Look Who's TWO!!

Claire turned two over the weekend and she was SUPER into her birthday. She brought treats to school on Thursday, had a day filled with birthday fun on Saturday, and ended the weekend with a birthday party on Sunday! She absolutely LOVED it!

It is hard to believe that two years have passed since we welcomed her into our lives. It has been such a wonderful ride watching her grow into the energetic little girl she is today.

At two year old, Claire:

• is extremely active. She rarely sits still and has a ton of energy!
• is doing great with potty training. She is in underwear all day, except for naps and overnight. We will probably try to transition to 100% underwear in the next few months, but we're not going to rush it. Especially since Charlotte isn't sleeping through the night...the last thing we need is two kids up in the middle of the night!! :)
• loves to talk. Her daily notes from school frequently mention her talkative nature and expanding vocabulary. It is so much fun to have an actual conversation with her.
• definitely knows how to throw a tantrum. Over the past few weeks she has had a few tantrums that have resulted in her laying down on the floor, kicking her legs. Lovely.
• has learned how to stall, especially at bedtime. Our nightly routine frequently consists of several trips to the potty and negotiations for "one more book".
• still enjoys music. She loves to sing and looks forward to her Saturday morning music class.
• is a great big sister to Charlotte. She loves to help with diaper changes and bath time, gives her plenty of kisses and is always concerned with where she is at all times.
• loves reading, helping with projects around the house (i.e. laundry, cooking), and doing puzzles. She also likes doing art and playing with her babies.
• is still a huge fan of Elmo. It is really the only thing that she will watch on TV and never really lasts more than 15 minutes.
• would eat yogurt all day every day if we let her. She loves the stuff. I think it kind of grosses Art out since he hates the stuff. Overall she is still a good eater. She definitely has her preferences, but we can usually get her to try most things. She still hates pizza and loves sweets.

The first two years have been amazing. We can't wait to watch Claire continue to grow!

We Grow 'em Small

I took Charlotte in for her 4 month appointment this morning. Doesn't look like she is going to be any bigger than Claire given her current stats:

Weight - 12 lbs 7 oz (21st percentile)
Height - 24.25 inches (50th percentile)

If Claire's growth chart is any indication I'm pretty sure her height percentile will just keep declining. I also found out today that they measure the kids in the infant room before they move to the toddler room and keep track of the shortest and tallest kid they have had. Claire is still holding onto the shortest kid record...that a girl!! :)

Four Months Old

At four month old, Charlotte:

• is rolling like crazy. You put her down on her back and she rolls right over on her tummy.
• is still swaddled at home. Some new state regulations went into affect this summer that prohibits childcare centers from swaddling, which means that she is only in a sleepsack at school. Some days she naps okay without the swaddle and other days she only sleeps for 30 minutes at a time.
• has decided that sleeping overnight is overrated. Don't get me wrong, she has had a few great nights where she has slept from 7:30 - 5:00 (and once until 6:00), but I can count them on one hand. And lately she has been sleeping awful. I think we are going to try to wean her from the pacifier this week to see if it helps...I think she is waking up when she loses it and we are more than sick of putting it back in her mouth in the middle of the night. We will see if it helps and if we actually have it in us to take it away!
• loves to smile and laugh. She has started laughing more consistently and it is adorable. Art is especially skilled at making her giggle! :)
• adores when you sing to her. She can be super sad and the minute you start singing a smile crosses her face.
• still loves bathtime.
• has discovered her fingers and they are in her mouth all the time. She doesn't really have a preference for one over the other, but definitely loves to drool all over them!
• still enjoys the swing. When we are struggling to get her to nap, it usually puts her right to sleep.
• is loved by her mom, dad and big sister Claire!
  
  

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving 2009 was busy. We celebrated with both of our families. There was plenty of delicious food and great company to be had. While Claire had a blast with all of her cousins, Charlotte was a bit overwhelmed and not much of a sleeper. She slept a total of 2 hours the entire day (which is nothing compared to her usual) and was completely done by about 6pm. We headed home and called it a night. Honestly, I think we were all tired. Luckily the rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. Art and Claire ventured out to get a tree on Friday morning. The highlight of the trip for Claire was her first taste of hot chocolate on their way home. She loved it!! We spent the rest of the day getting the decorations up and trimming the tree. Saturday night Art and I were lucky enough to catch a movie and dinner. We went to a new theater in St. Louis Park that serves alcohol and has nice leather seats - definitely our new theater of choice! We saw Blind Side, which was a great sports movie.

Today we have been running errands and hanging out around home. I fit in a nap, which is always a good thing. Especially these days when Charlotte has been giving us major trouble at night.

There are a few pictures below: one of Claire wearing Charlotte's 3-6 month sweatshirt (you think they will share clothes some day?!?!) and one of Charlotte sporting a barrette.

Weekend of Firsts

It was a weekend filled with several firsts. On Friday morning we headed out and got Claire her first haircut. She was a little apprehensive at first, but ended up doing great after a little encouragement. She didn't get much cut off, just a little trim to even things out. We were also able to take advantage of beautiful November weather and spend some time outside. I can't believe how old Claire looks in the last picture - so grown up. It is hard to believe she will be two in a few weeks. Charlotte surprised us this weekend and rolled from her back to tummy. She did it once on Saturday and a bunch of times today. She may be mellow, but she is also pretty determined when she wants something! Now I just need to catch it on video.

Sisters

Here's a few sister shots from yesterday. It is amazing to me how much Claire loves her little sister. She is always asking about Charlotte when she isn't around and giving her kisses. She has also started saying her name in the last month (instead of just calling her baby), which is adorable. I am sure it will be a different story in a few months when Charlotte starts stealing her toys, so we will enjoy it for now.

Splish Splash

Charlotte loves the bath! It doesn't matter how tired she may be, she kicks her legs with delight and give us lots of big smiles. I know that we have a long way to go, but I can't wait until the girls can take a bath together! Not only will it be a blast, but it will make the nightly bath routine a lot smoother.