The 411

Let's just pretend I had the time to write this blog on, say, 12-9-11. The girls went to the doctor that day for their 4 year and 18 months appointments. (these pictures are not from December though, they are from this weekend)

Isabella:
42 pounds - 90th%
43.5 inches - 84th%
BMI - 17.5 - 90th%
Blood pressure: 100/69

Bailey:
32 lbs, 8 oz - >97th%
35 inches - >97th%

Here is my post from Isabella's 18 month appointment (keep in mind, Bailey's appointment wasn't actually until 20 months, Isabella was just a couple weeks past 18 months)

"Isabella had her 18 month appointment today. Her ears are clearing up (yay). She is just shy of being 34 inches tall and weighs just over 31 pounds. Everything looks good! We asked about her speech and she is right on track with that. The average 18 month old knows about 8-10 words, which she does, so no concern there (other than her crazy parents comparing her to other kids who happen to be more verbal!)."

So Bailey is a little bigger than Isabella was (unless Isabella grew an inch and a pound and half in a month and a half, which, I guess, she could have?). I don't ever remember worrying about her verbal abilities. I don't ever remember much, so it's a good thing I have this blog...even though I don't update it enough.

We bought Isabella a dancing game for the Kinect (if you don't know what a Kinect is, it attaches to the XBox and "sees" your body, so you play video games with no controller, just by moving your body). These pictures are of the girls playing the game. Well, Isabella is finally starting to "get it", and Bailey just likes to "help" by holding the "amote".

Here are some stream of consciousness ramblings about the girls...

Bailey
Bailey makes me laugh every single day. She definitely inherited Nick's sense of humor and is a real clown. I also recognize more "typical" behaviors in her, that Isabella didn't necessarily exhibit. For example, she's not paralyzed around adults/strangers who speak to her. She doesn't usually speak to them, but will generally wave or do something else to get/keep their attention. She is a little more confident in new situations, although she does like to check things out first before she jumps in. She also is headstrong. She is generally pretty agreeable, but sometimes we have to give her time to throw a fit or change her mind, let her think that it is her idea. And yes she will throw fits. She also has her own way of soothing herself. When she is upset, she likes to spend time in her crib playing with her animals, babies, blankets, and books. Oh, and of course, the paci. I worry about breaking the paci habit, but we're not concerned about it any time soon. She has become extremely verbal and is in that stage where you have to repeat/confirm almost everything she says. Normally we can understand her but when we can't, she can get pretty frustrated. She is still a good napper, though I am a little worried about it going away or at least getting spotty. She used to go down about 1 at home and sleep at least 3 hours but lately she's been missing naps at school and at home not going to sleep until 3:00, at which point we certainly can't let her sleep 3 hours! She is becoming interested in the potty. Usually at her last diaper change before bed she goes to sit on the potty. She has actually peed on the potty twice and the 2nd time, no one was in there with her, so she just emptied the potty into the toilet all by herself, wiped herself, and flushed the toilet. She definitely has a fierce streak of independence, which is good for Isabella to see. She has always been pretty intuitive, and once she learns the purpose or method of doing something, she will catch on pretty quickly. She is so verbal, speaking in complete sentences most of the time. Today we were at the NSC "mommy, fish swimmin inna wa-er!" I can't even imagine how many words she knows, too many to count. She likes to put her toys in Time Out, often for biting or hitting (gee, wonder what happens at school every day?) Speaking of school, she really likes it. She seems to like her teachers and her friends, though I wonder how much she talks when she's there.

Isabella
Isabella is starting to grow up faster than I ever imagined. I'm so glad she has one more year before she goes off to kindergarten, because I think that would accelerate it even more. She is still quite a smart kid. She has learned lots of sight words and can even sound out some CVC words. She is also really good in math. She loves the calendar and really is developing good number sense. Lately she talks a lot about when she grows up to be a Mommy. She'll say stuff like "when I'm a Mommy I will wear that necklace; or I will like to drink coffee; or I will be a teacher" We're having trouble with her keeping her panties dry all day, she just doesn't want to sit on the potty. It is extremely frustrating. We had a teacher conference last month and were expecting to hear nothing but good things...ah, not this time! Her academics are great but it turns out she is too often consumed with the sillies and isn't always a good listener! Oh wow, we didn't expect to hear that! She has some issues at home but I figured, they all do, I just didn't expect them to be carrying over into the classroom! She also isn't great on gross motor skills such as riding a bike and catching a ball. We love Mrs. Pegi, as does Isabella, and think she does a great job. We'd like to sign her up for some sort of sport or dance/movement class, but it just seems like a daunting task to have something to do one night or afternoon every week. She has a great imagination and loves to play. Still not into princesses or anything but she does have a little girly side to her, she'll dress up in her high heels and jewelry. Sometimes she'll put on a skirt and tights, especially when dancing (with the game or just music). She hangs out with the boys at school, and does still love dinosaurs!

The rest of the fam
Nick is a few months away from finishing his Masters and that will hopefully mean good things for him at work. He is still in Reidsville, now managing the lake instead of athletics, which means better hours (95% of the time anyway). He has a great relationship with his new boss, who places a lot of trust and responsibility in him. I am enjoying my new position, though I keep waiting for the "busy season" to end (note to self, I don't think it's going to). I enjoy my increased interaction with the students. Our new building opened last month and even though I am not in the new building, I think it is going to mean great things for our school. We are all looking forward to the spring but especially the summer for the pool, a trip to the beach (hopefully with some of Nick's family and/or Annie and Chrissie), and a visit to Chattanooga.