She rolled over

Twice.  That was the report I got when I picked Amelia up at Tanya and Jada's yesterday.  They watched her for a few hours while I accompanied Marley on his first day at the Alki Co-op Preschool.  Apperantly the rolling happened within the first 45 minutes.  And, of course, she hasn't done it since.

Four Months

Four-month-old Marley: 12 lbs, 24.25 inches

Four-month-old Amelia: 14.5 lbs, 25.5 inches

Franklin FAQ's

Does Marley still like his room? What about using the potty?
Marley loves his room. He goes in there when he's feeling sad or angry (it's really cute, actually). He sleeps really well in his own bed and never asks to come into our bed. He's doing really well at using the potty, too. We still have to remind him to go, but he's got a bladder like a camel, and has very few accidents.

Does Marley love having a baby sister?
The first thing he wants to do each morning after he wakes up is hold Amelia. He likes helping with diaper and clothing changes. He LOVES picking out her clothes each day, especially since his favorite color is pink right now:) He has to know where she is at all times, and likes to include her in his dramatic play.  Amelia often gets to be Boots when Marley is being Dora:)

How is Amelia sleeping?
I've been very reluctant to talk about this because I'm afraid if I do, I will totally jinx it and it will be over. Oh well, here goes. She sleeps great! At night she sleeps 9-10 hours without waking! During the day, she usually takes one long nap (2-3 hours) and two shorter ones (30 min - 1 hour). The most amazing thing, however, is how easily she falls asleep on her own. When she gets sleepy, I just lay her down in her bed and she falls asleep! It's incredible! I don't expect this to last so I'm enjoying it while I can.

How is Marley sleeping?
Once he's asleep, he stays that way. He generally sleeps for about 10 hours. We still lay down with him until he falls asleep each night, however.  And he's still refusing to nap (I employ The Method regularly). 

What can Amelia do now?
She smiles and giggles like crazy.  She is beginning to grab toys and bring them to her mouth.  She loves her hands and she is like a professional thumb sucker.  She only sucks her right thumb, though, never her left.  She can wiggle and scoot all over, but does not roll yet.  She really likes looking in the mirror and has a lot of patience with her big brother.

How's the breastfeeding going?
Great!  We've been rid of the nipple shield since she was about 2 months old.   And things got even easier after around 3 months.  Not going back to work helps a lot, too.  That will make nursing for a nice long time much more do-able.

How is it staying home with both kids?
I love it!  It's going to be really hard to go back to work next year!

Thanks, Dora!

Marley has been pretty good at rote counting for a while now - accurately to ten, then randomly, sometimes including numbers like "eleventeen".  And he's been getting better at meaningful counting of objects, too.  He totally surprised me the other day, though, when he accurately counted out ten goldfish crackers in SPANISH.  Then, he turned to me, eleventh cracker in hand, and asked what came after diez.  Uh...sadly, I had to look that one up.  I knew he'd be smarter than me one day.  I just didn't realize it would happen when he was two!

Back to School

This is the first September in a very long time that I won't be starting a school year. It's kind of odd to have the end of August roll around and not feel that familiar mix of depression for the end of summer, and excitement for the new year to begin.  I really can't imagine going back right now, though.  I'm having so much fun at home with my little class of two.  However, I just couldn't resist buying a few school supplies for Marley.  He's such a good student!

The Method

Marley has decided that there are at least 50 million things he'd rather do in his room than nap.  The list includes: read books, throw books, play with toys, throw toys, write on his door with a pencil, and bang his head against the wall - just to name a few.  The thing is, he still needs a nap during the day - desperately!  When he doesn't nap, bad things happen.  Plus, he falls asleep at the dinner table.

So, I've given up on trying to get him to fall asleep in his room, and instead, have developed The Method.  When followed with precision, The Method has about a 95% success rate.  The first, and most important, step in The Method is to plan a busy morning out that involves returning home IN THE CAR sometime between 1 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  Note: If the car is not available, the stroller or carrier can be substituted, but the success rate drops to about 60%.

Now, simply being in the car around nap time is not enough.  Even if he is REALLY tired, Marley is very skilled at keeping himself awake.  So, the next step is to be sure that the area surrounding his car seat is free of distractions.  This includes all toys, food and drinks, loose clothing items, rocks, bits of fuzz, etc.  The final step is to turn on Vampire Weekend (the old one - not new, very important).  The volume should be loud enough to discourage conversation, as incessant talking is another one of Marley's favorite ways to keep himself awake.

The Method works best when there is at least a 15 minute drive home.  It's also very important to make sure Amelia is happy or sleeping.  I've had a near perfect execution of The Method go bad when Amelia decided to start screaming her head off two blocks from home.  Once Marley's asleep the hardest part is over.  He transfers to his bed fairly easily, and usually stays asleep for at least two hours.

I probably won't win any parenting awards for developing The Method, but at least I'll keep my sanity.  Mostly:)

Who doesn't like cotton candy flavored ice cream?