Expensive Tastes

Corinne needs to either be the next Steve Jobs, or marry rich (without a pre-nup).

She has expensive tastes. She polished off about three ounces of filet mignon tonight. I gave her a taste and she kept asking for more (by reaching for mine and going "unh unh unh!").

I'm quite proud of myself. I made a damn near perfect beef Wellington:

Kitty zen Picture of the Day

Organizing the fridge

No longer content to take either the lime juice bottle or hot sauce bottle and run away with it, now Corinne feels as though my domestic abilities aren't up to snuff, and she must take it upon herself to organize the fridge:

http://youtu.be/kPGY5RZNXfY

Spinning and Crying

Crying

Spinning

Circus tricks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=881X9khxNkc

An affinity for laundry

Well, these clothes were IN the laundry basket waiting to be folded, so Corinne took it upon herself to fold them.

20 months

Weight: somewhere around 19-20lbs

Clothing Size: depending on the brand, either 12m or 18m. She went through a growth spurt recently and her shoulders got wider and her legs longer.

Likes: 3 year old girls.

Dislikes: 3 year old boys.

She will latch onto any three year old girl in sight and follow her around like a lost puppy. The boys on the other hand, I think they are too loud and physical for her.

Following a 3yo girl around

She's now a master at getting up and down stairs, and has even taken to walking down stairs, rather than scooting down them (she hangs onto the wall or a hand as she descends).

She understands a lot. A lot. I think with her not talking, we underestimate how much she understands, since she really doesn't respond. But it only takes one time of looking at someone doing something, and she has it memorized on how to do it. Especially if it's something we don't want her doing. Then she figures it out wicked fast and remembers it forever.

Fun milestone: when she gets frustrated, she screams and bangs her head on the nearest object (sometimes the floor). Yeah....this is real fun.

Having a tantrum in the grocery store

College funding

We should just cancel Corinne's 529 plan now. I'm thinking she's going to get an athletic scholarship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DcD_3c_vBs

And then once her career takes a downturn, she can model underwear like other aging soccer athletes.

4 months

Also known as the promised land

Weight: 16lbs 0.5oz (75%)
Length: 25 inches (50%)
Clothing Size: 6-9 months

Likes: Feet! He has discovered his feet during diaper changes now. And my hair, and my watch, and my clothes, and anything else those sticky grabbers (why do all babies have such sticky hands?) and grab onto. And he likes TV. Corinne couldn't care less about TV until she was well over a year. Evan just stares at it when it's on.

Dislikes: Getting shots. His two month shots barely even phased him. His four month shots left him feverish and cranky for the better part of two days. Thankfully I planned ahead (excuse me while I pat myself on the back) and got the shots done on a Friday. So Matt was home for the weekend and we could divide and conquer the kids. He was a miserable beast of a baby for about 4 days.

http://youtu.be/Uay_VchdsLc

Feet!!!

At the doctor's office

Monthly photos, a progression montage:

The cat wants in on the action

Corinne wants in on the action

Corinne takes Evan's sticker

Corinne inspects the sticker; Evan eats his hands; the cat sniffs Evan's feet

Corinne puts the sticker on herself; Evan still eats his hands; the cat tries to find a comfy spot to rest in

Corinne puts the sticker back on Evan; Evan still eats his hands; the cat lays down

71 degrees

...in the middle of winter?

Yes, please.

We explored a semi-new park and play area today, just down the street.

I think we've arrived at the promise land

I'm so stupid giddy excited, I have to share.

So Corinne has learned how to open door handles recently. So in the middle of the night two nights ago, she gets up, and comes to where I'm sleeping: in Evan's room. The upstairs is child proofed pretty well, so we're ok if she's roaming the halls in the middle if the night.

Anyways, I brought her back to her room, and told her to get in bed and lay down. And she did. I stood in the doorway for a few minutes and each time she attempted to get up, I'd tell her to lay down. And she did! I closed her door and left the room. Then she starts screaming and goes to her door to open it up. I take her back to her bed, and tell her to lay down. She does. I close the door, and nothing. I go back to Evan's room and watch on the monitor.

She falls asleep.
Without me or M right next to her. This.is.awesome.

So last night, she got up twice, and same thing. I took her back to her room, told her to lie down and get in bed. She does. Takes 45 seconds, tops.

Today for her nap (always a tough one...she fights naps), I take her to her room, tell her to lie down and go to bed. She does. Took 1 minute.

Holy. Shit.

Evan rolled over!

On 1/16/13, we have a roller!

Almost there:



Success:

One year ago

We found out little man was joining the family. Amazing how much can happen in just one year.

Workin' Out

Evan is showing off his buff neck muscles

Weaning

I think it's official. Corinne is weaned.

She got a bad cold in December which made nursing hard.. So she'd latch on, then bite.

Homie don't play that.

So I offered again after she could breathe through her nose. A few times she would latch on, but most the time she would just bite and shake her head no.

Now, when she sees my nipple, she doesn't even take a second glance at it. When I would nurse Evan she used to try to head butt him to get in on the action. Now she just quietly sits there and has no desire to nurse.

It's official: we're done. Made it 19.5 months.

I've noticed my milk supply has dipped. I don't pump as much as I did before she got sick. Sadsies. Now I guess I should start watching what I eat. I'm really bummed about that part. Really bummed. It was nice while it lasted.

And emotionally, I'm bummed that I don't remember our true "last session". The one when we were both were happy, before the cold.

If I had known that would be the last time, I probably would have savored it more, and let it go on as long as she wanted.

First snow!

And M's fashion choices are impressive...

Clean Corinne

I decided to combine art time and bath time. I mixed cheap shaving cream with food dye in a silicon cupcake pan. Stuck a silicon pastry brush in the hand of a naked toddler in the shower, and voila!

Mommy loves it because clean up is a breeze!

In other news, Corinne started brushing her teeth. Both Matt and I brushed our teeth in front of her, and then we gave her a toddler brush. She copied us, and now she "brushes" her teeth. Granted, she just kind of moves the brush around and bites it, but hey, it's a start and it's better than nothing. So I'm calling it a win. 

We're totally using this "copying the adults" thing to our advantage.

New milestone!

During Corinne's speech evaluation last month, one of the questions was "does she guide you over to things of interest?" In other words, does she take my hand and pull me to show me something interesting.

At that time, I answered no.

But this morning, we were getting ready to go. I had opened the garage door and put stuff in the car. I was running around the house gathering her shoes, my glasses and my water water bottle.
She apparently thought it was time to go, so she took my hand and dragged me to the door. Once we got there, she said "uh!" To let me know I should open the door and put her in the car.

Milestone reached!

In other news, I made the mistake of giving her a chocolate covered acai berry. Then I put the bag back up on the counter. For the next 20 minutes, she kept reaching her hand up to the counter, knowing the bag was still up there and there was more chocolately goodness inside.

This caused a discussion about how desserts are a sometimes food. I omitted the fact that I ate 10 of them before giving her one.