Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Annabel at 5 Months


This little lady has caused a lot of trouble!!!

But she's cute, isn't she?

Shortly after her 4 month birthday, Annabel's night wakings became even more frequent...like almost every two hours. We tried sleep training (allowing her to cry it out), homeopathy, an extended bedtime routine...but nothing seemed to work to get her to stay asleep for longer periods. What made matters worse, was that she also began to roll over. While this developmental milestone was exciting, it also made it hard for her to learn to fall asleep at night because she would roll onto her tummy, and then get upset that she couldn't roll back!

After trying everything, we decided to start her on rice cereal. I had wanted to wait till she was 6 months old, but she was at least within the acceptable age range to begin solids. We are now about five weeks into it and she is sleeping better again. She still wakes up two or three times at night, but I'll take that over what we've been through the last month and a half.

Other good news...her spitting up has almost completely subsided. In combination with solid foods, I think this little girl will chunk up just nicely :)

Right now, she's about 16 pounds. She eats rice, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and bananas. She goes to bed at about 7 pm, wakes up to nurse at midnight and four, and then is up for the day about 7:30 am. She is more interested in her toys now, and she has learned to "yell" ...loudly saying "AHHHH". She takes three naps everyday, somewhere around 9:30 AM, 1 PM and 4 PM. Unlike Ethan and Kate, she's not a very good napper, only napping for about 40 minutes at a time.

Friday, October 05, 2012

Four Years

It doesn't seem very long ago that Kate was learning to walk. Today she runs...fast and hard! Who knew that she would turn out to be such a spitfire! Definitely all girl with her emotional outbursts, unique "fashion sense", and love for anything sparkly, but surprisingly tomboyish as she runs, digs in the dirt and roars ferociously with wild eyes as she plays. Crazy girl. Lovable girl.

Some of her favorite things:

  • tight pants
  • pistachio nuts
  • nail polish
  • sucking her thumb (ugh, I know...)
  • kettle brand salt and pepper chips
  • brushing Barbie's hair
  • headbands
  • Dancing with the Stars



This picture was taken on her actual birthday, October 2nd. Look at how she stands...triumphant, proud, striking a pose. This is SO her! And in most things, she approaches them confidently, unabashedly, enthusiastically. She's game for just about anything (except for her 4 year old immunizations today. Let's just say it took three adults to hold her down and administer the shots). I have to say--and David would agree-- that although she looks more like his side of the family, she has a lot of my characteristics.

This could be a problem come junior high.

Happy Birthday, Kate the Great! We love you :)