Toddlers and Babies

I know I've said it before, but MAN, it is hard to find time to blog these days! If you find some of my posts end abruptly, it's probably because someone was having a meltdown and so I had to publish my post in a hurry. 

This morning, Gemma and I went to the toddler class, the next step up from Baby & Me. It was CHAOTIC! there must have been at least 20 toddlers in there, plus their moms, plus a few younger siblings. A few of us planned to go today, just so we would have familiar faces. What I really noticed today was how Gemma and her friends really seem to recognize each other as friends and like to play with one another. Even though there were numerous other kids, our usual group seemed to flock together and move around the room to the same toys, etc. It was really cute. 

Tomorrow, I am going to tackle B&M with Leni alone - truly alone as none of my existing mom friends will be there - and I admit I have the same nervousness that I had before taking Gemma to her first B&M class. Wish me luck!

Catching up

I hate falling behind on blogging, but I have literally had NO time to sit down and type these last few days. Since my mom went back to work, my mornings seem chaotic! I'm also trying to do Baby & Me again with Leni on Tuesdays and Toddler Time with Gemma on Mondays, we start Rhythm and Rhyme with Gemma today, and I have Physiofit for myself on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, etc. I'm so busy!!

Gemma spent the last few days displaying symptoms of her 2-year-old molars coming in - rosy cheeks, extreme crankiness, messed up sleep/nap, and NOT EATING (which is so crazy to see in her). She seems to be in better spirits today though, thank goodness.

Leni is about the same as before. I have to say, she is way behind where Gemma was at this age. Around now, Gemma rolled over front to back and Leni is nowhere near that point. I'm still trying to figure out a routine for this baby, who still won't have solid naps. She takes a soother about 80% of the time and sometimes she sleeps just fine without it. At night, she does anywhere between 6 and 8 hours before she has to eat, but more often 6.

Gemma is starting to take a real interest in Leni though and Leni just loves to watch Gemma. Gemma will often ask that I put Leni across her lap (on a flat pillow) and she likes to hold her hand and stroke her hair. I think Gemma is going to be a very loving older sister. 

I've started Physiofit class, which is a "workout" of sorts taught by a physiotherapist on strengthening the deep core muscles and helping postpartum women get their pelvic floor strength back. To the onlooker, it must look ridiculous because it looks like we're just lying on the floor, but MAN oh man, I get my butt kicked each class. And only after three classes, I've noticed dramatic results in my diastasis and in my pelvic floor strength. I have another seven classes to go and I'm really excited to see the results at the end of it all. 

Two Months

Leni went for her 2-month immunizations yesterday. She weighed 12 lb 2 oz and was, again, just under 24 inches in length, putting her at 50th for weight and 90th for height, and 50th for head circumference. She handled the shots well and only cried briefly, but I took her at the worst time of day (when she should have been sleeping) and so she was very, very cranky the whole time. 

GEMMA

Today, Gemma started saying her name correctly. Up until now, whenever she would say her name, it sounded like "munion" (don't ask, i don't know how that came from "Gemma") and "chemmy". Now, she says it perfectly. I never knew how cute it would be to hear her say her own name properly, but it is darn cute.

Counting

As I've mentioned previously, Gemma has learned to count. Even last week, she could only count to seven, but now she can count all the way to ten - the weird part is she now forgets "five", but she has learned to say "eight"... oh and yes, I know, she says "seven" kinda weirdly...

Time is Precious

I took the girls to a playdate today. The mom who hosted has two boys, one is a couple of weeks older than Gemma and her younger son is now 6 months old. I can't believe her younger son is already 6 months when it feels like yesterday that I was checking up on her facebook profile to see if she had the baby yet. Then it hit me - Leni will be there soon; in a blink of an eye she will be starting solids and sitting up on her own, etc. I know that I've said many times that seeing Leni makes me want time to go faster, but I suddenly noticed my own baby is going to be 2 months old in 5 days! As much as I don't "enjoy" the newborn stage, where have the past 2 months gone? I thought time only flew when you were having fun...

So I've decided today that with Leni being my "last baby" and all, I would really try to savor these times of sleeplessness and frustration, as they really are a part of shaping me into the kind of parent that I am and want to be. Leni, like Gemma, will only make me to be more patient and loving and I want to take in every lesson she teaches me.

Just Once

I don't want to jinx it, but Leni went to sleep at 10 PM last night and woke up to eat at almost 4 AM, then ate and slept until past 8 AM this morning!!! Yay!!!

Leni - 6 weeks

We had Leni's 6 week appointment today. She is actually 7 weeks old today, but her appointment was delayed a week. 

She weighed in at 11 lb 11 oz, though she was weighed with her clothes and diaper on, so not entirely accurate. 

She is almost 24 inches (long!). 

Over the last week or so, Leni has developed a hernia in her bellybutton. Not to be worried, I guess, unless it is not reducible and it should go away on its own by her first birthday. 

The doctor also heard a faint heart murmur while I was holding her, but couldn't hear the same when Leni was lying down... so not too worried, but i guess it's pretty benign in babies anyway. 

The biggest thing to note - Leni smiled at me today! Not once, but numerous times! She has smiled at Gemma a couple of times and maybe my mom and maybe Jesse, but this was the first time she looked at me and smiled. It really just melted my heart!!!

Gemma's Words

Boy this girl's vocabulary is growing each day by leaps and bounds. She actually spends the ENTIRE day talking, whether it's jibberish or real words. I just wanted to document some cute things she is saying right now...

my mom: "Gemma, why are you trying to open the dishwasher?"

Gemma: "Harmony help" (she wants to help my mom unload the dishwasher)

We were at the spray park the other day and on our way out, saw Maeve, Gemma's BFF. We had to be home to feed Leni, so it was a quick visit. Afterwards, my mom asked Gemma "what did you do at the spray park?" and Gemma replied "Maeve, bye". I just loved how she was telling my mom what had just happened.

She can count to 7 in English - she also says nine and ten, but for some reason has a hard time with "eight". This was a total surprise - we never taught her to count in English, but a couple of days ago she was just walking around, counting. I was shocked.

She can "read" most of the alphabet. She is still working on "U", "V", "Q", "Z". Every time we pull up to a store, she is busy reading the letters out... like "W-A-L-M-A-R-T" or "M" (when she sees McDonalds), etc.

There are so many more, but of course when I want to sit down to write about it, I can't think of any...