Avery: 2 Month Stats

So we were a little delayed with Avery's 2 month appointment, due to the doctor's office being backed up with back to school appointments.  We finally went for Avery's 2 month appointment this past Tuesday (just a little over 2.5 months).  She did great and enjoyed smiling and cooing at the doctor as she got examined.  She got her first set of vaccinations (with the exception of the hospital)...3 shots and 1 oral vaccination.  She took them like a champ.  She tensed up, turned bright red and cried for about 20 seconds and immediately calmed down when I picked her up and snuggled her.

The shots seemed to wipe her out and made her a little fussier in the evening.  She could barely stay awake to eat much Tuesday evening and cashed out at 8 pm and didn't wake to eat until 5 am!  It was a great night of sleep, but of course I woke several times to check her expecting her to wake up!

Here are her stats:

Weight: 11 lbs 6 oz (42%)

Height: 22 in (16%)

Head: 15 1/4 in (29%)

"My paci's broken."

The Roberts family has had quite the eventful week as we've been saying "good-bye" to our good friend, the paci (for Kens that is, not Avery).  For those that know Kensley, you are well aware of how much she loves her paci.  It's the reason she usually wants to take a nap or go to bed...she gets to have her paci.  So we knew getting rid of it would be no small task...and we were right! 

We've been talking for a while how we need to rid her of her paci, for a number of reasons: we can tell it's affecting her teeth, she's getting too old for it, etc.  The biggest one is that I've always thought (my personal opinion) it a little ridiculous to see a kid talking with a paci in his/her mouth.  We reached that stage a while ago, so it's only been a matter of time.

 

We started "Operation No Paci" last Sunday and while it has been difficult, it also has been somewhat comical.  Our first attempt was to go "cold turkey" on the no paci and substitute it for a big girl pillow(!).  That didn't go over so well so we opted to start cutting the tip off the paci (the way my parents got rid of my paci).  Kens was a little upset upon discovering she could no longer suck on her paci and let us know "my paci's broken".  Seriously...it was so hard not to laugh as she said over and over again "paci broken" while examining it.  The pillow eventually got the boot as she kept saying "no pee-yo"...knowing full well that the pillow meant no paci. 

Kensley is slowing coming to terms with this whole process, but she still requests her paci (even though it's literally just a plastic ring now...since the tip is completely gone).  For the time being, we are still letting her sleep with it as she likes to hold it.  We are definitely taking note of this process though and will most likely take Avery's away much sooner!

Connor Lee Lindvall...

This weekend we traveled over to Columbus, OH to meet our newest nephew, Connor Lee Lindvall, who was born on August 16.  He is such a sweet, quiet little guy.  It will be interesting to see how he fares among the noisy, dramatic ladies.

It was great to all be together, but I think we quickly learned how crazy family gatherings will be from now on.  Neither toddler napped on Saturday, which proved to be exhausting for all...especially the adults.  Elli and Kens enjoyed running around together outside, while the babes enjoyed quiet naps indoors.

Here are pictures from our weekend.



Sweet Connor...moments before he let me know how much he loves his auntie...by peeing on me.

The littlest cousins...holding hands!

Aves is just 10 weeks and a few days older than Connor.

Uncle Jeremy and Connor

Connor Lee

"Who wants some candy??"
Yes, we bribed them to sit and smile for us.

A good reminder not to leave the men in charge of the toddlers.  Both girls ended up naked running around the neighborhood.

Another pic of the little babe.

Excited to hold baby Connor

Two tired girls

First cousin picture! 

Looking a little tired after a long night with baby Avery

I wish we could report that this trip over to Ohio was much smoother and easier than the last....not the case.  We discovered an hour into the trip over Saturday morning that Avery was in desperate need of a diaper and clothes change.  Biggest. blowout. EVER.  I won't go into it, but let's just say I've never seen anything like it.  The trip home was filled with lots of tears...from all of us (just kidding, but it was close).  Kensley was out of her mind she was so tired.  She finally fell asleep with about 45 minutes left in the trip and woke up again 15 minutes from home and proceeded to scream the rest of the way.  Needless to say, she experienced her first timeout immediately upon arrival at home.  Early bedtimes for all and hoping for Aves to give us a nice long stretch of sleep tonight.

Avery: 10 weeks old...

10 weeks old and Avery is growing and changing each day.  She seems to have moved out of the newborn stage and is interacting with us more and more.  She still loves to be talked to and kicks her legs and moves her arms when she's excited.  She smiles and coos often to whoever will talk to her and give her a little attention.

Avery enjoys her baths and we typically give her one every other night.  If she's crying or upset, she will instantly calm down as soon as she hears the water running.  She loves to kicks her legs and just stares at us during her bath.  She isn't a fan of the chilly air though so we dry and dress her quickly when she's done.

Aves also still loves being outside.  We joke that the sound of the crickets in the evenings lull her to sleep.  Taking her outside is usually what happens when she's tired and we can't get her calmed down.

Sleeping seems to be going much better.  Avery seems to be setting an earlier bedtime for herself as she is almost always asleep by 8:00 pm.  I usually feed her anytime between 6:30 - 7:30 pm and she usually falls asleep shortly after.  She's been waking up anytime between 4:30 - 6 am to eat, then back to sleep until until 8/9ish.  She's fairly consistent so far on her naps and takes a shorter nap in the morning, a longer afternoon nap (usually at least 3 hours) and then a short cat nap usually during our dinner.

She is still in size 1 diapers and 0 - 3 month clothes, however she has started testing out some of her 3 month outfits.  Her hair seems to have thinned out some...specifically on the top of her head.  We're hoping she doesn't lose much more!

Here are a few pictures of our little 10 week old.

Avery: 2 Months Old...

Happy 2 Month Birthday, sweet Avery Leigh!

Here is Avery's 2 month photo shoot...with some help of course from big sis.



Kensley: 21 Months Old..

21 months old!  Wow...Kensley is getting so close to the 2 year mark and I almost can't believe (nor do I want to!).  I feel like I say this every month, but it's true...Kensley seems to be growing up so fast!  Even my parents have commented on how much Kensley has changed in the past month since we've been here.

She continues to talk up a storm.  From the moment we walk into her room to get her up until she goes to bed at night, she is constantly talking.  She talks mostly in phrases now and a few sentences and for the most part can tell us exactly what she wants (although it sometimes takes us a minute or two to fully understand what she's saying).  It's funny to me how much she retains and remembers.

Kensley continues to be our great little sleeper.  She went through a little rough patch where she was waking a few times a night shortly before and after Avery was born, but she is back into her normal sleeping habits.  In fact, most nights she is sleeping anywhere from 13 - 14 hours a night!  Depending on the day, she typically is in bed between 7 and 7:30 p.m. and gets up anywhere from 8 - 9 a.m.  She is also taking 1 nap a day in the afternoons that ranges from 2 - 3 hours.

Kensley's hair is going through a bit of an awkward stage (if you ask me).  She is still sporting the mullet and we are holding off on cutting it until it gets a little longer (to even it out).  The back of her hair is so long and it goes well past her shoulders when wet.  For the time being (and for the sake of the heat), I try to pull it up as much as possible.  I foresee a haircut in the somewhat near future.

As far as size goes, Kensley is wearing mostly 18 month and 18 - 24 month size clothes.  She is now in size 4 diapers and has been for the last 3 weeks or so.  Her shoe size varies depending on the brand, but she wears size 5 - 6 shoes.

Kensley is still pretty sweet with her sister and loves to kiss and hug her.  She has a hard time understanding why Avery can't play with her and often tells her to "sit down" while she's playing.  We've noticed a little bit of jealousy from Kensley here recently.  When I'm feeding Avery or Jeremy is holding her, Kensley will often say "Avery all done" or "Avery down" meaning she wants us to pay attention only to her.

Kens continues to show an interest in the potty and has caught on that she is rewarded with an "m-m" when she goes.  Today as soon as she heard a tinkle in the toilet she said "m-m"...smart girl.  We haven't been pushing the potty training, but we continue to make a big deal and get excited when she goes.  She tends to mix up #1 and #2 and calls both "poopy".  She'll wake up from her nap and say "poopy" (when most often it's not) or will run to the bathroom and say "poopy" signaling that she has to go (and she will just tinkle).  I bought some pull-ups for her as I was tired of taking her diaper off and on throughout the day.  We'll see how those work.  With how much we're lifting her on and off the big toilet, I'm really wishing we would have brought her little potty with us (it accidentally got loaded onto the truck and is now in storage).

Enjoying her m-m in her "big girl panties" (ie: pull-ups)

Pleased with her accomplishment

Avery: 8 weeks old..

Our baby girl is 8 weeks old and quickly approaching the 2 month mark.  I can't believe how fast time is flying by and how much older and bigger Avery looks each day.

The big milestone for this week, is that we moved Avery out of the bassinet and she is now laying flat in the bottom of the pack-n-play.  We did this for several reasons: she is getting too long for the bassinet, we hope to get her comfortable with this to allow for an easy transition to her crib in a few weeks and most of all it allows us to set up her monitor and the sensor/breathing pad.  As with Kensley, Avery prefers her tummy so this allows us to put her on her tummy and us to sleep  a little easier.  Avery seems to be sleeping better now that she's on her tummy and is giving us longer stretches in between feedings.  We can only hope that before long she is sleeping through the night!  She has also been taking her naps in her pack-n-play!  Dare I also mention that for the second afternoon in a row BOTH girls are napping at the SAME TIME!  Yay!

Little Avery is pretty much completely out of her newborn clothes and is wearing 0-3 month sizes and even a few 3 month sizes!  She is growing so quickly!

She is much more aware and has just recently seemed to take an interest in her sister.  The other day Kensley was standing in front of Avery talking to her and hugging her over and over again.  Avery just stared at her and I think she is recognizing her voice (as Kensley jabbers all the time).  I'm looking forward to the days when Avery is entertained watching Kensley play.

 

Here are a few pictures of our little 8 week old (and her big sister).