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Susanna’s Two Year Stats

Back to the doctor’s again this week, this time for Susanna to have her two year check-up.  She was so brave that she didn’t even peep when they poked her finger for a blood test and gave her a shot.  Elizabeth was suitably impressed.

Weight: 25 lbs (46%) (Elizabeth was 28 lbs 10 oz; Tommy was 33 lbs 6 oz)

Height: 34 1/2 inches (64%) (Elizabeth and Tommy were both 35 inches)

Head: 18 1/2 inches (44%) (Elizabeth was 18.7 inches; Tommy was 19.7 inches)

Dr. Antall was really pleased with her growth.  She’s moved from the twelfth percentile at her 18 month check-up, and this is the highest she’s been on the growth charts since birth!  Even though she still seems super scrawny to us, she is clearly growing and developing just fine.

And as you can tell, she’s still very attached to Pink Blankie and Lionel…

two year Q 006

a birthmark on her belly

I took all the kids to CBS this morning and actually got there on time (it’s amazing how much easier it is to corral four kids when you have a husband around to get people dressed while you’re nursing and eating breakfast).  And as soon as I sat down in my small group, Jane had a super blow-out up to her elbows (yes, the poop traveled all the way up her back and then down her sleeve).  So she’s been wearing a makeshift diaper bag outfit ever since, and I took advantage of her bare belly to get a picture of her birthmark (actually, two–the big one, and a tiny one just above it).:

tooth and birthmark 022

We’re on the mend around here, so I finally got these pictures off the camera.  We had to go out for lunch and dinner on Friday since Derek was too sick to have us around.  (As fun as that might sound, taking small children out to eat by oneself is not actually that fun, especially when one of them trips and chips her front tooth.)  And Susie was definitely fighting off something on her birthday–note how underwhelmed she was by the time we had cake…

birthday lunch

birthday dinner

birthday cake

Janie’s One Month Update

It’s been a dramatic week at our house, between Tommy and Derek getting the stomach flu and me trying to celebrate Susanna’s birthday alone and Elizabeth falling and re-chipping her front tooth Friday and Susie being too sick (mild flu?) to even talk to either set of grandparents who called to wish her a happy birthday.  Needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the birthday festivities or Janie’s one month milestone.  Here’s one picture.

one month

After three nights on the couch, I’m actually a little better than I was at, say, last night at midnight when Derek had a relapse and was so dehydrated I started thinking I was going to have to cart us all to the ER to get him on an IV.  That didn’t happen.  Instead, I took Janie in for her one month check-up today and got a lot of reassurance from her doctor (and a game plan if I come down with this horrific bug).

Janie’s belly button has healed, and in the past week, a couple of birth marks have developed on her tummy!  Pictures when I get my act together.

Her cephalohematoma has gone down a bit and hardened, so no more squishy head.  The middle went down more than the edges, so it sortof looks and feels like there’s a crater on her scalp.  Dr Vallance said she probably will have that the rest of her life, so it’s a good thing she’s a girl.  Hopefully she’ll follow in Susie’s footsteps and not Lizzie’s as far as hair growth is concerned–once she gets a bit more, I think it won’t be noticeable.  And of course when I’m tempted to feel bad about it, I have to remember that it’s just a cosmetic concern, and we should be so grateful that she is essentially a happy, healthy baby.

She’s done a five hour stretch of sleep several times, though the past few nights have been rough.  She’s mostly just slept in the swing or with me on the couch since Daddy got sick, so we’ll see how she does once we can move back in with Derek and sleep in beds.

She seems to have developed some neck strength and is happier during tummy time than she was at first.

Her stats were reassuring.  We didn’t measure Susanna at one month, but Jane seems to be on a bigger trajectory.

Height: 21 3/4 inches (83%) (Lizzie was 20 7/8 inches; Tommy was 22 1/4 inches)

Weight: 9 lbs 7 ounces (53%) (Lizzie was 9 lbs 13 ounces; Tommy was 10 lbs)

Head circumference: 14 3/4 inches (85%)

The bad news is that she had a ton of mucus in her diapers this week and is developing eczema on her face…which Dr. Vallance agreed could be a sign of a dairy allergy/intolerance.  I crave dairy like nothing else while nursing (it’s the only time I ever just drink glasses of milk, and I could eat ice cream multiple times a day).  Even though I had to go dairy-free while nursing both the big kids, it’s not easy or fun.  Super bummer.

 

Susanna at Two

Happy Birthday, Susie Q!  Today she’s 2!

One of the cutest developments of the past couple months is how much Susie has taken to dancing.  Every day at some point, the girls change into toot-toots and ask me to put on dancing music.  Susie’s favorite is “Do-Re-Mi” from the Sound of Music.

dancers

Her hair is getting really long, though you can’t tell just how long when it’s dry and curly.  Since Lizzie and I both have stick straight hair, this curly hair thing is new for me.  I really do comb it and pull it back every morning, but Susie tends to pull bows and pony tails out.  I often wonder if people at the grocery store or park are thinking, “Man, that mom really needs to comb her daughter’s hair!”

q at 2a

Susie wants to be helpful.  She loves it when I have a task that she can accomplish.  She runs all over the house to find Janie’s paci, usually putting it in her own mouth before handing it to me, exclaiming, “Oh, Baby Jane’s!”  Since I’m usually nursing at the time, I usually have a chance to wash it off before someone sticks it in the baby’s mouth.  Susie watches her big siblings and tries to put books on the shelf with spines facing out.  One development that causes more trouble than not is her newfound ability to push chairs or stepstools up to anything and reach anything, from the toothpaste to fruit on the counter to the spray bottle on her changing table.  Basically, nothing is out of reach for her anymore.

q2a

I love how much her language has developed.  She’ll say things like “Oh my gracious dear!” or “Oh, Baby Jane, Baby Jane!” that just make us laugh.  The kids and I can understand most of her speech now, though Derek often has to ask me for a translation.  Her speech is often quite animated.  When she’s well rested and happy, she’s bubbly and upbeat.  When she’s sleep deprived, she whines all day long.  (That’s the biggest reason for keeping her in her crib most of the time–she gets a good 2 hours more of sleep on the nights when she’s on her own.)

q at 2

She’s also picked up phrases from her siblings: “I so tired!” (Elizabeth) and “I hungy” (Tommy) and “MINE!” (both).  In fact, she’s having a bit of a meltdown this week because I’m using “her” changing table and diapers with Jane.  Yep, I’m so mean I expect Susie to share her changing table with her little sister.  I’m wondering when she’s going to pick up the big kids’ wonderful generosity toward younger siblings.  You can’t get too mad at this face, though…

q2

And here’s a picture taken by Tommy that pretty much sums up our relationship:

q at 2b

Day Two of the Stomach Flu

Tommy hasn’t eaten more than one spoonful of jello since losing his dinner 36 hours ago.  He has had one 8 ounce water bottle full of  pedialyte, two pedialyte popsicles, and about half a pedialyte juicebox in the interim.  Maybe 12 ounces, total?  He says he’s still not hungry or thirsty.  His fever is gone.  How long before I should be concerned about dehydration?

Janie tossed her cookies (not just normal newborn spit-up) a few hours ago and has been remarkably uninterested in nursing today, though I did force feed her a bit at lunchtime before she collapsed for a nap.  What does stomach flu look like in a four week old?

The big girls are telling me they’re sick and want to watch TV all day and eat jello, too.

And I have let them watch so many episodes of Mr Roger’s Neighborhood (thank goodness for Amazon Prime instant streaming!) that I have had “Won’t You  Be My Neighbor?” stuck in my head for about 18 hours and counting.

On the plus side, I got a six hour stretch of sleep last night because Derek took the 2-5 shift and gave Janie a bottle I’d pumped!

Just Silliness

I was trying to take some pictures of Susanna for her 2 year update, and the big kids insisted on getting in on the action.  But they were in silly moods, as you can tell!

silly

Donuts for Dessert

Thanks to my new donut pan and this recipe from pinterest, we had a quick and yummy dessert treat tonight!

donut 004

donut 005

donut 006

A New Take on Irish Dancing

This is what happens when you let your almost-two year old dress herself.

Irish dancer

When Tommy turned six, we decided it was time for us to start giving him allowance.  After much discussion, we decided that allowance will not be tied to chores, but we’ll continue to expect him and the girls to do chores as part of living in the family.  Extra-special tasks, like scrubbing down the shower stalls or washing all the outside windows, will be available for extra money.  We decided to start with a dollar a week (doled out on Sundays) because that is an easy amount to divide up!  He has to contribute to four areas every week: Tithe (mandatory 10%), Bank, Gifts, and short-term savings (which he insists will go to buying Legos).  Besides the dime for tithe, he can divide up the rest of the money however he chooses.  It’s been so sweet to see that he’s so excited about being able to buy birthday presents for the girls that he’s contributing the most to that pouch!

pouches

We had been meaning to get to the bank down the street to open up a real bank account before Jane was born, but it didn’t actually happen until this week.  Tommy was very proud of his new savings account!

Tommy bank

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