Monday, August 29, 2011

4 and 5 Months!







Once again, I'm a little slow on the uptake with recording Finn's development here on the blog. (Poor little neglected second child). Honestly, he's growing so quickly that I can hardly keep up before we're on to the next stage, and I'm in such a fog most days that I'm worried I'll forget it all if I don't get it all down.
Since his birthday was March 1st, it's nice and easy to remember these early monthly "birthdays" -he turned 4 months old on July 1st and 5 months old on August 1st. We say often what a sweet-natured little thing he is... very snuggly, quick to smile, and very laidback as long as he's fed and changed! Such a happy boy!
4 Months:

-Although most people joke about not having to change s boy's diapers as much as a girl's, we've noticed that he fusses like clockwork when he's got a dirty diaper. He also has a definite "fussy time" around 11 or noon where he will just totally lose it until he's held, fed, and sleeping. It can be frustrating when we're trying to get out the door around lunchtime, but I'm just thankful it's at noon instead of midnight!
-He's discovered his toes, and loves to grab them and roll back and forth. He also loves to gnaw on his fingers and sleeps with his arms up by his head. These are some of my absolute favorite baby things- such a sweet stage!
-He still sleeps pretty well in the swing, which is really nice (I can't remember when Kenna stopped) but it is not as much the no-fail sleep guarantee as it was when he was a newborn.
His morning nap usually coincides with errands, and I'm so thankful that he is happy in his carseat. He actually loves being in the car and it usually helps him drift off:

5 Months:

-It's fun to see him start interacting with his surroundings more- he's fascinated by our dog and still loves to watch whatever big sister's up to A lot of times she is the one who can really get him belly-laughing, like from bouncing a balloon on his carseat or saying silly things to him:

(And Kenna is equally enamored with her little brother. The first thing she says to everyone she meets is, "this is my Finn." Loves her baby!)

-He's still much more active than I remember Kenna being at this age. Lots of kicks, rolling over onto his belly, turning his entire body to look at things, and almost sitting up completely on his own! He much prefers to be standing up on our laps or in the exersaucer rather than laying down or leaning back.

-I'm still breastfeeding, which is a relief in some ways because this is about when I stopped with Kenna. It's a daily struggle to me, somedays feeling totally fine and the next he's super fussy or my supply seems low or I just get overwhelmed with it, so I'm taking it week by week. I'm thankful to have made it this far, but if it becomes unhealthy for either of us, we'll move on & not feel bad!

-It's fun to have a girl and a boy now and see some of the girl/boy differences... for example, I remember Kenna making all these sweet little oohs and squeaks as a baby. Finn comes out with these hilarious growls and shrieks. Especially in the evenings (typically around dinner time) he can get really loud like he's telling us about his day.
-He's starting to be able to grasp things better, holding onto toys, taking his paci in & out of his mouth by himself, chewing his bibs, etc. He loves to kick his little feet and kind-of punch his one little arm in particular. He also is discovering the power of his little grasp- such as the attention he gets when he accidentally pulls Kenna's hair or that the couch fabric makes noises when you scratch it. He has such a strong little grip!

It's amazing how fast our little boy is growing up big- and I have to hurry up and post this since he is turning 6 months old this week! Overall, such a happy and active little man. We love you, Finn!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Potty Training!

I used to kind-of laugh at folks that made a big deal about their kids' bodily functions on their blogs. But let me tell you, with 2 kids in diapers, it is a big deal. It takes up most of my day. And when they start learning to take care of things themselves? Even bigger deal.
Kenna has slowly started taking interest in going to the potty by herself:

20 months:
(Ok, obviously not really potty training here, but too stinkin' cute anyways)
28 months:
I had been apprehensive about potty training after Kenna had her first accident the very first time I ever tried her out in big girl undies, but Matt and I decided that with her 3rd birthday much too quickly approaching, we should just go for it. We found this article about training in 3 days or less, and it really seems to have worked so far! The only bummer is that you keep the child nude for those 3 days, so Kenna and I camped out for 4 days straight in the house with movies, snacks, and lots of juice and milk, and easy access to the potty.

33 months:
Well, she must have been ready, because she's had lots of successes and only one accident! (Ironically enough, right when we put on the big girl undies.) Maybe it was good to wait until she was a little bigger, because at this point she's tall enough that she can sit on a regular adult potty and fix her own undies without much help.
Here is our stash of salty snacks to encourage lots of drinking & pee peeing! We watched all her favorite movies (Curious George, Pollyanna, and Nanny McPhee) and did a big song and dance every time the pee pee went where it was supposed to go! After each successful attempt, she got to pick a special treat from the big treat bucket:
And after her first successful errrrm, number two... Matt took her to the store to pick out a really big special treat! She decided on this Vtech laptop and the movie Tangled. She was so proud of herself and is very excited to have her own "COM puter" like Mommy and Daddy's! Luckily, Daddy was in class all this week and was home early and able to be present for Kenna's big accomplishment. We are so proud of our big girl!
For me, two major milestones that really make me feel like a kiddo is growing up is stopping nursing and stopping wearing diapers... well, Finn had better not get any big ideas, because I've had just about as much of my babies getting big as I can handle this week!

Congratulations, big girl!