New Stuff XXXVII

This is the kind-of-new stuff over the past few weeks, all compiled together. Jillian and Bridget have been busy little girls, and Daddy just can't keep up:

1. "Boring" : Whenever Jillian talks about when someone was "born", it comes out "boring". So, for example, she'll say "When I was boring ..."

2. Rolling, Part II : Bridget can now roll both ways equally well. Which means that she can get stuck both ways equally well.

3. Long Weekday Nights Without Mommy : Now that Mommy is back to work on Monday and Tuesday nights, the girls are having to learn how to deal with her being gone on those nights. It's been a tough learning experience for them and Daddy. Early on, those nights end up being very late, and there was lots of crying involved. Lately, though, they've settled into more of a routine, and are getting to bed a little earlier with a lot less crying.

4. Staying Dry : We bought a sleeping pad for Jillian so that she could start practicing sleeping with panties on. She's done really well during nap times, since those are only 2 hours or so. It's been hit and miss with the night time. We've had to work at limiting her water intake right before bed, and making sure she goes potty before laying down (which she really fights). The couple times that she's "stayed dry" through the night, though, we've celebrated with her, and she's pretty proud of herself for doing it. Anymore, she only wants to sleep in panties.

5. Formula : Bridget keeps eating more and more, and with Mommy working, it's been getting harder to keep up. So, we are starting to supplement with formula. Bridget actually doesn't mind it at all, as long as her tummy is full.

6. Rice Cereal : Bridget has also taken a couple shots at eating rice cereal. Grannie introduced it, and Bridget started to understand it the second time around. When Daddy gave her some, it took a while before it started going down; then, she must have realized what was going on ("This isn't Mommy's milk!!!") because she started screaming. Oh, well.

7. Razzies : It's Bridget's newest trick ... making the "razzy" sound with her lips. Of course, it's a big mess everywhere.

Push-ups

Briget has gotten to like tummy-time more and more lately. That's because she's found out that she can look around and see a lot more. All that tummy-time has led to some pretty strong arms, so she can push herself up off the floor to a good viewing position.

B & K, Part II

Karlie had come down to Longview for a visit during Heather's birthday. She stopped by the house on Sunday, and laid on the floor with Bridget for a photo session. They did really well, even smiling a couple times (which Daddy missed), but at least this shot came through.

Mommy's Birthday

We had the first of two birthday parties for Mommy last night at Red Lobster. All the kids were there (Jillian, Bridget, Cousin Meagan, Cousin Adam, and Cousin Karlie) along with Grandpa Ken, Auntie Sheryl, and Jason & Dany. The kids did very well eating and visiting, and they even helped Heather blow out the candles on her birthday cake. Andy got a little ahead of himself and blew out the candles before the song was over, so they re-lit the candles and let all the kids blow them out again.

Bath Buddies

Bridget is now too big to take baths in either the portable tub or the kitchen sink. So, we let her take a bath with Jillian like a big girl. Jillian was so excited to finally have someone to play with. Bridget didn't mind it too bad. We just had to hold her up the whole time.

Dog Protector

I noticed that the last couple of days when I laid Bridget on the floor Mocha would lay down next to her. Mocha licks everything and everyone but when I told her, "No licking" she never even tried to lick Bridget. Bridget is fascinated with the dog, always watching her or trying to grab hold of an ear or something. Poor Mocha, because now she has the two to watch over and she's continually pacing around if they're asleep and following them around wherever they go.

Player

We took Jillian and Bridget to Brock and Ty's basketball games at LaCenter. Jillian had fun at the half time of the first game running on the court with the other kids. While the boys were playing she was good about staying in the bleachers as we kept telling her that she couldn't be on the court while the players were playing. Then between games she would dance to the music. But by the end of the second game she had had enough of staying off the court. She crossed her arms, with a mad look, and marched up and down the bleacher steps saying, "I want to be a PLAYER, not Jillian, not anyone else-A PLAYER!" I told her to go down and ask Ty for his jersey and go play and she gave this little smile.

Walker Time

Well, no walking right now. But, Bridget likes to just sit in a walker. Grannie got out her little walker and propped Bridget up in it, using towels and blankets to keep her upright. Then, she threw a whole bunch of toys on the tray. Bridget had a great time, looking around and throwing her toys everywhere.

The Pie Maker

It was a special treat for Jillian at Grannie's house yesterday. She got to help Grannie make two pies, one blackberry and one apple. This photo shows Jillian rolling out the dough. She was happy to finally get to do some real cooking, after having so much practice in her pretend-kitchen at home. We'll have to see if she'll actually eat any of the pie next week.

Puzzle Fun

Jillian has always liked puzzles, but for the longest time, she preferred to just watch someone else put them together ... and then she'd "break" them afterwards. Recently, though, we were at the beach and Daddy put a couple puzzles together, and Jillian was very excited, and she left them intact for the entire stay. Then yesterday, Papa Woodruff and Jillian got out the Pooh puzzle, and with Papa giving hints, Jillian put it all together by herself! She was so proud.

Two at a Time

Both girls woke up at the same time so it was time for the morning cuddle. But it wasn't long before they were both hungry at the same time, so Papa came to the rescue. About noon they were bathed and dressed and it was my turn then. Bridget was a little crabby from her shots the day before but for the first day it went okay. We just have to get into a routine. When Bridget went down for a nap I took Jillian up to see the twins and we weren't there but a half an hour and I get a call from Papa saying Bridget woke up. When I got home Bridget was fine, sitting on Papa's lap watching a cartoon.

New Stuff XXXVI

It's the latest, greatest from the girls, plus a guest contributor:

1. "My friends" : We're not sure who Jillian's friends are, but she keeps talking about them. She'll tell us that she has to go pick up her friends, or she has to go meet her friends.

2. The Charmer : It was late, and Mommy was telling Jillian that it was time to go to bed. Jillian responded with "But Mommy ... me and Daddy need to have a picnic in my room ... right, Daddy?" About that time, Jillian looked up at Daddy with a big smile and a twinkle in her eyes. So, of course Daddy had to go have a picnic. Mommy just shook her head.

3. Roll to the Right : Well, not quite, but Bridget is starting to lean to her right side now.

4. "Saster" : This is what Jillian calls her room (in other words, a disaster), after she has spread out her toys, books and dresses all over the floor.

5. The Fixers : If anything breaks, Jillian immediately responds with "Papa and Davey will fix it.

And, a couple good ones from Mommy:

6. "Wake Up, Bridget!!!" : Yesterday I was getting ready to run some errands with the girls and asked Jillian if she wanted hot chocolate when we went to the store. She responded with and emphatic "YES." I told her we had to wait until Bridget woke up from her nap. A short time after this conversation I heard Jillian go down the hall into our room where Bridget was sleeping and scream, "Wake up, Bridget," followed by Bridget screaming. Lesson well learned, never mention hot chocolate unless we are on the way to get it.

7. The Wild One : While driving in the car Jillian will repeatedly ask "Where are we going?" After I get tired of repeating myself sometimes I will reply, "I am going crazy, do you want to come?" Jillian will always say No... Yesterday, after saying no, she looked at me and said "I know where I want to go Mom, Wild, I want to go Wild!!! Oh Dear...

4-month Check-up

Everyone drove to Vancouver for Bridget's four-month well-baby check-up. Both Jillian and Bridget slept all the way there. When they awoke, Jillian wasn't real thrilled about being there, knowing that it was the doctor office. Bridget was a happy girl the whole time, of course.

The nurse did all the measurements first. We found out that Bridget now weighed 14 lbs 8.6 ounces, and was 24 inches long. Dr. Wheelock then visited, and asked a bunch of questions. Then, he gave her the usual well-baby checkup. Bridget smiled at the doctor through much of the examination. He remarked at how she was a happy baby.

Finally, the nurse returned to give Bridget an oral vaccination, and a shot in each leg. Bridget did pretty good on the first shot, just wimpering a bit. The second shot, though, was with a very long needle, and Bridget let out some good cries over that one. Mommy fed her shortly afterwards to get her to calm down.

Back to Work

It was a very sad day for Mommy. Today, Mommy went back to work after 4 months on maternity leave. She had enjoyed every minute of her time off, spending all of it with Bridget and Jillian. She knew this day was coming, though. She spent the day getting everything ready to take the girls to Grandpa Ken's house for the afternoon, including getting Bridget's milk ready. Staying busy helped to keep her mind occupied for a while, but it still ended up being a sad good-bye and drive to work.

The girls did pretty good at Grandpa's house. When Daddy took them home, they had a little something to eat, and Bridget sacked out in her bassinett. Mommy called during her dinner break, and when she talked to Jillian on the phone, Jillian said "I want you to come home, Mommy". Looks like we've got a little transition time ahead of us.

Laughing Girl

It's pretty easy to get Bridget to laugh. Tickling her is one way, like this video shows. Bridget was half-naked on the changing table, and Mommy was tickling her on her neck (her most ticklish spot). The other way to get Bridget to laugh is to laugh yourself ... she thinks it's pretty funny, and mimics the laughing with loud squeals.

Dancing with Barbie

Jillian has a small collection of Barbie Dolls that she enjoys playing with. We'll often find all of them in her bed, tucked in and sleeping ... Jillian says that they are "sick". The other thing she likes to do is make them dance (or dance with them, depending on how you see it). She turns on her CD player that has a kid's song CD in it, grabs onto Barbie's hands, and makes her (and herself) jump up and down.

Bumbo, Again

Since Bridget has been keeping her head up so well, and always trying to pull herself up to a sitting position, we decided to dig out the Bumbo. Jillian sat in this when she was little, but not for very long because we bought it kind of late, and she was already about ready to start sitting up on her own.

Bridget actually was OK sitting in it, and stayed there for about 5 minutes or so. Eventually, though, she tried getting out on her own. She's just not satisfied staying put.

Dexterity and a New Friend

I took this picture last week as Jillian, all of a sudden, will play with this maze and move every thing to the other side and back. She had to concentrate pretty hard at first but now will do it easily. This has been sitting there since she could crawl. At the dentist's office this morning they had a giant maze and she went right to that and played and did it easily.

This picture shows Jillian showing the Minion to the movie. She watched "Despicable Me" with Daddy at the beach and then when I blew up this Minion that Lynne sent up with the movie she was so excited. She hugged it and carried it around.

Blog Problems

Not sure what's wrong, but we are currently unable to post pictures on the blog. Hopefully, it'll be solved soon and we can get back to business.

Activity Mat

Mommy got this activity mat for Bridget as a Christmas gift. It has been a super fun thing for Bridget. She already loved to be on the floor where she can move around and roll. Now, there's lots of colorful things for her to look at. We've also seen that she's really starting to develop her hand-eye coordination, as she is hitting and grabbing whatever she can get her hands on.

Rolling Girl

New Year's Day was the day that Bridget did a new thing. Just this past week, she had started turning on to her side. She would arch her head and back far enough to put her up there, but that was as far was it went. But, we knew she was close. On Saturday evening at the beach house, Mommy had laid Bridget on her back, on a blanket on the living room floor, then went into the bathroom for a moment. While she was there, she heard Bridget fussing and whining. When she returned, Bridget was on her tummy! So, Mommy put her on her back again, and not long after, Bridget did her little roll. She figured out how to pull her feet way up and arch, and she gets over pretty good. The funny thing is, once she learned how to do it, she would just roll every time we put her on her back. In fact, most of the time, she'd roll over within seconds of being laid down. We spent much of our night watching her roll over, and then rolling her back.

Beach Get-away

Heather and I decided a while ago that we both needed to get away from it all for a weekend, so we chose the beach for New Year's. We packed up the girls and headed to the Ocean Park beach house on New Year's Eve. We weren't sure if we'd make it, since Jillian had come down with a fever that morning. But, Jillian had been so excited about finally going swimming, and going to the beach, that we decided to load her up with meds and go for it.

On the way to the beach, we stopped at the Astoria Aquatic Center to go swimming, figuring to do it first. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day. When we told Jillian we couldn't swim today, she started welling up. It was a heart-wrenching look on her face. We calmed her down by telling her we'd come back the next day. Then, we headed for the beach house. In place of the pool, we tried going to the beach (it would turn out to be our only trip there), but when we went outside, it was so cold that Jillian was begging to go to the house. It was freezing outside, but it was nice and warm in the beach house, thanks to Otto turning the heat on ahead of us.

We thought it was going to be a quiet and relaxing trip, but it wasn't. Jillian's fever was still pretty high, even with the Ibuprofen. She was pretty miserable, and the congestion in her throat was causing her to gag and hurl, or "spit" as she called it. It was a long, long night. We didn't do much to celebrate the new year, other than try to sleep.

Thankfully, Jillian's fever broke on New Year Day. So, we at breakfast and packed up for the pool. The pool was decently warm, though we had to stay in the water to keep from getting cold. Daddy and Jillian played in the pool, while Mommy and Bridget took off for Costco and Starbucks. Jillian was very daring in the water, going into some pretty deep areas, and getting herself wet up to her head. She still doesn't like getting her head or face wet, but she sure liked to get Daddy wet. One of her favorite things was to push Daddy's head into the water. Jillian was in the pool for about 2 hours, and was still going strong despite being a bit under the weather. When it was over, she slept all the way home.

The rest of the trip was just laying around and watching TV, playing games, reading books and such. Bridget did something pretty cool, which is in the next post. We had a lot of fun watching, and Jillian thought it was kind of funny, letting us know about it each time it happened. We went to bed early, and got a decent sleep. Then, we got up, packed up quick and headed home to watch volleyball.