Scarlett and Clark - 8 Months

The last month with these two has been so much fun! I feel like we are really hitting our stride. We have naps figured out pretty darn well. We still aren't sleeping through the night, but we're only waking up once or twice a night instead of three or four times a night. We have been getting out of the house for play dates and outings on a regular basis. I love this phase of babydom. Trying new foods every day. Learning new skills and making new sounds all of the time. Exploring toys in new ways. Every day is the same yet so different.

Food has been a big focus for Scareltt and Clark over the last month. They started out the month eating two meals a day and are closing out the month at three meals a day. We are still working our way through vegetables and fruits. Raspberries, nectarines, grapes, and blueberries are favorite fruits. Carrots, broccoli, zucchini, and asparagus have topped the veggies side. Dairy, eggs, and certain meats have been introduced. Scarlett broke out in a full body rash after eating sausage, so we'll be waiting a while before we try that again. After the possible milk protein allergy, we proceeded very cautiously with dairy products. If dairy touches Scarlett's skin, it turns red for about 20 minutes and then fades away. Clark has had no issues at all.

They get to feed themselves everything, with the exception of yogurt and pureed pouches, so meal times are extremely messy. We have started doing sink baths just about every night. We have a two basin sink that is perfect for cleaning these two in every night. I think they look forward to baths almost more than they look forward to their meal. I am very thankful for the sink and also for Jules' great floor cleaning capabilities. If we didn't already have dogs, I'd be getting one just to help keep the floor clean.

When the babies started eating lunch, we also dropped a nursing session. They now nurse 5 times a day and still once or twice at night. They get milk when they first wake up, before their morning nap, before their afternoon nap, after their afternoon nap, and at bedtime. We have been trying to introduce them to straw sippies for water, but they just want to chew on the cup. 

Now that they are reliably sitting and moving around the living room pretty easily, we broke out a whole slew of new toys. Walkers, activity centers, shape sorters, stacking rings. Brooke and Harrison have been in heaven showing Scarlett and Clark all of the new toys. When I say showing them, I really mean taking them away from the babies so they can play with them on their own. Regardless, playtime has been lots of fun around here lately. very noisy, but lots of fun.

Last week they got to swing in the swings at the park for the first time. Scarlett didn't stop smiling the entire time. Clark gave us a few giggles and seemed to like it, but not with nearly as much enthusiasm as Scarlett. I have a feeling once the temps cool down a bit we'll be spending a lot of our afternoons at the park. The zoo also appears to be becoming a more enjoyable outing for them. Now that they can eat puffs or creamies in the stroller, they're much happier to be strapped in for a few hours. 

Scarlett

• is a sitting pro. She loves to sit while playing with her new toys
• still isn't trying to crawl. She rolls everywhere, and I'm constantly amazed at how quickly she makes it across a room
• is a very clean eater, or at least as clean as an 8 month old can be
• has 2 teeth. Her bottom two front teeth came in about a week apart from each other
• loves her daddy. She lights up anytime he enters the room
• still has a thing for both dogs. If they're close, she's touching them
• has had a few nights over the last month where she wakes up in the middle of the night and won't go back to sleep for over an hour
• is mostly only waking up once or twice at night
• falls asleep while nursing 75% of the time
• wears size 4 diapers 
• weighs 20.6lbs
• is being weaned off of her reflux meds

Clark

• is finally moving forward when crawling. his crawling goes: hand, hand, fall forward
• does a whole lot of baby yoga and planking while practicing his crawling skills
• is sitting up very well on his own, but still can't sit up and look up without toppling over
• sleeps through the night on a semi regular basis. I'm pretty sure if he had his own room, he'd do it all the time
• has one bottom tooth and another on the way
• loves eating and is so messy with his food
• still has a mild case of cradle cap, only on the soft spot on the top of his head
• is having fewer eczema breakouts. We rarely have to use his medicated ointment
• still takes an iron supplement once a day
• wears size 4 diapers 
• weighs 21.2lbs

I know I say how great every month is, and they really are all great. I know from memories of Brooke and Harrison, how great the next few months are. I am really looking forward to seeing Scarlett and Clark go from babies to little toddlers. Next week H and B go back to school, which means I'll be getting a lot of time with just Scarlett and Clark. To say I'm excited about that would be an understatement. They've changed so much over the summer and I'm ready to get to know their little personalities even more. Happy 8 months babies! I am so ready to see what the next month has in store for us. 

Scarlett and Clark are 1

O-N-E!! My babies are one. They've passed that unofficial line from baby to toddler. They are still no where close to walking, so maybe I can call them babies for a wee bit longer. We celebrated their birthday with family and friends already, but I want to make sure that their birthday never gets lost in all of the excitement of the holidays. I know from speaking to friends with Christmastime birthdays, that birthday gifts often get wrapped in Christmas paper and are received at holiday celebrations. Parties are pushed aside when other plans and obligations take precedence. The actual birthday becomes just another day between Christmas and New Years. I don't ever want them to feel like their birthday isn't special just because of the holidays that surround it. We will celebrate their birthday and celebrate them every year regardless of what other holiday obligations we have. Their birthday is a super important day to us!

I knew we weren't going to be going anywhere on their birthday, so we made it as special as we could at home. Donuts and birthday balloons were on the agenda, and it turns out they loved one of those things. I blew up about 50 balloons the night before and had them waiting in the living room for when they woke up. I would have put them in their room, but someone still wakes up multiple times per night. Yes Scarlett, I'm talking about you. They were so happy to play with the balloons. Clark crawled through them trying to hit every balloon along the way. Scarlett put them in her mouth, because everything must go in her mouth. She chewed on the ends of the balloons and I thought for sure one would pop in her face when she bit down, but as of today it still hasn't happened.

Once they started playing with their toys instead of the balloons, we moved on to breakfast. We stopped and got donuts from one of our favorite bakeries. Rise N Roll's cinnamon caramel donuts are the bomb, yes I just went full 90s there, and their first birthday seemed like a perfect time to introduce the babies to them. Well, they couldn't have cared less. Who are these children who don't want donuts? Certainly not mine. ;) They settled for fruit instead, and everyone was happy.

In true big kid fashion, they only took one nap yesterday. We played with balloons A LOT. We played in the bounce house. We dropped Brooke and Harrison's play kitchen back down to baby height, which Scarlett and Clark seemed pretty excited about. They took two steam baths, their favorite thing lately, and then they called it a night after reading a couple of their new birthday books.

It was a really fun day that I know they won't remember, but I will, and so will their big brother and sister. The last year with them has been so special, and I'm glad we made it a point to celebrate their big day. Happy Birthday, Scarlett and Clark!

Scarlett and Clark - 11 Months

Month 11. You started out great and then took a turn for the worse. Scarlett and Clark have been sick for the entire month of November, minus a couple days at the start. Scarlett had a fever and was lethargic one day, and the next morning they both had double eye and ear infections. Its been a nonstop nose wiping marathon since then. Both babies took a course of Amoxicillin. Clark developed a sinus infection and in currently finishing a second course of antibiotics. Scarlett is still sick, but generally happy, so we've been trying to let her cold, infection, whatever it is run it's course without more meds. They have been taking two or three baths a day with the shower running to help clear some of their congestion. We've been calling Scarlett Lil Weezy, which was also her nickname when they were sick at 2 months old. I knew this cold and flu season would hit them hard since they have a big brother and sister in school.

With them being sick and needing some extra snuggles, they've been getting an introduction to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a couple other Disney Junior favorites. One night last week they would not let me set them down at all without screaming, so we snuggled on the couch and ordered dinner delivery. Harrison and Brooke have been happy with the extra TV time. They also got to watch part of Home Alone and The Year Without a Santa Claus. They were thankfully interested in both, and I don't have to disown them due to a lack of love for Christmas movies. ;)

We put up our Christmas tree and Christmas lights last week, and Clark has been all about them. Scarlett glances at them, but Clark is obsessed. He has been pulling so hard on the lights on the tree, I'm afraid he's going to pull it over. Our tree will remain ornamentless until he loses interest. They are also all about the FP nativity. Clark is especially fond of eating the donkey's face, and Scarlett likes to play the music on the stable.

Sleep has been all over the place this month. Between colds and teething there have been lots of restless nights and skipped naps. There have also been a couple nights that Scarlett only woke up once, and I got 6 straight hours of sleep. ;) For the most part, Clark still sleeps through the night and Scarlett wakes up twice. When she wakes up, she will not let me rock her back to sleep. It's milk or bust. I usually bring her into our room for a quick nursing session after a few minutes of fussing. I'm sure if I refused milk we could get her out of the nighttime nursing habit, but then Clark's sleep would suffer due to her screaming. She does not give up until she gets what she wants.

There have been a few days where morning naps have been skipped and they just take a two hour nap around lunch time. Clark has also been fighting his afternoon nap more regularly. I think we are in the weird pre transition phase of napping. Clark is definitely more ready than Scarlett, but I think morning naps may soon be a thing of the past. 

These two eat everything and love just about all foods they try. Fruit, cheese, scrambled eggs, green beans, and turkey are some of their absolute favorites. Scarlett is terrible about throwing food to the dogs, and Jules waistline shows just how much food hits the floor. They eat 3 meals a day, usually one snack, and still nurse 3 times during the day, plus once or twice at night. I expected them to love Thanksgiving dinner, but they didn't. Just like their big brother and sister, all the excitement of the day equaled fussy babies who were over it. 

Playtime is still centered in the living room where all of their toys live. Their Rocktivity table, walker, music play space, and step and play piano are their favorites. Basically all the noisy toys that light up. They also love stacking bowls, books, and blocks, so we occasionally do have a minute or two without competing loud ass toys. The exersaucer and jumperoo have been retired to the basement where they only get the occasional usage. 

One major change for these two this month is their transition into convertible car seats. I had been putting off moving them out of their infant carriers because the snap and go stroller makes it so easy to take them places. They were definitely pushing the height limit though, so it was time. Brooke and Harrison have been in Diono Radians since they were about 7 months, and we love them so much that we got two more for Scarlett and Clark. They were not fans at first, but are getting used to their new seats after a week of use.

Clark

• loves bath time and his yellow gator
• has 7 teeth, 3 of which he got within a week of each other. The 8th tooth will be appearing any day now
• loves all things soft and fuzzy. He loves to rub his face and roll around on soft blankets and the faux fur rug in their room
• is saying mama and dada but not always at the proper time
• loves giving hugs. He wraps his chubby arms around my necks and squeezes as tight as his little muscles can
• can stand on his own for short periods of time, but will rarely stay off his tippy toes long enough to do it
• can walk well behind the walker, but again with the tippy toes
• likes to stare out the windows behind the couch. They are a lower window, so he can see out well and bang on the glass
• is constantly shutting off the XBOX if it's on while he's awake. No movie is safe from him
• weighed 23lbs 4oz at their doctors appointment last week
• has discovered toilet paper and how much fun it is to unroll the entire roll
• makes the best sniffy noises when he gets really excited
• loves playing with door stops

Scarlett

• still says "ba" non stop, and is so dang proud of herself when she does
• weighed 22lbs12oz at their doctors appointment last week
• loves to clap and give high fives
• has 6 teeth with 2 more not far behind
• is quite possibly the happiest baby ever, until she's not, and then look out
• still has blonde hair, but it appears to be darkening slightly
• has the best double chin, which matches her double booty
• has mastered the stairs and loves racing her brother to the top
• is crawling on hands and knees regularly but still reverts back to army crawling
• knows where the baby snack cabinet is, and pulls out puffs and creamies every day when she's ready for a snack
• will play in the toilet water if the lid is left open
• is obsessed with my phone and using it as a teething toy
• loves playing peekaboo with the door
• loves petting the dogs, and pulling on their ears and faces

I sent out invites for their Winter Onderland party yesterday. It's unreal to me that it's already time to throw their first birthday party. I plan to soak up every last minute of them being babies before they make the unofficial jump to toddlerhood. Then we're going to celebrate the heck out of surviving the first year. Happy 11 months Scarlett and Clark!