The Stas at three years old

Weight: 36 lbs 2 oz: 86th percentile
Height: 40.2": 95th percentile
Head: 19.25"

We took Stas for her three year check up, a couple of months late. She ended up with one shot and actually thanked the nurses when they were done. Probably because they gave her a pretty Barbie band aid and band aids are like gold in this house.

The doctor told us it was time to have the "stranger talk" with Stas and mentioned something I hadn't even given thought to. He said usually parents tell their kids to find a policeman or policewoman when they're lost, but that doing that isn't always the most practical thing since there aren't cops literally everywhere. He said we should tell our kids to find a mommy because there is probably at least one mommy anywhere you go. He said to focus on looking for mommies since most predators (especially those snatching little girls) are usually men. Yes, that's a huge stereotype, but in my opinion it's largely correct. So when we're out and about we should point out mommies to her and tell her why they're a mommy; they have a stroller with a baby, they're pregnant, they have kids with them, etc. And then once we've done that a couple of times we should start pointing out mommies and then asking Stasa to tell us why she's a mommy. So we'll tell her to look for either a mommy or a policeman or policewoman if she doesn't see either of us. We also need to take her to our local fire department so she can see a fireman in his/her full gear since kids are generally scared of them if they haven't seen them before.

She's ONE

Last night as a "baby."


Happy birthday, baby!


I know, I know. It's belated, but I've been too tired in the evenings to blog. And I don't even have a lot of pictures from the big day, but it was fun. We went with a carnival/circus theme for Miss Lexi's first birthday. The decorations were mostly just brightly colored tablecloths and balloons and little hangy down guys for the ceiling.



We served a lot of "carnival" fare: sausages, chicken-on-a-stick, corn dogs, popcorn, caramel apples, candy, soft pretzels...I really wanted to have cotton candy, but that seemed like a mess to deal with, so we ended up with a candy bar and cupcakes. Speaking of cupcakes, Lexi didn't seem to mind at all when everyone sang to her and just sat patiently with her eye on her own cupcake. As soon as we placed the cupcake on her tray she dug in. Quietly and slowly eating every bite. So different from Stasa's full on meltdown at her first birthday.




I love celebrating the girls' birthdays in a big way because I think birthdays are so special and it's fun to have a whole day just about you (of course I have a whole month for me, but what are you gonna do?). I was shocked that we didn't get a single repeat book or toy and Lexi loves every single thing she got. It's interesting to see Stasa with Lexi's birthday gifts - she knows that they're Lexi's and knows that she has to ask to play with them. We're trying to teach her to share and that not everything is hers - I know, tough world, right?

So, what's next for the Lexifer? Well, she's officially on cow's milk during the day and I nurse her at night. I was going to try to plan out a weaning schedule for the night nursing, but I think she'll just wean naturally so I'm just going to go with the flow. We are working on getting her used to a sippy instead of a bottle and she's not too thrilled with that. At all. In fact, if I'm in the room she throws her sippy at me. But then she gets thirsty enough to pick it up and drink from it. I win.

We took both girls in for their annual check ups together and here are Lexi's one year stats:
Weight: 22 lbs 9 oz: 78th percentile
Height: 29.5": 62nd percentile
Head: 18": 68th percentile

Getting to be a big girl.

50 Weeks Old

A conversation with Stasa

Conversation in the car after daycare:
"I found two wormies. One big one and one little one. He was small. I eat the small wormy. He's cute. I don't cut him. He's cute."
After a talk about being nice to worms and other living things:
"I be gentle. I squish them and then count them. Michael cuts them."

It's sad that this is so true

Let the countdown begin

It's Wednesday, March 21. Lexi will be one this Saturday. I'm still in disbelief and am trying to figure out where the year went. Wasn't it just last week that I went back to work? Or just yesterday I held my little froggy-legged baby in my arms?

Now she wriggles around, desperate to get out of my arms and down on the ground so she can walk around. She's quick, too. We like to refer to her as our little Swiper, kind of like Swiper Fox from Dora. You can turn your back for all of a second and within that time she'll have grabbed your phone, the remote, your drink, and anything else you left laying around.

So now we countdown. Three more days. And then we'll be celebrating the greatest show on Earth.

I'll post more later this week about the slow wean from nursing. :C

It's been so beautiful lately

We've been trying to take advantage of the amazing weather we've been having: open windows, grilled dinners, and lots of outside time with the girls. Both girls rode around the cul-de-sac the other evening, cried when we had to come in, and then passed out from exhaustion. I truly can not wait for summer.

49 Weeks Old

48 Weeks Old

iPhone pictures

I find myself taking a ton of pictures on my phone now that I have the iPhone - the camera on it is pretty nice, especially if there's good light. The only problem is, while I post them to Facebook most of the time, I forget to post them here. So here's a montage of pictures I've taken over the past month or so.

It's coming to end

So my nursing relationship with Lexi is coming to a close. I hope to have her fully weaned by her birthday, mostly for my own selfish reasons. While I love the bonding time breast feeding has given us, I'm ready to have my body back and I most certainly won't miss the many many pumping sessions I had everyday: early early morning, throughout the day, and again before bed. I'm going to love the freedom I'll have and will be able to leave the house without having to worry about missing a feeding or pumping whe I'm out and about. I guess most of all I'll be happy to pack that pump up. Well, maybe two things because I also won't miss having to control Lexi when she decides it's time to perform acrobatic moves while nursing or chooses to beat me while I'm held captive.

What I will miss are the quiet minutes I have alone with Lexi each morning and night. Feeling her little hand reach up and pat my face. Being the one that always has a sure fire way to soothe and satiate her. And it's such a satisfying feeling to know that your body nourished this little thing for so long. Oh! And I'll also definitely miss the extra Weight Watchers points I get for breastfeeding. ::sigh:: That's going to be a tough one.

So while I'd like to have her fully weaned by her birthday (which is fast approaching), I think what I'll really do is wean her from daytime feedings and let her decide when to drop the early morning and bedtime feedings.