Another tooth!

Katelyn Has her Fifth tooth! Top on her left second one over from the middle

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Crawling

So miss Katie is crawling! It's a new skill and she is still easing into it, but she has a cute little thing she does. She does a really great "traditional" crawl with her arms, and then she does more of a hop forward with her legs (on her knees). It's really cute! She is starting to get the idea of moving her legs one at a time but she defaults to keeping then together and doing her hop thing.

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Geoffrey's first two days at Hilltop Preschool

Geoffrey started preschool on Monday, September 10, 2012. He is in the seeds program at Hilltop Preschool in Fountain Valley. He will be going on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Luckily, I (Grant) was also scheduled to work that day, so we didn't have to worry about me leaving him by himself the first day.  Geoffrey was very shy at first, hiding behind my legs.  As soon as he saw the playground he was off and I probably didn't see him for an hour, he was having so much fun.  I had talked up the fact that he was allowed to go barefoot at preschool and his shoes were off from the moment he stepped on the playground until we left at the end of the day!  He finally came in for snack time and checked in with me. 

Geoffrey spent most of his time playing by himself or alongside other kids.  Once inside, he had a lot of time playing in the "loft" where the babies were.  He was playing up there with 2 other boys!  He was very cooperative and had no problem staying with the group.  At lunch, I sat down and joined him.  When the day ended, Bobbi met us to see Geoffrey for a few minutes. After she left, he played on the playground outside while I cleaned inside.

Geoffrey's second day of preschool was Tuesday, September 11, 2012.  I was not scheduled to work this day and had not arranged any childcare for Katelyn, so Geoffrey was definitely going to spend some of the day by himself.  We got to preschool a little before 930.  Katelyn and I stayed with him on the playground until about 10, when i tried to leave.  He had a fit and ran after me screaming.  I told him that I would stay a little longer.  I figured I would stay until snack and he would be more distracted.  it didn't work.  As soon as I told him I was leaving, he started crying and clinged on to me.  Lynette, the director and also one of the Seeds teachers asked me if she could help.  I told her I thought it would be better for him if I left quickly and that I didn't think he would cry for long.  I gave him a kiss and told him I would see him after lunch.  He immediately started screaming and Lynette picked him up.  I quickly left.  As I left I heard him scream "PUT ME DOWN", and Lynette said "I will in a moment".  I quickly left and didn't look back.  When I got to my car, parked on the street behind the preschool I could still hear him screaming.

I returned just after lunch when they were sitting down to story time.  Geoffrey didn't see me come in.  When I came in, one of the dads who was working told me he cried for about 10 minutes and then was fine.  All the kids were sitting on the carpet, and Geoffrey was directly in front of Lynette actively engaging in the story. You could tell he had really taken to her, but also that he wasn't used to large group situations.  For example, when Lynette would turn to a page that interested Geoffrey, he would stand up, point to what was interesting to him and start talking over Lynette, who was reading the story.  When this happened, one of the girls behind him whose view he was blocking said "I can't see".  Lynette then said "Geoffrey, when you are done looking at the picture, could you please sit on your bottom so everyone else can see?"  Geoffrey sat right down. 

After the story was over, he got up and finally saw me, then came over and said hi.  We sang the goodbye song and then went and played at the park next to preschool.

Week one went well. I think he is going to really enjoy this school, especially once he gets the hang of going there on his own!

Two Random Katie facts

Katie rarely puts things in her mouth. It is very weird to not worry about giving her, say, a crayon to manipulate without worrying but I have yet to see her put anything in her mouth except for her own hand.

SOmetimes, katelyn will lose her voice, and then she gets a sort of scratchy, faded out tone to her babbling and crying.

Play Time Problem

Last night, Geoffrey and Katelyn and I were up in the play room. Katelyn was using one of Geoffrey's trash trucks to practice supporting herself on while on her knees. Geoffrey said, "Katelyn I want to play with that!"

I replied, "Geoffrey, Katelyn's using that right now. Can't you use another trash truck right now?"

"Well, That's the only side loader that I want to play with right now. That's the only one."

"Hmmm..." I said. "Well, is there a back loader you could share with Katelyn?"

"Oh!" Geoffrey says looking around at his fleet of trash trucks, "Oh, Sure! She can use this one!"

So he gently takes the side loader away and then sets the front loader (which is the same size) right where Katelyn would need it.

Problem Solved!

First Week Back / Summer Thoughts

Katelyn:

Katie has been more and more mobile. She is really good at rolling over and sitting up, and she still gets up on her hands and feet. She's not crawling yet, but she will be, soon. Still, she can do some major scooting. Or sometimes she will lay down, roll over, and sit up again just to see what new place she ends up in!

She has cut all four front teeth now!

She had a generally good attitude this first week back. On Thursday and Friday, Grant had orientation for Geoff's new school, and I, of course, was  back at school as well, so on Thursday Tammy came over to babysit with Danny and on Friday Donna and Gary were here. Katelyn (both of the kids, really) did well. There were occasional bouts of fussiness, of course, but mostly she was just fine.

THis week she has really been upping her game with solids. Grant made her carrots and she seems to LOVE them. She's also had some banana and avocado this week. I think the increase in solids is really going to help withthe fact that she isn't getting much milk during the day. She doesn't drink from a bottle or a sippy cup. Grant does mix milk into her cereal and her veggies, but she gets the bulk of her breast milk from me -

Which leads to sleep. Sleep training has been going well and she goes to sleep with little problems. I do nurse her right before she goes to sleep, but at least half - if not most nights - I still put her down awake - if she is not totally zonked I sing her a song to rouse her a bit or sometimes - if she is awake - I read her a story, aqnd then sing, and she still goes to sleep with little protesting. (She does sleep on her tummy, though. I put her in her crib and she rolls right over.) Still 0 she's waking up aprx. every four hours. This week she goes down at 9 and then wakes up at 1 and 4 and then 9 again. If she wakes up after 4, I don't wake her up to eat again and that seems to work ok. (Plus I get to work a little early.) On Friday, though, she woke up every three hours.

I feel like I should cut a night feeding so she learns to sleep longer, but I am still afraid that she needs t hat extra feeding to get enough breastmilk in her diet. She - of course - LOOKS quite healthy. She has those adorable rolls on her legs and she is well into her nine month clothes (she seems to be a very long baby, too, based on how her clothes are fitting...) Well, my plan for now is to go for another week so she can really establish solids as part of her diet, and then maybe next weekend I will think about trying to reduce or cut that 1AM feeding...

Geoff:

Geoff is happy to be home - although now he keeps saying he wants to go back to walt disney world. lol. He is loves playing with Danny, and has enjoyed having Cori and Andrew come over. Sharing is still an issue, of course. I asked him if he was excited that Katelyn was getting bigger and that she's be able to play with him more, and he said, "No because I don't want to share with her."
He was also complaining that Cori was coming over because he didn't want her to play with his toys. and I said, "Fine, do you want me to call Angie and tell her not to come over and play?" Geoffrey responds, "Well, she can come over for dinner and she can swim in the jacuzzi but that's all." 

However, I will say that he is, in his own way, trying. He will come over and take toys away from Katie, and then seem to second guess and give her another toy to replace the one he has taken. (Sometimes she cries when he takes toys away and sometimes she laughs - but if he thinks about is, he will replace her toy no matter what - as in, he doesn't just do it if she cries.) It is a start!

Geoffrey is still pushing boundaries at times, and whining/crying has become an issue - and it really irritates me, I must say! - but he doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as he was at the beginning of the summer. So hopefully he will grow out of that phase. 

Geoffrey starts preschool at Hilltop next week. It will certainly be interesting to see how he does there being left alone, how he enjoys it, and how it will affect him at home! Angie is coming over on Monday so that Grant has the option to stay with Geoffrey all day if needed so he can have at least one day to get used to the new place and the new schedule. He will be going on Mondays and Tuesdays. I am also planning to meet them at the end of his day on Monday so i can see how his first day goes! (I am so glad Hilltop is so close to Allen!)

4th tooth

Katie's fourth tooth - top, her right - is out. That is four teeth in three weeks. Really, she has been such a trooper! We haven't noticed any unusual fussiness or change in sleep habits! She's a tough girl! That's why we were so surprised every time a new tooth came in - because we didn't have any warnings to precede it.

Katelyn's third tooth

bottom - her left...

On our way home from the airport..

Geoffrey just said, "you and mommy can go on a date. Ok? Here is the plan. Take me to my house and I will play with uncle danny and then you and mommy go on a date. "

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2nd tooth

Oh wow! I have been so focused on Katelyn's 2nd bottom tooth coming out - because it feels like it will come out any day - that I didn't even notice that her top tooth came out! Top, her left. Not sure exactly when it came out, but the whole tooth is out all the way across - not just a corner - but just barely out. I actually saw it while she was laughing today!