This girl. She absolutely keeps us laughing, melts our hearts, and surprises us daily. BJ's always said this and it remains truer than ever, Landry just loves life and lives it to the fullest. She is independent, willful, fun-loving, comedic, and sincere. Although stubborn at times, I still feel like I love absolutely everything about her. I feel like she's everything I could have wanted in a daughter. Am I gushing enough?
She's talking so much now and seems to add new words daily. In the past week or two she's begun putting 2 word sentences together and it's becoming more regular by the day. In fact, she had her first three word sentence today as we walked into Nana and Papa's house: "Meecy poopoo side" (Macy poops outside.) I have no idea what prompted that as Macy wasn't even out there, but I was so impressed! She repeats everything she hears and it probably doesn't hurt that Pierce has become obsessed with asking her "Landwee, can you say _____?" (usually the name of a planet, superhero, or whatever he just said). In fact, he even does it when she's in bed but doesn't seem to mind when no one answers! Sometimes Blaine will humor him. "Baba" is still a paci though and "bomba" is still put back or away. I'll be so sad when those go and it may not be long now. She has the cutest little voice and pronunciation for some words, for instance "jammbies" are jammies and "tummby" is her tummy. I love it!
She is fiercely independent, which is kind of new for me because I don't remember the boys really going through that typical 2 year old independent streak. They were still asking to be carried up and down the stairs at 3 1/2 and would still prefer for me to dress them given the choice. But Landry is going up and down stairs by herself, walking beside the cart at Aldi, declining the stroller, and has been known to use the phrase "sef, do it" (do it myself) quite frequently. As frustrating and time-taking as it can be, I love seeing her learn new things and have such a strong sense of confidence and desire to be independent. It just fits her.
She's gotten a little more finicky with eating as we approach 2. It seems like she only has 1-2 good meals per day. She's narrowed down her breakfast eating to mostly cereal (or pancakes/waffles- she is a Holloway!). She still doesn't get the concept of a sandwich which is so funny to me. She always takes it apart and tries to eat the bread vertically and in the middle. I have no idea?! She is still a good veggie eater, especially steamed broccoli (bocco) and cauliflower. She's gotten a little pickier about fruit though. She seems to have a more refined palette and prefers adult food to "kid food". She'd take a fancy, thin crust topped pizza over plain cheese. She loves pickles (peekos), Pringles (pingos), and any other chip. Oh, and a quirk we're going through is her fear of Diego getting her food. I think he may have sniffed a bowl of cereal as she walked by him once and it just really upset her. So now, half or more of the food presented to her can result in a total meltdown of her crying "Didi eat". Very exhausting and I'm not quite sure how to get past this. As if I need another reason to be annoyed at him! She also still prefers anything off Daddy's plate.
Landry continues to have such a wide variety of facial expressions. One of our favorites is her wide eyed, raised eyebrow look of surprise and amusement. It's just become her and always cracks us up. She's such a ham and loves performing. She also has such a sense of music and rhythm in her. Almost anytime she hears music she has to dance. In fact, a couple weeks ago we were leaving church and we walked by the sanctuary. They had just started the music and the doors were still open. As we walked by I watched her stop near the doors, put her hands on her hips, and get down for a few beats and then ran on. It cracked me up and so perfectly encapsulated her. That's her signature move at the moment, hands on her hips and swaying side to side, while bending her knees up and down. It's pretty great.
She continues to love her "buhs", but has moved a bit more into pesky sister status if she interrupts their playing. They're all still pretty crazy about each other though.
Landry does a great job in the different "classes" she attends. Each week she has church (sometimes 2 services while we help in the boys' room), the Y, and MOPS. And she just walks right into each room and does so well. I'm so grateful for how easy she's been with that.
I can't believe she's about to be 2 in less than 2 weeks. Knowing we are having another little boy has made me that much more grateful for and aware of the absolute blessing Landry is in our lives. I'm so grateful to have daughter and I pray that our bond will only deepen and widen over the years. Happy 2nd Birthday, Landry Kate!
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Landry 20 Month Update
I've been thinking about writing this for too long. BJ has been out of town this week, the kids are put to bed, and I would love nothing more than to just veg in front of the TV, but I know I must keep doing these and will be so grateful later!
Landry is really a full-blown toddler now. She looks more like it and definitely acts like it! She is in way more of a hurry to grow up than I am for her to and I think it's most because of her big "buhs". She desperately wants to keep up with them and do exactly what they do. The unfortunate side of this is her intolerance for the stroller and shopping carts. I've honestly thought a couple times that I had a big triple stroller I could just stick them all in so she would stay put! It's funny when I think back to how long they used a stroller, etc. because I've pretty much stopped taking the stroller out as it's a lost cause. But in her defense, she is perfectly happy to walk, has long stamina, and does a pretty good job of staying by me.
Which brings me to another cute thing. When I first started letting her walk somewhere I would take her out and say, "Landry, will you stay by Mommy? Say Yes, Mommy" and then I'd make a big nod. Pretty soon she started doing a slow, deliberate nod in response and now uses that for all yes's. It's soooo cute! And she does it with a very serious look on her face. I love it!
I was going to try to list all of her words now, but in the past week she's talking so much more that it's really not a confined list anymore. She picks new words up every day and is really good at repeating a word you tell her. She's dropped a lot of her signs even. Although just this week I taught her to sign and say "God loves me" after we taught it to the boys' Sunday School class and its the sweetest thing. She picked it up right away!
Landry remains a tough girl. She's not easily hurt and bounces back quickly if she is. She loves rough housing with dada and being tickled and loves to laugh.
Her love of babies ("bebes") has only grown and a favorite doll has surfaced in the last month. We took her pink Baby Alive doll with us to Branson and she started sleeping with her there and she is now an official crib lovey that we all affectionately call "Bebe". But all babies, real or fake, are so enticing to Landry. And anyone 3 and under is considered a bebe. She points them out in public, goes up and waves or says hi to them, and rocks and cares for her babies at home. It's so amazing to watch her be so innately maternal. Babies are definitely Landry's thing.
She still doesn't watch shows, but back in April I realized she would sit through an entire birthday video I'd made for her or the boys. We were showing GG Bon Landry's 1st birthday video and Landry plopped in my lap to watch it and exclaimed "bebe!" the whole time while glued to the TV. So sometimes in the 5:00 hour I'll pop one of those bad boys in and she'll just sit on the sofa and watch the whole thing. It's a small miracle to me after trying to get her into a TV show for that very hour of the day. I'll take it!
She's also started to do some independent play time in her crib. She's still not really a toy player, but she'll spend several solitary minutes hanging out in her crib which is such a blessing for me to get ready or get a couple things done in the morning.
She remains a great sleeper and goes down between 7 and 7:30. Lately she's been up a little earlier, closer to 6:30- probably due to the early sunrise now.
She's seemed to be teething more in the last couple of months and some days I think they really seem to bother her. It can make for some cranky and long days at times, but then she'll have a good couple days. She's very much in the tough 18-24 month phase that was our least favorite with the boys. There are definitely frequent tantrums and meltdowns over something as simple as the wrong cup. The first couple hours of the morning are often pretty rough. I joke that she just doesn't like our main floor because once we hit a different level, she perks right up! I know she's been frustrated at times over not being able to communicate or physically do what she's wanted. But I honestly thing I've seen that improve over the last week or two as she's been talking more.
Her eating has become a little less consistent. She definitely has meal time tantrums more frequently and will often not each as much. She might do one good meal a day and pick through the others. I'm slowly accepting the fact that she just doesn't care much for pastas or peanut butter sandwiches, which blows my mind since those are still among the boys' favorites. I find myself frustrated with areas she vastly differentiates from them, but then I have to remind myself that she's her own girl and I just have to roll with it!
Landry is just so much fun. I find myself so enjoying just hanging out with her. Her gap tooth smile lights up a room and when I close my eyes that's exactly how I picture her. Grinning, laughing, and running around. She's such a joy!
Landry is really a full-blown toddler now. She looks more like it and definitely acts like it! She is in way more of a hurry to grow up than I am for her to and I think it's most because of her big "buhs". She desperately wants to keep up with them and do exactly what they do. The unfortunate side of this is her intolerance for the stroller and shopping carts. I've honestly thought a couple times that I had a big triple stroller I could just stick them all in so she would stay put! It's funny when I think back to how long they used a stroller, etc. because I've pretty much stopped taking the stroller out as it's a lost cause. But in her defense, she is perfectly happy to walk, has long stamina, and does a pretty good job of staying by me.
Which brings me to another cute thing. When I first started letting her walk somewhere I would take her out and say, "Landry, will you stay by Mommy? Say Yes, Mommy" and then I'd make a big nod. Pretty soon she started doing a slow, deliberate nod in response and now uses that for all yes's. It's soooo cute! And she does it with a very serious look on her face. I love it!
I was going to try to list all of her words now, but in the past week she's talking so much more that it's really not a confined list anymore. She picks new words up every day and is really good at repeating a word you tell her. She's dropped a lot of her signs even. Although just this week I taught her to sign and say "God loves me" after we taught it to the boys' Sunday School class and its the sweetest thing. She picked it up right away!
Landry remains a tough girl. She's not easily hurt and bounces back quickly if she is. She loves rough housing with dada and being tickled and loves to laugh.
Her love of babies ("bebes") has only grown and a favorite doll has surfaced in the last month. We took her pink Baby Alive doll with us to Branson and she started sleeping with her there and she is now an official crib lovey that we all affectionately call "Bebe". But all babies, real or fake, are so enticing to Landry. And anyone 3 and under is considered a bebe. She points them out in public, goes up and waves or says hi to them, and rocks and cares for her babies at home. It's so amazing to watch her be so innately maternal. Babies are definitely Landry's thing.
She still doesn't watch shows, but back in April I realized she would sit through an entire birthday video I'd made for her or the boys. We were showing GG Bon Landry's 1st birthday video and Landry plopped in my lap to watch it and exclaimed "bebe!" the whole time while glued to the TV. So sometimes in the 5:00 hour I'll pop one of those bad boys in and she'll just sit on the sofa and watch the whole thing. It's a small miracle to me after trying to get her into a TV show for that very hour of the day. I'll take it!
She's also started to do some independent play time in her crib. She's still not really a toy player, but she'll spend several solitary minutes hanging out in her crib which is such a blessing for me to get ready or get a couple things done in the morning.
She remains a great sleeper and goes down between 7 and 7:30. Lately she's been up a little earlier, closer to 6:30- probably due to the early sunrise now.
She's seemed to be teething more in the last couple of months and some days I think they really seem to bother her. It can make for some cranky and long days at times, but then she'll have a good couple days. She's very much in the tough 18-24 month phase that was our least favorite with the boys. There are definitely frequent tantrums and meltdowns over something as simple as the wrong cup. The first couple hours of the morning are often pretty rough. I joke that she just doesn't like our main floor because once we hit a different level, she perks right up! I know she's been frustrated at times over not being able to communicate or physically do what she's wanted. But I honestly thing I've seen that improve over the last week or two as she's been talking more.
Her eating has become a little less consistent. She definitely has meal time tantrums more frequently and will often not each as much. She might do one good meal a day and pick through the others. I'm slowly accepting the fact that she just doesn't care much for pastas or peanut butter sandwiches, which blows my mind since those are still among the boys' favorites. I find myself frustrated with areas she vastly differentiates from them, but then I have to remind myself that she's her own girl and I just have to roll with it!
Landry is just so much fun. I find myself so enjoying just hanging out with her. Her gap tooth smile lights up a room and when I close my eyes that's exactly how I picture her. Grinning, laughing, and running around. She's such a joy!
Friday, March 25, 2016
17.5 Month Update
Landry is a happy, busy girl these days. Sometimes it strikes me how she's looking and acting more toddler and less baby. I swear that transition comes overnight. She is still personality-galore and knows exactly what she wants and, just as often, what she doesn't. She's learned to say no, and although it's very cute, it definitely gets overused. She does one little head shake to the side and a high pitched "uh". You could say she says no first and thinks later. I've learned to disregard it a bit and press on. She understands absolutely everything we say and follows directions really well. Her awareness of the boys and what they're doing has definitely increased and she does not like to be left out. She wants to climb and jump off what they do, eat what they do (gum and mints are often desired), and play what they do. I know she's at the pinnacle age of frustration to not be able to communicate and act fully the way she wants to. They're still so patient and kind to her though. \\
Her vocabulary continues to increase. Some added words are "bubba" for bubbles (which she excitedly insists on each bath!), buh- book (starting to have a longer attention span for them and loves playing with them), guh- go (usually to play in the basement or go where the boys are), nong nong- still food, bluh- blueberries (in her oatmeal). She can also make the animal noises for a cat (meum), dog (panting sound), and sometimes a duck (cack cack). She can point to some body parts (head, hair, ear, eye, nose), but rarely will sit still enough to try.
She remains a really great eater overall. Some loves are not quite as popular like peas, but she'll develop new ones instead like steamed broccoli and cauliflower! She eats mostly what BJ and I eat pretty happily. It's still so great to sit a meal in front of her and just have her eat it! We're still working on her brothers. She uses utensils really well and definitely prefers to eat with them. She loves snacks and would eat them all day if I let her. Somehow she has a strong association for snacks in the car. I try not indulge this expectation, but I will admit to keeping a pack of graham crackers in my door pocket when I get desperate. I feel like I stretch her meals a bit sometimes, so I guess that's how the car snacks started.
She's also a great sleeper and has a consistent and easy sleep schedule. She naps around 1:00 most days for at least a couple hours and will sleep at least 7-7 (or even a little later overnight). Pretty ideal! I wish someone could have told me what an amazing sleeper she'd turn out to be when she was 7 months old!
Landry is not a fan of being confined in any way. We've know this for awhile, but it's equaled some stressful shopping trips involving a stroller or shopping cart. She'll do ok in a cart for awhile, but then she'll hit her limit and throws a fit to try to get out. This caught me pretty off guard because the boys were always so content in a cart or stroller. I keep suckers in my purse now for desperate moments, although I'm happy to say I haven't had to use one yet! Along the same lines she'd also prefer to walk than be carried, especially in a parking lot. Non- negotiable on that one, Sis.
She does really great in childcare and most days will let me sit her down and walk right out. I think she feels big like the boys because she sees them in the preschool room, so I've started calling church and the Y "her class". Such a big girl!
Her vocabulary continues to increase. Some added words are "bubba" for bubbles (which she excitedly insists on each bath!), buh- book (starting to have a longer attention span for them and loves playing with them), guh- go (usually to play in the basement or go where the boys are), nong nong- still food, bluh- blueberries (in her oatmeal). She can also make the animal noises for a cat (meum), dog (panting sound), and sometimes a duck (cack cack). She can point to some body parts (head, hair, ear, eye, nose), but rarely will sit still enough to try.
She remains a really great eater overall. Some loves are not quite as popular like peas, but she'll develop new ones instead like steamed broccoli and cauliflower! She eats mostly what BJ and I eat pretty happily. It's still so great to sit a meal in front of her and just have her eat it! We're still working on her brothers. She uses utensils really well and definitely prefers to eat with them. She loves snacks and would eat them all day if I let her. Somehow she has a strong association for snacks in the car. I try not indulge this expectation, but I will admit to keeping a pack of graham crackers in my door pocket when I get desperate. I feel like I stretch her meals a bit sometimes, so I guess that's how the car snacks started.
She's also a great sleeper and has a consistent and easy sleep schedule. She naps around 1:00 most days for at least a couple hours and will sleep at least 7-7 (or even a little later overnight). Pretty ideal! I wish someone could have told me what an amazing sleeper she'd turn out to be when she was 7 months old!
Landry is not a fan of being confined in any way. We've know this for awhile, but it's equaled some stressful shopping trips involving a stroller or shopping cart. She'll do ok in a cart for awhile, but then she'll hit her limit and throws a fit to try to get out. This caught me pretty off guard because the boys were always so content in a cart or stroller. I keep suckers in my purse now for desperate moments, although I'm happy to say I haven't had to use one yet! Along the same lines she'd also prefer to walk than be carried, especially in a parking lot. Non- negotiable on that one, Sis.
She does really great in childcare and most days will let me sit her down and walk right out. I think she feels big like the boys because she sees them in the preschool room, so I've started calling church and the Y "her class". Such a big girl!
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Other things about Landry
I feel like I'm constantly observing things and making mental notes of things I want to write down about our spicy little girl. So here are a few random things...
- Landry loves rough housing with Daddy, especially being tickled. She'll go over to him and roll over onto her back and stare up at him with a big grin. If he still doesn't oblige she'll start tickling herself and saying "tick, tick, tick". Her laugh is still contagious!
- She loves headbands and even clips now! Yay!! I wasn't sure if she'd swing back. She started ripping them off (especially the clips which have never stood a chance even though they look so darling on her) a couple of months ago, but for some reason lately she will feverishly pat her head and point to a headband. I love it!
- She will have brief periods of snuggling after waking up. I started patting my chest for her to lay down and now the vigorously pats it for me after waking up to have a quick snuggle.
- She can now say "hi" (in the cutest drawn out voice), meom (meow), Papa (as of today), and baby.
- She loves hoods and will wear one all day. She often tries to pull one up to wear even when she doesn't have one. She also likes hats and looks darling in her white, fuzzy ear hat for winter.
- She continues to love any and all shoes and would wear them all the time if given a chance.
- She knows how to pucker and give a kiss. Sweetest thing ever.
- We think she knows the difference between Pierce and Blaine if we tell her to give a kiss to one of them.
- She is such a happy, go lucky baby. She absolutely loves to charm a crowd and seems to know how to perform.
- Landry loves rough housing with Daddy, especially being tickled. She'll go over to him and roll over onto her back and stare up at him with a big grin. If he still doesn't oblige she'll start tickling herself and saying "tick, tick, tick". Her laugh is still contagious!
- She loves headbands and even clips now! Yay!! I wasn't sure if she'd swing back. She started ripping them off (especially the clips which have never stood a chance even though they look so darling on her) a couple of months ago, but for some reason lately she will feverishly pat her head and point to a headband. I love it!
- She will have brief periods of snuggling after waking up. I started patting my chest for her to lay down and now the vigorously pats it for me after waking up to have a quick snuggle.
- She can now say "hi" (in the cutest drawn out voice), meom (meow), Papa (as of today), and baby.
- She loves hoods and will wear one all day. She often tries to pull one up to wear even when she doesn't have one. She also likes hats and looks darling in her white, fuzzy ear hat for winter.
- She continues to love any and all shoes and would wear them all the time if given a chance.
- She knows how to pucker and give a kiss. Sweetest thing ever.
- We think she knows the difference between Pierce and Blaine if we tell her to give a kiss to one of them.
- She is such a happy, go lucky baby. She absolutely loves to charm a crowd and seems to know how to perform.
Landry is walking!
About a week and a half ago our baby became a walker! It feels like it happened overnight. She'd been able to take several steps at a time, but then would squat back down and go back to crawling. It seemed like she just wasn't interested enough. But then one night after dinner we were playing with her on the floor in the kitchen and trying to get her to go back and forth between us. She did it a couple of times one night and then the next. Then that stretch of floor seemed to build her confidence and she began standing back up after squatting or losing her balance. And the rest is history! She's a full on walker now. It's still so weird to see her little frame upright all the time. I picked her up after my MOPs meeting yesterday and her back was to me. I watched her just toddle across half the room. It's so true that walking seems to grow a baby up so much. Although I love this phase of learning and discovery so much, I still wonder where my little infant went. Those bittersweet feelings always prompt me to try even harder to soak up every little moment I can. We're so proud of you, sweet Landry!
Friday, January 8, 2016
Landry Kate 15 months update
Landry is such her own girl these days with more personality than can seemingly fit in her little body. She's doing almost everything except walking. :) She just doesn't seem to really want to. I know I should rush it, but it's starting to feel a little late in the game. She can take several steps at a time, like up to 10 or so, but then she squats or plops down and crawls the rest of the way. I don't know why I feel eager for this at all because it truly is another huge good-bye to babyhood. So this is my pledge to be content and enjoy her cute little booty-shakin' crawl as long as I can.
Landry knows exactly what she does or doesn't want and isn't afraid to tell us. An exciting development in the last month or two is her increase in signing. She's a signing machine now and I do think it's helped a lot in her level of frustration. She picks up on it so easily now and applies it to all situations. For awhile her most favorite and used sign was please. She would do it anytime she wanted anything and with vigor. Now she does drink, milk, more, all done, and some others she's made up herself like patting her head for a headband (which she still promptly removes only to want it on again), pulling on the back of her shirt for her hood to be up (she loves wearing hoods!), and pointing in any general direction with an urgent fuss for wanting something.
She's making more talking sounds and has a few words- dada, mama (sometimes), gaga (cats or animals), ma (more), uh-oh, pop (when Daddy pops peas in her mouth). I feel like the signing has cut back on her desire to talk, but I remember the boys going through that as well and I know she'll catch right up.
She's become a bit of fashionista and absolutely loves wearing shoes. It is so cute and funny. If she sees them she'll say please over and over pointing and then when you get them she does a cute little one syllable laugh. Darling! Her most recent favorite are the too-big black, patent leather Mary Janes Grandma Marge got her at Goodwill. But they fit pretty well and she looks pretty darn cute in them. And once she has shoes on she doesn't want to take them off. As I mentioned she loves wearing hoods and I'm just getting the feeling that she's going to be picking out her own outfits before too long as well. I'm not excited about that day, except for the fact it will be more Landry personality shining through.
She still seems to have a pretty short attention span and rarely gets lost in her toys. I can't remember what is normal for this age, but she has no desire to sit and play in a room with toys- even if I'm there with her. I seem to be her kryptonite you might say because when I'm around (which is almost all of the time) she just wants to cling to me and whine at me. We're working on this and I"m hoping she'll outgrow it soon and be more interested in things that can hold her attention. She seems to like non-toys more that require fine motor skills, like putting a pen in Macy's dog bone or taking coins in and out of Papa's coin jar, or emptying my bathroom cabinets. Most days I feel like I just can't find any activities to keep her engaged. We'll see.
She's made the official transition from 2 naps to one this past month. At first she just wasn't tired at 9 and then if I did try to put her down by 9:30 she wouldn't go to sleep again for the rest of the day. Like other sleep changes it was a little bit of a rough transition, but I think she is just this week really settling into a better routine and has been happier overall for it. We've had some long, cranky mornings trying to make it to 11:30 or noon and then she'd only sleep for 90 min sometimes. Even 2 hours after a long, trying morning just hasn't seemed like enough. But now she's able to handle the morning much better and has taken good afternoon naps. She's still doing great at night and sleeping 12 hours straight. I am so proud of how far she's come!
She is very aware of everything her brothers are doing and desperately wants to be a part of it all. It's hard to explain to her why she can't have gum or join them on the top bunk- which by the way I have no idea how we're going to keep her off of when she can finally climb the ladder. She loves their cozy coupes at Nana's house and they continue to be so good and patient with her. They are the best big brothers I've ever seen.
Overall Landry can be summed up in a word Nana applied to her on Christmas Eve- spicy! She knows what she wants and will fight for it. She has such a sweet personality and loves to do a pretend shy routine where she buries her head in whoever's holding her if there's someone she doesn't know talking to her, but she also knows how to wear me out! There's never a dull moment and I can't wait to see how she continues to grow!
Landry knows exactly what she does or doesn't want and isn't afraid to tell us. An exciting development in the last month or two is her increase in signing. She's a signing machine now and I do think it's helped a lot in her level of frustration. She picks up on it so easily now and applies it to all situations. For awhile her most favorite and used sign was please. She would do it anytime she wanted anything and with vigor. Now she does drink, milk, more, all done, and some others she's made up herself like patting her head for a headband (which she still promptly removes only to want it on again), pulling on the back of her shirt for her hood to be up (she loves wearing hoods!), and pointing in any general direction with an urgent fuss for wanting something.
She's making more talking sounds and has a few words- dada, mama (sometimes), gaga (cats or animals), ma (more), uh-oh, pop (when Daddy pops peas in her mouth). I feel like the signing has cut back on her desire to talk, but I remember the boys going through that as well and I know she'll catch right up.
She's become a bit of fashionista and absolutely loves wearing shoes. It is so cute and funny. If she sees them she'll say please over and over pointing and then when you get them she does a cute little one syllable laugh. Darling! Her most recent favorite are the too-big black, patent leather Mary Janes Grandma Marge got her at Goodwill. But they fit pretty well and she looks pretty darn cute in them. And once she has shoes on she doesn't want to take them off. As I mentioned she loves wearing hoods and I'm just getting the feeling that she's going to be picking out her own outfits before too long as well. I'm not excited about that day, except for the fact it will be more Landry personality shining through.
She still seems to have a pretty short attention span and rarely gets lost in her toys. I can't remember what is normal for this age, but she has no desire to sit and play in a room with toys- even if I'm there with her. I seem to be her kryptonite you might say because when I'm around (which is almost all of the time) she just wants to cling to me and whine at me. We're working on this and I"m hoping she'll outgrow it soon and be more interested in things that can hold her attention. She seems to like non-toys more that require fine motor skills, like putting a pen in Macy's dog bone or taking coins in and out of Papa's coin jar, or emptying my bathroom cabinets. Most days I feel like I just can't find any activities to keep her engaged. We'll see.
She's made the official transition from 2 naps to one this past month. At first she just wasn't tired at 9 and then if I did try to put her down by 9:30 she wouldn't go to sleep again for the rest of the day. Like other sleep changes it was a little bit of a rough transition, but I think she is just this week really settling into a better routine and has been happier overall for it. We've had some long, cranky mornings trying to make it to 11:30 or noon and then she'd only sleep for 90 min sometimes. Even 2 hours after a long, trying morning just hasn't seemed like enough. But now she's able to handle the morning much better and has taken good afternoon naps. She's still doing great at night and sleeping 12 hours straight. I am so proud of how far she's come!
She is very aware of everything her brothers are doing and desperately wants to be a part of it all. It's hard to explain to her why she can't have gum or join them on the top bunk- which by the way I have no idea how we're going to keep her off of when she can finally climb the ladder. She loves their cozy coupes at Nana's house and they continue to be so good and patient with her. They are the best big brothers I've ever seen.
Overall Landry can be summed up in a word Nana applied to her on Christmas Eve- spicy! She knows what she wants and will fight for it. She has such a sweet personality and loves to do a pretend shy routine where she buries her head in whoever's holding her if there's someone she doesn't know talking to her, but she also knows how to wear me out! There's never a dull moment and I can't wait to see how she continues to grow!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Boys Update January 2016
Pierce is firmly into Star Wars world right now. The new movie came out last month and he has definitely bought all the hype. In true Pierce-fashion he devours all information he can gather and loves to spew facts and answer any questions we have. We checked out several kid appropriate library books that profiled the different type of droids and he loves it. His mind continues to amaze us at what he can catch on to and retain. He is even starting some early stages of reading. He has a great grasp of phonetics and can sound out many short words. I predict he will be an avid reader before too long.
He still loves sleeping with his treasure stored under his pillow. He can gather quite a lumpy collection if I don't secretly intervene at times. He also still loves cars, monster machines (thanks to a favorite show Blaze and the Monster Machines), and Thomas is still hanging in there as a TV show and occasional toy interest.
He has become a good eater overall and it pretty willing to try now foods- even kale salad! He is still more of the leader between the two and often shapes their interests, although Blaine will exert his will with TV shows.
Pierce can still be pretty willful at times, but has softened so much and has gone through an incredibly sweet phase lately. Both boys will tell me I look pretty at different times and sometimes Pierce will even call me "pretty ma'am" or "pretty mommy". So sweet!
Blaine continues to be compassionate, but also even sillier and fun loving. He can easily dissolve into giggles and likes to make other people laugh. He has definitely embraced the pre school humor phase. :)
His favorite lovies are still lightning mcqueen, both the offroad and now water wheels versions. He is not usually without them nearby. He has gotten somewhat into Star Wars too, but is much more sensitive to some of the weird creatures. He likes Chewbacca the best, but the interest kind of ends there for him. He loves cars and monster machines most of all still.
He's really improved his math skills lately and has gotten really good at counting during games and adding with fingers. He's eager to be able to spell aloud (as he probably hears us do occasionally) and will often "spell" a word- usually "b-o-k-h" for any word. Really cute!
Blaine has become quite the night owl for some reason in the past few weeks. He gets pretty wired at bedtime and oftentimes won't really fall asleep until 9:30 or even 10. I can't figure out why. And he can really sleep in. His natural wake time would probably be close to 8:30 or later most mornings. We're trying to wake him up before 8 now to see if it helps. Pierce still crashes shortly after tuck in and is awake by 7:30 most mornings. So interesting to see their sleep differences.
Blaine has also continued to be so good at apologizing. Almost every time he is out of life for something, he will naturally apologize on his own to me or anyone else. I am truly humbled by this and can definitely take some pages out of his book on humility and sincerity.
He has gotten really into "basement baseball" and firmly wants to be a Royals pitcher when he grows up. Both boys love watching sports with BJ and have learned a lot of teams in the process. Everyone's excited for the warmer weather to come so they can play real baseball and ride their new big boy bikes from Christmas.
The boys have done great with preschool. The teacher/parent communication has been lacking so far this year, so I don't feel like I always really know what they're doing and working on, but they love it. Blaine has his first "girlfriend", Kate. She's a darling little girl that beams when both boys walk into the room, but her and Blaine seem to have a sweet friendship. They also really like their buddies, Westin and Slade- the only other boys in their class.
They're still the best of friends and play happily together throughout most days. I'm so grateful for their friendship and built in playmate.
He still loves sleeping with his treasure stored under his pillow. He can gather quite a lumpy collection if I don't secretly intervene at times. He also still loves cars, monster machines (thanks to a favorite show Blaze and the Monster Machines), and Thomas is still hanging in there as a TV show and occasional toy interest.
He has become a good eater overall and it pretty willing to try now foods- even kale salad! He is still more of the leader between the two and often shapes their interests, although Blaine will exert his will with TV shows.
Pierce can still be pretty willful at times, but has softened so much and has gone through an incredibly sweet phase lately. Both boys will tell me I look pretty at different times and sometimes Pierce will even call me "pretty ma'am" or "pretty mommy". So sweet!
Blaine continues to be compassionate, but also even sillier and fun loving. He can easily dissolve into giggles and likes to make other people laugh. He has definitely embraced the pre school humor phase. :)
His favorite lovies are still lightning mcqueen, both the offroad and now water wheels versions. He is not usually without them nearby. He has gotten somewhat into Star Wars too, but is much more sensitive to some of the weird creatures. He likes Chewbacca the best, but the interest kind of ends there for him. He loves cars and monster machines most of all still.
He's really improved his math skills lately and has gotten really good at counting during games and adding with fingers. He's eager to be able to spell aloud (as he probably hears us do occasionally) and will often "spell" a word- usually "b-o-k-h" for any word. Really cute!
Blaine has become quite the night owl for some reason in the past few weeks. He gets pretty wired at bedtime and oftentimes won't really fall asleep until 9:30 or even 10. I can't figure out why. And he can really sleep in. His natural wake time would probably be close to 8:30 or later most mornings. We're trying to wake him up before 8 now to see if it helps. Pierce still crashes shortly after tuck in and is awake by 7:30 most mornings. So interesting to see their sleep differences.
Blaine has also continued to be so good at apologizing. Almost every time he is out of life for something, he will naturally apologize on his own to me or anyone else. I am truly humbled by this and can definitely take some pages out of his book on humility and sincerity.
He has gotten really into "basement baseball" and firmly wants to be a Royals pitcher when he grows up. Both boys love watching sports with BJ and have learned a lot of teams in the process. Everyone's excited for the warmer weather to come so they can play real baseball and ride their new big boy bikes from Christmas.
The boys have done great with preschool. The teacher/parent communication has been lacking so far this year, so I don't feel like I always really know what they're doing and working on, but they love it. Blaine has his first "girlfriend", Kate. She's a darling little girl that beams when both boys walk into the room, but her and Blaine seem to have a sweet friendship. They also really like their buddies, Westin and Slade- the only other boys in their class.
They're still the best of friends and play happily together throughout most days. I'm so grateful for their friendship and built in playmate.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)