2009 has just begun, and we hit the ground running.
This week our god-daughter turned TWO. We just can’t believe it. She is so active and adorable and full of things to say. We got her an Alabama cheerleader outfit, and she wore it to our house to model it for us. We had some friends over for our fifth annual New Year’s brunch, and she and Jim had a great time playing the piano, running in the house, rolling a big ball down the stairs, and other various mayhem. It was so fun – we had a two year old, a ten month old, a nine month old, and a five month old. Next year will be a zoo!
My friend Jen and I have a great deal going where we book our haircuts back-to-back and watch each other’s kids during the haircut. JT and Asher had a great time hanging out together in the stroller.
JT starting having oat cereal this week, and is using his high chair now. He looks very little in the big high chair, but he loves it. It is easier to feed him because he can’t twist around in it, and he likes to bang on the tray. I also gave him a sippy cup with water, just to see what he’d do. I’d like to have him drink a little water with meals when he starts having squash and sweet potatoes in a couple of weeks. He held on right away and sucked on the spout. I tipped it back to he could suck the water out, and – voila – I have a kid who can use a sippy cup. He was surprised that the water was cold, being used to warm milk, but kept sucking on the spout to get more. Truly, he is quite happy with anything that gives out food! Of course, he seems to think his bib has food in it, the way he stuffs it in his mouth.
This week I decided that JT was finished with swaddling. He is too strong to stay in his swaddle blankets now, and he wakes himself up when he wiggles out… not to mention the fact that he can roll over in his sleep, and if he’s swaddled he can’t use his arms to roll back. I refuse to get up in the middle of the night to rewrap him anymore!
On Wednesday, I started a new nap routine: I sing a song, put him in his crib, give him a blanket, kiss his cheek, and do the sign for “sleep. ” Then I walk out. Period. I don’t come back in until nap time is over (which is after he has slept for an hour or more!). There was A LOT of crying on Wednesday. On Thursday, he didn’t cry at all for his morning nap and only cried for a few minutes for his afternoon nap. He woke up mid-nap and cried for a long time, but I was strong. Friday he didn’t cry for either nap, and when he woke up mid-afternoon-nap, he cried for less than 15 minutes and went back to sleep. I am soooo excited. All the stress of listening to him cry for a couple of days is worth having a kid who will sleep on his own. Here’s a picture of him how he fell asleep yesterday… all by himself!
The Keene Family 