11-5-14

Sorry I only got to one entry in October.  With the end of the term at work and Halloween, among other things, it's been a busy, busy time!

K:
- was a rockstar at her flu shot last week.  To be honest, I was dreading the appointment (which was also for C's physical).  Now that K is old enough to understand what goes on at the doc's, and remembers other appointments, I thought for sure she would battle having to go.  She loves her book about going to the doctor, and is fascinated with the doctoring concept, but I still worried she would freak.  Thus, for a solid week leading up, I belabored that flu shots are for big kids, and they are really cool and fun.  She has a Doc McStuffins kit with a toy shot, and when we would play with it I would say, "My turn for the shot in the arm.... Wow, that was fun!"  She seemed excited, but I still feared that in the moment she would lose it.  Much to my surprise, she was fine with every bit of what went on!  When the nurse told her she would go before Carly, I mentioned that K had the chance to "show Carly how it's done!"  The nurse said it would be a little pinch, and K just said, "Okay."  And that was that.  The shot was done.  She didn't even whimper.  Afterward, K told C, "Your shot is next!  It's so fun!"  It helped that K knew she would get a sticker and some french fries on the way home.  Try as I might, I am not above bribery or reward systems.
- got some great loot on Halloween night.  She went out with Joe from house to house around the neighborhood in her doctor costume (see above re: her fascination).  When she came home, tired and worn out, she was still excited about the many pieces of chocolate in her treat bag and wanted to eat them all.  We made her pick one: she went with a Crunch bar.
- has started sharing, "I understand," after someone expresses a concern or sadness.  It's funny hearing her empathize when clearly she doesn't really understand.  For example, when I complain that I have to go to work in the morning, K tells me, 'Mommy, I understand.'  What a sweet sentiment, but no, no, you don't. :)  Other fun frequent sentences and phrases include the constant 'What are you doing' and the 'I want to see my daddy' if she is mad at me, or 'I want to see my mommy' if at Joe.  She is already playing the system.  Any time she is in the dark (literally), she expresses, 'I can't really see!' I love the "really" there.  It's fun watching her pick up adverbs like 'really' and 'too' and 'soooo' and 'very.' And then there's the reprimanding, which is not as fun or cute.  "STOP crying, Carly!"  or "Don't talk at me like that, Mommy!"  Yeah, we are trying to squelch those...

C:
- has become a crawler!  C has been in a crawl- ready state for a while, and was scooting a bit but seemed to have no plans to be really mobile.  She was content sitting and rolling around.  Then, one day a couple weeks ago (just about when she turned 9- months) she was clear- across the other side of the living room suddenly.  Her crawl is a military style, which is exactly what K started with.  Even the way they move their hands is bizarrely similar.
- is an eating machine.  She eats mostly everything we offer, but does have her preferences, and I can tell you she is not a fan of Chicken and Stars.  We threw those away after her constant grimace and lip- closing when they were on the menu.  She will still eat pureed baby foods (loves the peach- banana- oatmeal combo) but also bread, cheeses, chicken, pasta, puffs and cereals, whole- grain waffles, and soft fruits and veggies, including bananas, carrots, green beans, and asparagus.  Her self- feedings and chewing are quite efficient too.  She's got a perfect pincer grip and knows not to overload.
- dressed up as a bumble bee for Halloween.  She sat contently and even fell asleep a bit in the stroller at her first Halloween parade, but on Halloween night she made it clear-- through fussing-- that she wanted to stay home and skip the trick- or- treating.  It was 6:30 when Joe and K went out, which is nearly C's bedtime.  Poor girl was rubbing her eyes and whining.  We took the cute bee costume off and let her hit the sack, but she still had fun hanging out with her sis in their costumes for a bit.