an update

this is just going to be a  bit of a hodgepodge of stories since I haven't really done an update in many months, just a bit what's been going on in our lives.
So Jocelyn is 7 months tomorrow and is crawling everywhere! well, not so much crawling on hands and knees but more of the worm dance move. where she uses her feet to move her but boy does she get where she needs to go. she also pulls herself up on things like no other. the fireplace, the ottoman, whatever is close by she can pull herself up and stand there for 2-3 minutes at a time. the other day she also tried to take a step while holding onto the ottoman. I'm not sure why she thinks she needs to be walking already but I'm so not ready for that. I'm just getting used to the crawling. My SIL says it's because she wants to play with the big kids and I am thinking that's pretty accurate. Any time her brother or one of the cousins is around she just stares at them and wants to go chasing after them. She's going to be trouble soon I am thinking.
Also she eats like a champ, so far I haven't given her anything that she refused to eat. She definitely has her favorites (peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and turkey purees at the top of the list) but she seems to always be hungry. It's almost as if I can't give her enough during to the day to keep her asleep at night. She was waking up 2-3 times a night wanting formula on top of the 1-2 times I was feeding her. So after playing around with meal times and quantities I think we may have discovered what works best. She likes to eat 2-4 ounces of formula when she wakes up, then about a hour or so after waking up she eats yogurt or rice cereal/oatmeal and about half of a container of banana/pears/peaches puree. Then she likes another 4-6 ounces before naptime, takes a nap and wakes up to eat a 3/4th to a full container of veggie puree and some rice crackers and little yogurt melts.  She'll get another bottle and nap and then for dinner she gets another full container of veggies plus a starch (depending on what we are having she'll eat that or get more cereal). seems like a ton of food to me but apparently you need to eat to grow. lol. other than that she is a happy little girl. talks all the time and has the cutest laugh. no teeth yet but is working on it. :)

My little man is not so little anymore. He is almost 4 and will tell anyone who listens when his birthday is and what he wants that particular day. He usually rotates through a handful of his favorite toys/cartoons. He is so smart, I am amazed every day at what he can remember and the knowledge he picks up on his own. I bought him a pre-k study book that helps with numbers and letters. He loves looking at it and practicing his alphabet. He can watch something one and remember every detail. We started him in swim lessons at the local YMCA and after 7 weeks he is ready to move up to the next level and is practically a swimmer. He can swim under water for 5 seconds, can float on his belly and his back and is getting better at swimming on his back. He has a harder time concentrating when he is on his back and get distracted by his surroundings sometimes and will go under water but he gets better every class. He loves his classes and is always asking if today is swimming lessons. He seems to be getting a better sense of time and days. He asks what day it is and if its today, tonight. tomorrow.
Today we made a paper chain link garland as a way to count down the days until Christmas. He is very excited to be able to tear of a link every morning.

Tomorrow we are getting out our Christmas decorations and will get the house in the Christmas spirit. I am really looking forward to it this year, I think it's going to be so fun since Adam is old enough to remember it and appreciate everything. It definitely gets better when you have kids to share it with. lol.

The Dance

Is she really hungry or is she just used to waking up at this time and eating? I enter her room to find her thrashing about but her eyes are still closed. Truly she can't be hungry if she's not even awake.  Is she simply crying out of habit? Because she knows she will get rewarded with a bottle? Or is she too young to have those kind of deeper motives. I find her pacifier and give it to her but she is still restless. Her eyes are shut but clearly she is looking for something, I pick her up, begin to rock her. She settles a little but every minute or so she twitches about.  After about 5 minutes she had calmed completely and the frantic sucking as slowed. I rock for a few more minutes and she eventually spits out the paci.
So was it really hunger? Have I just delayed the inevitable only to wake minutes later? Or perhaps I just need to break the habit of getting a bottle in the middle of the night. "They" say she should be able to sleep through without replenishing the supply but lately we've been awake multiple times a night feeding. So if I can cut it back to just once a night that in itself would be a small victory. I kiss her forehead as I lay her in her crib. A silent prayer for sweet dreams and restful sleep runs through my head as I watch her roll to her side and pull the blankets to her chin and sigh.