For old times sake, I thought I would read a few old entries that I wrote during Isla's first year. First babies are pretty special... or at least garner a bit more of the attention that the second one does. I have only really written once about my little Jack! (but don't get me wrong, I love that little guy just as much!). It really comes down to free time, which I don't have much of now that I am home with both kiddos.
Jack is now 6.5 months. That is crazy to say. It has gone both really quickly, and really slowly! This winter has been exceptionally long and cold, and definitely not ideal for a new baby. We have been housebound for months it seems, with our only reprieve being an afternoon trip to Walmart or a friend's house. I am so thankful that we have started seeing some grass, have had some puddles to jump in, and don't necessarily NEED snow pants on to stay warm during a short walk. This spring and summer cannot come fast enough for me. I am dreaming of the lake at my parent's house!
Jack can now sit on his own for a few seconds at a time, although he would rather lunge at all of the toys surrounding him, so he haven't perfected this skill yet. He is a master roller, and refuses to stay still for any length of time. Diaper changes and dressing have become workouts for me and fun games for him! He has started to play peekaboo and has the cutest laugh when he is tickled. He is able to get his bum up in the air, and rock back and forth, but isn't quite able to figure out how to crawl just yet. Although I am anxious for him to get this skill since it is beyond frustrating for him, I am so worried about all of Isla's little toys lying around! Getting a two year old to remember not to leave small dollhouse toys on the ground is not an easy task.
Jack started eating solids around 4.5 months. I skipped the baby cereal and he has happily been enjoying sweet potatoes, squash, apples, pears, prunes, bananas, mangos, apricots, peaches, peas, broccoli, kale, blueberries, mum mums and farleys cookies. I am a lot more laid back with introducing his new foods (I was pretty anal and kept a food diary for Isla), and he seems to be loving it.
He is an early riser, which is a habit I have tried my best to break, but have failed at for 6.5 months so far. 5:30 rolls around, and Jack is ready to play. He greets me with a big smile, so I can't get too upset about it, but it means we have been struggling with 3 naps during the day. I would love to get it down to 2, since it's that third cat nap that I find the most annoying, however, I'm also not prepared to put him to bed for the night at 5pm. I must say, for the most part, Jack has been a great sleeper. He slept so easily as a baby and although we went through a very rough patch around 3 months, he is doing much better. He puts himself to sleep for all naps and bedtime, which is a big help when I am not able to leave Isla alone for long periods of time during the day. He wakes about 2 times each night, but he eats quickly and goes right back to sleep, so I don't mind the time to cuddle with him and enjoy the quality time!
Isla is now almost 2.5. We were able to get rid of the bottle back in the summer (thank goodness!) which meant she started sleeping through the night before JAck arrived- which has been a godsend. With a very cold January, we spent a week housebound and she is now potty trained (for the most part.... we still use pull ups at nap and night because I am not quite willing to part with even more sleep right now). We also managed to give up the soothers a month and a half ago, which actually went A LOT better than I thought it would. We took her to build a bear, made a penguin, and stuffed a couple soothers into his belly. I threw the rest out at the store when she wasn't looking! From that point on, she hasn't made a big deal about them at all. That first night, she cried for a couple minutes as we were putting her to sleep when she realized she didn't have one, but quickly got over it and has amazed me ever since. I am so proud of how far she has come this year!
Isla is an amazing big sister, who loves Jack SO much. He will randomly get kisses and presents given to him, and she is the first one to rush to his side if he is sad. Being able to be home with both kids this year has been the hardest few months of my life, but honestly the most rewarding. I have seen Isla mature so much. She is able to count to 20 (for the most part... we sometimes miss a few numbers), sing her ABC's and other songs like Mary had a little lamb, put on her boots and jacket herself, and even crack jokes. Despite the terrible two meltdowns (which we have a lot of!), she is so much fun to be around.
Here is a picture of the two of them together- they make my heart melt :)
Jack is now 6.5 months. That is crazy to say. It has gone both really quickly, and really slowly! This winter has been exceptionally long and cold, and definitely not ideal for a new baby. We have been housebound for months it seems, with our only reprieve being an afternoon trip to Walmart or a friend's house. I am so thankful that we have started seeing some grass, have had some puddles to jump in, and don't necessarily NEED snow pants on to stay warm during a short walk. This spring and summer cannot come fast enough for me. I am dreaming of the lake at my parent's house!
Jack can now sit on his own for a few seconds at a time, although he would rather lunge at all of the toys surrounding him, so he haven't perfected this skill yet. He is a master roller, and refuses to stay still for any length of time. Diaper changes and dressing have become workouts for me and fun games for him! He has started to play peekaboo and has the cutest laugh when he is tickled. He is able to get his bum up in the air, and rock back and forth, but isn't quite able to figure out how to crawl just yet. Although I am anxious for him to get this skill since it is beyond frustrating for him, I am so worried about all of Isla's little toys lying around! Getting a two year old to remember not to leave small dollhouse toys on the ground is not an easy task.
Jack started eating solids around 4.5 months. I skipped the baby cereal and he has happily been enjoying sweet potatoes, squash, apples, pears, prunes, bananas, mangos, apricots, peaches, peas, broccoli, kale, blueberries, mum mums and farleys cookies. I am a lot more laid back with introducing his new foods (I was pretty anal and kept a food diary for Isla), and he seems to be loving it.
He is an early riser, which is a habit I have tried my best to break, but have failed at for 6.5 months so far. 5:30 rolls around, and Jack is ready to play. He greets me with a big smile, so I can't get too upset about it, but it means we have been struggling with 3 naps during the day. I would love to get it down to 2, since it's that third cat nap that I find the most annoying, however, I'm also not prepared to put him to bed for the night at 5pm. I must say, for the most part, Jack has been a great sleeper. He slept so easily as a baby and although we went through a very rough patch around 3 months, he is doing much better. He puts himself to sleep for all naps and bedtime, which is a big help when I am not able to leave Isla alone for long periods of time during the day. He wakes about 2 times each night, but he eats quickly and goes right back to sleep, so I don't mind the time to cuddle with him and enjoy the quality time!
Isla is now almost 2.5. We were able to get rid of the bottle back in the summer (thank goodness!) which meant she started sleeping through the night before JAck arrived- which has been a godsend. With a very cold January, we spent a week housebound and she is now potty trained (for the most part.... we still use pull ups at nap and night because I am not quite willing to part with even more sleep right now). We also managed to give up the soothers a month and a half ago, which actually went A LOT better than I thought it would. We took her to build a bear, made a penguin, and stuffed a couple soothers into his belly. I threw the rest out at the store when she wasn't looking! From that point on, she hasn't made a big deal about them at all. That first night, she cried for a couple minutes as we were putting her to sleep when she realized she didn't have one, but quickly got over it and has amazed me ever since. I am so proud of how far she has come this year!
Isla is an amazing big sister, who loves Jack SO much. He will randomly get kisses and presents given to him, and she is the first one to rush to his side if he is sad. Being able to be home with both kids this year has been the hardest few months of my life, but honestly the most rewarding. I have seen Isla mature so much. She is able to count to 20 (for the most part... we sometimes miss a few numbers), sing her ABC's and other songs like Mary had a little lamb, put on her boots and jacket herself, and even crack jokes. Despite the terrible two meltdowns (which we have a lot of!), she is so much fun to be around.
Here is a picture of the two of them together- they make my heart melt :)
