Faith August - 4 Years

My baby is getting so big. Just the other day I was remember how cute it was when she would yell out "yellow car" everytime she saw one of these most favorite objects! Also, as she was learning to speak and put -ing on everything, one night at dinner she announced she was "milking" (drinking milk" and "peaing" (eating peas). She is such a big girl now and I am praying that she is also growing into a godly young lady.

 Eating:
Faith is now more keen on having her food not touching.  Is this a 4 year old thing or is she just imitating her Daddy?  I would never say that Faith is picky by any means.  She likes having some foods separated on her plate, like rice and meat.  She really likes soup, sandwiches, mac and cheese, most pasta dishes, every fruit she’s seen (a new addition being clemintines), most veggies (broccoli is eaten without complaint but isn’t her favorite).  She enjoys nuts and cheese for snack

Sleeping:
Night time sleep is same J  Rebekah usually wakes her around 7 or 7:30 but they are happy laughing and giggling in there until I get them at 8.  Nap/Rest time is going well at 2:30.  When she doesn't nap, she is perfectly happy reading books and playing with her dolls.   She probably naps about 2 days a week but only for an hour.

Play:

Loves kitchen and food toys.  The Melissa and Doug ice cream set is a big hit, but really anything in the kitchen is great.  She still loves to play teacher; that and pretend play with food are  her favorite playtime activities.  She also loves inventing new games for her and Rebekah to play.  They usually involve a ball or a mat and some kind of jumping or running like a silly goose.

Skills:

 Faith is doing awesome on her balance bike and I think I’ll be getting her a 2 wheel pedal bike at Christmas.  She loves jumping on our indoor trampoline and likes balancing herself on her hands between two tables.  She memorizes books in about a week and learns songs even quicker.

Education:
Working on pre-primer Dolch list sight words and I have found some of my favorite resources here.  She and Rebekah live for craft time.  She is doing great in church and I have started giving her the letter of the week printables to work on during this time since she doesn't do it during gymnastics time anymore (they stopped gymnastics in February). Recognizes “the,” “God,” "look" and “see”.  She is much improved at knowing what letter most words start with.  S and C words get confusing, as do C an K.  She loves doing school and craft.  She is learning the points of the compass and I want to get her a handheld compass; I think she would love it. 

 

Training:

On laundry day it is Faith’s responsibility to fold all the pants.  Vacuuming, she and Rebekah move all the floor mats and chairs for me to vacuum under.  Faith enjoys the commissary and putting all the groceries on the belt and away in the pantry.  She has her own method of organizing my pantry so it is a little harder for me to find stuff but it works!   She does well dusting.  Bathroom day is her favorite for chores.  She cleans the bathtub / shower without any help from me.  She loves spraying her cleaner and getting elbow deep in the bubbles.  

I feel like the thousand hours of training towards “please” “thank you” “ma’am” etc., is starting to really pay off.  She is saying those things without being prompted! 

 

Rebekah Joy - 30 Months

Sleeping – Rebekah has an amazing internal clock.  She is up at 7 every morning.  You could set your watch by it!  She usually doesn’t make any noise until 7:30ish and she loves giggling with Faith until 8.  Her naps are still starting at 1:45 but I am stretching it to 2 a couple of days a week.  Sleep overall is going very well.

Eating – Rebekah continues to love veggies.  We’ve had a few milk battles, which I have won, and it has ceased to be a problem.  She is, in general, a slow eater and it normally the last one finished and most nights we have all been excused and she is still there.  However, if I leave the table, she does end up playing with her food quite a bit so I generally sit there with her until she is done.  Graham crackers and raisins is her current favorite snack. 

Play – She loves chalk!  That is all she asks for when we are outside (after a bike ride).   Rebekah loves stuffed animals.  She loves dolls too but stuffed animals are certainly her favorite.  One day for station time during school I gave her a bunch of pipe cleaners and the colander and she loved playing with that so much that she requested it be put into her room for solo play.  Her imagination is starting to come alive.  She has started nursing her babies and has also started making "pump" for them.  She offers everyone some pump and constantly declares that her "baby needs some pump".

Skills – Her balance bike skills have greatly improved this month.  She is starting to coast with her legs out and is really enjoying it. 

Grace AnneMarie - 5 Months (21 weeks & 3 days)

Grace AnneMarie is still the happiest baby!  She loves life and loves people.  I constantly hear comments about how happy she is and how much joy is in her face. 

Sleeping:
Grace just got over her first real cold last week.  During the 2 weeks of that cold, she was really congested throughout the day and night.  I started putting her in her carseat at night to relieve the congestion as well as getting her some wool socks and doing the wet sock treatment on her.  Additionally, I am in love with my nose frida nasal aspirator!  Her sleep improved and she is feeling much better now and out of her carseat for naps & nighttime.  However, her naps have gone down hill!  I don't know if it is due to her cold or what but most naps seem to go for about 30 minutes, then cry for a few minutes and then it is a constant cycle of crying for a few minutes followed by 10 minutes of sleep.  About 45 minutes before her nap is supposed to be over I've been putting her in her swing to make sure she does get some sleep.  I'll keep troubleshooting (tummy sleep, carseat, timing) but for now, I am okay with putting her in the swing for the second part of her nap as long as she falls asleep on her own at the beginning of them. 
Eating:
Nursing continues going well. 4 nursings a day and one 7oz-ish bottle (which consists of the expressed milk from 7pm and right before bed).  So, I only have a few frozen bags of milk but I am not worried about needing more.  With two other little ones at home, I don't have a desire or the capability to leave for long stretches of time where I would need vast quantities of stored up milk.  As for solids, I gave her acorn squash yesterday and she loved it (who wouldn't!).  We've done peas, carrots, green beans, and now acorn squash.   She gets about 1T of oatmeal or rice cereal after her morning nursing and then 1 ice cube tray square (so about 1oz) of veggies after her 1pm nursing. 
Skills:
Now that she has mastered rolling over (both directions) she is not too keen on doing it anymore.  I put her down on her tummy and she stays there, same with her back.  I don't know if she forgot or just that she doesn't feel the need to continually prove it over and over.  She does really well on tummy time and is incredibly strong with her neck.  In the last few days I have begun sitting her up and she has supported her upper body with her hands for a few seconds.