James is Crawling!! 5/27/18

After dinner, James and Maddie were playing in the kitchen, and James started to crawl towards Maddie!!!  I was able to get a couple of videos!  He's crying and grunting, I'm not sure if it's because he's trying really hard to crawl, or if it's because he wants Maddie's toy, or both!

We are so glad he started to crawl before we went on vacation!

5/24/18 - James Rocking on his Hands and Knees!

James is SO CLOSE to crawling!! We hope he crawls before we go on our vacation!

Here's a video from 5/24 where he's on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth!

James First Tooth!

James was fussy all weekend long (well he's usually kind of grumpy!). This morning (4/16 Monday) he refused milk right before his nap, and normally he drinks at least a few ounces before his nap.  I wondered what was wrong so I felt around in his mouth and felt something sharp!  His first tooth is finally popping out! Nothing was there yesterday so it just happened!

I gave him some tylenol and he took a nap. Hopefully he'll get used to the pain a little bit since his teeth are finally coming in! We're very excited they are coming in because now he'll be able to try more solid foods!

James Monthly Photo (7 Month)

James is 7 months old!! Current weight is about 24.5 pounds, so he is gained about 1.5 pounds in just a month!!

He's still rolling over all the time and will now actually make a 360 degree turn on his tummy to find a new toy!  He's able to sit up by himself for minutes at a time before falling over. If he falls backwards, he gets frightened and starts to cry. But if he falls on his back or side, he will immediately roll over onto his tummy and continue chomping on a toy.
Once he does fall over, he either gets frightened and cries, or turns over right away.

Video: James turning all the way around on his tummy!

Here's a cute video of James turning all the way around while on his tummy!

James Monthly Photo (6 Month)

James is 6 months old!! Current weight 22 lbs 13 oz, and 28.5 inches long!

He has started to roll over consistently and effortlessly every time he's on the floor. He's even started to roll over while he sleeps which is scary when he's face down in the mattress!

We are giving him solids more than once a day, starting with lunch and we will start to give him breakfast soon too.

Here is Maddie's 6 month picture for comparison. He is about 4.5 pounds heavier than Maddie was at 6 months!  They are about the same height.

Timeline: James Rolls Over!

James is officially rolling over!

He developed quite quickly and did roll over a few times before, but not regularly.

11/22/17 - He rolled over from front to back! I didn't see it but he was on his front, and then on his back!

11/23/17 - He rolled over again! I actually saw this one. He started to go one way then ended up rolling the other way.

1/13/18 - Rolled over again from tummy to back

2/11/18 - He was in his crib and rolled over from tummy to back. Then in the living room he rolled over twice from tummy to back.

2/25/18 - Rolled from back to tummy!

Since then, he rolled over consistently every day!

Here's a cute video I got of him rolling over.

James Tries Avocado!

We were sitting at dinner and Maddie was not eating her avocado, so we decided to let James try some!  It was spur of the moment and we were deciding if we would introduce solids to James early (Maddie didn't have solids until just before she turned 6 months) but he's such a big boy we figured why not? Also we thought maybe it would help him sleep more!

He had a bit of trouble figuring out how to actually eat the avocado but he did seem to enjoy the taste!

Very long video below.

Maddie tries Orange Chicken!

No photos but this is a HUGE development for Maddie!  Up til today, Maddie has absolutely refused anything to do with chicken and certain meats. She will eat chicken nuggets but we tell her they are just "nuggets" and do not mention the C-word! 

Joseph was making orange chicken for dinner (Maddie had already eaten her dinner) but asked what Joseph was making and he told her orange chicken. She first tried the sauce and liked it, then ate a piece that was only breading, and liked it! Then she tried a very small piece of actual chicken and she liked it!!!

She has been very adventurous with her eating lately and has tried a bite of almost anything we give her... She will take 1 bite and say "I like that!" but then normally doesn't want to eat any more of it, but it is a step in the right direction!!

Madeleine - Goes to the potty on her own!

Maddie has been doing so well at going to the bathroom on her own!!

We've tried really hard to get her to independently go to the bathroom, especially after/during naptime or in the morning when she wakes up. She has been pooping in her diaper during naptime or right when she wakes up in the morning, so Joseph told her that if she has to poop, it is okay for her to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom (right around the corner from her bedroom) and walk up the little stool to go potty.

Starting Sunday 11/5/17, she got up from her nap to poop.
And on the following Monday 11/6/17 she had gotten up at some point in the middle of the night or early morning (we have no idea when as neither of us heard her open her door) and had a huge poop in the potty!! She pulled her diaper and pants back up and went back to bed!!

Since then she has been going to the bathroom upstairs all by herself if needed - both pee AND poop. She does have a bit of trouble getting her diaper back on in the morning since it's gotten heavy overnight, but it's been so great having her do this all on her own, and no more wiping poop off her butt!

11/23/17 - James rolls over again!

Today 11/23/17, James rolled over again, not once, but twice!  We all actually saw this one happen!

This picture isn't of the exact time he rolled over, but it shows him lowering his right shoulder and almost rolling! He actually rolled over around 10 minutes after I took this photo.

11/22/17 - James Rolls Over!!

James rolled over today (11/22/17) for the first time!! He rolled from tummy to back! I set him on his tummy and left quickly to get something from the kitchen. Of course by the time I got back he was on his back!  So proud of him, only 2.5 months old and has already rolled from tummy to back!

Super Duper Climber!

Joseph and Maddie went to the park after soccer on Tuesday and she climbed this very tall structure all by herself!!

Videos: Dancing and Making Up Songs

Here are some cute videos from the past couple of days.


Maddie was dancing really cute to this version of The Wheels on the Bus. I love when she stops for a milk break!

After dinner, Maddie started playing and singing to herself! She actually made up a song!

She made up another song here but to the tune of "London Bridge"

Stacking & Counting Blocks (with Video)

Here's a really cute video of Maddie stacking blocks and counting! She counts up to 10 and stumbles a bit from 11 on. She currently can count up to 30!

Maddie escaped from her crib!

AND if finally happened... after 2.5 years Maddie has finally learned to crawl out of her crib! We were watching her on the monitor at nap time and she was very hyper and was standing and jumping and singing in her crib.  After maybe 20 minutes we heard a big THUD and glanced at the monitor again and did not see her! Joseph ran upstairs and she had climbed out of her crib!  We think she used the dresser for some leverage.

And of course the big girl bed is not yet set up!

(UPDATE 7/26/17: Maddie has thankfully not once climbed out of her crib again. She has attempted to a couple of times but we quickly push her legs down and just pull her out of the crib.  She now sleeps in her big girl bed about 75% of the time and every once in a while decides to sleep or nap in her crib - there will be another post about her new room later)

Weekend Fun - Cooking & Shopping!

Here are some cute pictures from this weekend!

Watching TV and playing with water beads on Friday:

On Saturday we went to a toddler cooking class where we made pasta salad!  Maddie even got a knife so she could chop vegetables! She was decently engaged and the class went better than I expected. She loved mixing all the items together the best!  Afterwards we went to Maplewood Park (which we call ABC Park) and then to lunch!

Since we had so much fun cooking on Saturday, on Sunday we made pistachio pudding!  Maddie mixed it up then we scooped it into cups and put half in the fridge and half in the freezer with popsicle sticks to make pudding pops!  We later went to the store to grocery shop and buy more pudding and jello to make in the future.

Smelling the flowers after we got home from the store.

 

Maddie did NOT nap. Instead, she decided to strip down to her undies!  Luckily she did not have an accident or take her diaper off, that would have been a disaster! Here are pictures of her trying to put her clothes back ON after taking them off.

Maddie Sings Old MacDonald (video)

Maddie's vocabulary and comprehension has exploded seemingly overnight!  We are not exactly sure when it happened but it was definitely after our trip to China.  She understands almost everything we explain to her and repeats everything as well. Her pronunciation is also very clear (to those of us who see her every day) and we go to bed every nigh amazed at just how darn smart she is!!!!


Here is a cute video of her singing Old MacDonald while eating dessert

2.5 Year Check Up

We went to the doctor's this morning for Maddie's 2.5 year check up appointment.

Her growth has evened out a bit. She's only gained about 2 pounds in 6 months and has not grown at all. While she has put on a tiny bit of weight, she's losing a little of her baby fat.

Official Stats:
Weight: 31 pounds & 3 oz
Height: 35.75"
            This is shorter than what she measured at her 2 year appointment (36.5 inches) likely because she    
             was lying down for her 2 year appointment, and she was standing up at her 2.5 year appointment

I did not write down the percentiles but she's roughly in the 75 percentile for both weight and height.

Also no shots at her appointment today!

She is still on track or exceeding her milestones.   She spoke very clearly to the doctor and even showed her a big jump! She found no issues or causes for concern for anything, so our next appointment back is at 3 years old!

Cute Pics and Videos!

We took lots of cute pictures and videos this weekend!

Video of her dancing while eating her dessert

Video: Twirling!

Video: Jumping on 2 feet! This is a big developmental milestone. It was a bit delayed when she broke her leg.

We were in the basement playing in the bouncy house, and then she wanted to play on the piano. She sang Twinkle Twinkle and then ABCs. When you see her singing ABCs and pointing at the piano book, it is actually the ABC lyrics she is pointing to since they have the same tune.

Creepy video of Maddie and Daddy doing a face swap! 

She loves doing "funny faces" and especially loves the ones that distort her face and make her look really ugly!