled with her big sister and seems to think Ellen is the funniest person in the world (which is pretty accurate).

June has teeth (FINALLY)!

It took 10.5 months, but June's first teeth finally popped through on Feb. 1. Our Little Ginger is now proudly sporting two tiny chompers in the center of her lower gum. :)