A Four Year-Old and a Toddler

What? How did this happen!? All of a sudden we have a very grown up little four year-old and a toddler walking around our house. It's been busy around here the last few months. So busy that I can't seem to find the time to update our blog -- at least that's the excuse I'm rolling with!

Ok, where to start...

Edie: Our baby turned 15 months a few days ago and is now officially toddling around. The shift from mostly crawling to mostly walking happened sometime last week and she's very proud of herself. We have a check-up this week so I will post again with her new stats. January and February were kind of rough months for Edie between teething, croup, and other illnesses. She's still a very early riser (usually between 5-6 am) and naps twice a day. Her favorite things to do are play with blocks & magna tiles, pull books off the shelf and flip through them, play with fridge magnets, pull Anna's hair, go outside, and take a bath. She's still not a big eater, preferring things like yogurt, cheese, pasta, and crackers. Fruits and vegetables - not so much! Some of the things she's saying: Mama, Dada, Anna, Ohm (her lion lovey), and night-night (which sounds more like na-nigh).

Anna: Anna turned four last Sunday. Four!!! She's such a little girl now. She's very interested in reading and writing and loves to string together letters and ask us what word she created (something I remember doing as a kid too!). She's super creative and loves to draw and sing and dance. Her friends are becoming more and more important to her and we've started doing the "drop-off playdate" which makes her seem very grown-up to me. She got a two-wheel bicycle for her birthday but even though it has some heavy duty training wheels she still prefers the comfort of her tricycle. Very typical of our cautious Anna!

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos.

Anna may have been more excited about her birthday this year than Christmas!

Grandma J made her annual birthday visit!

Yogurt face.

Purple and sparkly - Anna's perfect combination.

Edie Turns One!

I don't know what it is but ever since Edie turned one she just seems so much older to me. Whether it's the way she looks at us, listens to us, or points out things that she wants - she just seems wiser all of a sudden. Physically she's getting super active, too. She can now stand up without having to pull up on the furniture and can stay up for a long while before plopping down. We usually clap and cheer for her when this happens which thrills her to no end.

The girls are starting to play together too which is so fun to watch. Anna is very sweet and gentle with Edie. Well, sometimes she needs a little reminding but when she's too rough you can tell it's because she loves Edie so much, not because she wants to hurt her.

Edie now weighs 19 lbs 9 oz and is about 29 1/2" tall (she was squirming during the height measurement so I'm not sure how accurate that is). Definitely a smaller kid than Anna was at this age. I have a feeling she may have inherited a few more Mann genes in the size department!

Here are a few shots from her 1st birthday party. Pizza and cupcakes with good friends and family - Edie had a great time!

11 Months!

Look familiar?

Edie-boo is 11 months old. And I thought the first year of Anna's life flew by! That was a snail's pace compared to this. Here is a list of the latest happenings in Edie's world:

• She has 8 teeth
• Her hair poof is getting taller and taller although sometimes it decides to lay flat which I find just a little bit sad. I'll miss the poof.
• She's a quick crawler and is pulling up on just about everything now, including my pant leg. Every so often she'll let go and flail for a second before landing gracefully on her bottom.
• She hasn't sad mama or dada yet but I've been hearing a lot of "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" so I think it won't be long!
• Favorite foods right now are banana, cheerios, Goldfish, avocado, pear, cheese, yogurt
• I'm starting a very gradual weaning and she's doing great
• As of four days ago she's sleeping through the night (6:30-6:30). Fingers crossed!
• She's become very attached to a little lion blankie that was a gift from Nana Joanie. It sleeps with her always.

Loves playing with the big girls.

Said lion blankie, dangling from mouth.

Are you sure mommy?

Can't forget to include a picture of "Belle" from Halloween!

Freedom!

The cast is gone! Actually, it's been gone for over a week and it already seems like a distant memory. Getting the cast off was definitely more traumatic than getting it on. For some reason Anna wasn't convinced that the scary, circular saw that sounded like a jet-engine wasn't going to hurt and I can't blame her. At one point Todd was holding her down while the doctor was cutting the cast and Anna looked at me red-faced, tears-streaming and yelled "Mommy let me FREE!" at the top of her lungs. It was heart-breaking but now it's over. Phew.

Edie is a busy little explorer and is currently trying to figure out how to stand up. Oh, and it turns out that she does love food! It just has to be something that we would eat. In other words: anything but baby food!

Nana came to town last week, spending the first half of her visit at Emily's and the second half with us. Todd was out of town for work so it was really helpful having mom around. We miss her already!

Edie at Nine Months

Edie - or "Boo-boo" as she has come to be known around our house - is nine months old. She's just as sweet as can be until she takes a chomp out of your leg or arm and then laughs! She's on the move now, exploring all that the house has to offer. I can already tell that we'll have to take baby-proofing more seriously than we did with Anna.

She doesn't have much of an appetite for solid foods but we keep trying. She has four teeth with two more working their way up on the bottom. She's 28.5" tall (80th%) and weighs 17 lbs 11 oz (30th%). Her sleep patterns are still a little unpredictable although her bedtime and morning nap are fairly consistent. Poor Edie! The afternoon naps usually take place in the car or stroller or Ergo carrier - wherever we happen to be. With Anna we were so rigid with the schedule but little Edie just has to roll with it.

Anna just moved into the big bedroom with Edie so now we're figuring out the logistics of a shared room. Since Edie wakes up around 4:00 to eat I have to race in there before Anna wakes up. Every night seems to get a little bit easier.

It's been a busy month with a lot going on in the Youngs family. Sometimes I just need to sit down, breathe, and take in all the changes!

Broken Elbow

Anna had a rough end to her weekend. While playing "party" in the playroom on Sunday night she fell off her "stage" (a shoe shelf) and fractured her elbow. Todd and I were in the other room and didn't see it happen but when we came in Anna was holding her arm and saying it was broken. Right away we could tell something was wrong by the noises and whimpering coming out of her - definitely not the usual sounds she makes when she falls down.

Todd took her to the ER and I met them there later after Emily came over to watch Edie. Almost five hours later - she was such a trooper! - we were home with her arm in a splint. Yesterday we saw the orthopedist who changed out the splint for a bright blue cast. The good news is that there was no displacement of the joint which often means surgery. She'll have to wear the cast for 4-6 weeks and hopefully that will be it.

I can't believe how well she's handling all of this. Kids are so amazingly adaptable. Here are a few pictures. As you can see she's still smiling :-)

P.S. Edie is full-on crawling now and after all of Anna's toys! Link to video here.

Océanne came over to cheer her up on Tuesday. Headband party!

Such a good sport.

Peanut butter crackers make everything better.

Crystal Lake

We just returned from Jack and Jeannette's (Grandma J) house at Crystal Lake in Northern Michigan. What a fun trip! It was just us for the first half of the week and then Jeannette's entire family arrived for a family reunion over the weekend. There were lots of little ones running around and Anna had a ball playing with her cousins, Abby (almost 4) and McKinley (5).

Edie splashed around in the kiddie pool, floated around the lake in a baby float, and by the end of the week figured out how to get up on her knees and rock back and forth. Progress!

Bathing Beauty

"Look Ma! One hand!"

Tea time with Grandma J

Breakfast at the Guest Dock

Abby and Anna ready to swim!

Me, Edie, Carrie, and Sean

McKinley and Anna watching The Little Mermaid

Fun times

Watching Anna on the rides at Train Town in Sonoma

Anna has no fear!

First rollercoaster - she loves the rides!

I see many shared baths in our future!

Someone is trying very hard to get on her knees. Won't be long now!

Sitting!

Woo-hoo! I can sit...

...and play with toys while sitting!

But sometimes I still fall.

Purple girls.

Miniwanca girls*

*Jocelyn was in town for a conference. It was so great to catch up!

Catching Up

Well, it's been a while. The longer I wait to update the blog the more daunting it becomes. We've been busy! Edie turned six months on the 10th while we were visiting my parents in North Carolina - "Nanaland," as we like to call it. It was a fun vacation filled with lots of beach and pool time and golf lessons for me! Todd got in a couple rounds and I played my first nine holes, so we got a little bit of time in for ourselves while Nana and Papa watched the kids. Grandma Mann was also there for the first few days and spent a lot of time holding Edie, who seemed to prefer napping in her lap. She's a pro!

Updates on the kiddos:

• Edie now weighs 16 lbs 8 oz (60th %) and is 26 1/2" long (80th %)
• Her first two teeth are making an appearance on the bottom. Anna didn't get hers until 7-8 months so it seems early
• She can sit up for a few seconds at a time before launching herself forwards or backwards
• Both girls were great travelers. Anna watched videos (Princess and the Frog is her current favorite) and played with her dolls. Edie nursed and slept. Good practice for our trip to Michigan in August!
• We started Edie on solids and so far she is not a fan. She gags and gives me this look that seems to say "why???"

Here are a few pictures from the trip. For the whole album click on this link.

The Double BOB

...worth every penny!

The Weekend

Some fun pics from the weekend... Anna's first painted toenails, Edie's first ride in the swing, day at Stinson Beach, and just general cuteness.

Edie at 4 Months

Our sweet little Edie is already four months old. We're so lucky to have such a smiley, happy and - so far - very easy baby girl. Of course she has her occasional fussy moments (all babies do!) and goes through several outfit changes a day (still lots of spit up), but aside from that she's been a pure joy. Excuse me while I go knock on some wood!

Here are a few stats, developments, etc:

• She weighs 14 lbs 2 oz (63%) and is 25 inches long (80%) which is quite a bit smaller than Anna was at this age (17 lbs and 26")
• Yesterday she rolled from her tummy to back!
• Lots of smiles and occasional giggles
• Starting to blow raspberries and bubbles
• Still wakes up a couple times a night to eat. I don't mind.
• Hates the pacifier and is starting to show a preference for her thumb (Anna loved her pacifier)
• She's finally taking a bottle after much reluctance (Anna loved the bottle)

It's crazy to me how different she is from Anna. For some reason I expected her to be a little clone! Here's a picture of Anna at four months to compare: