Watch Me Grow!

Finley had some company for her Winnie the Pooh pictures:






Then big sister decided to try try and entertain her instead.






Finley was 4 months old on 1/11/14 (also the day of the Disney half marathon, but more on that later). She spent the day fighting off her first real illness (a respiratory bug that caused us to travel to Florida with a nebulizer) and visiting Disney's Magic Kingdom.

Just a quick update:
• She continues to look a lot like her sister
• Looks aren't their only connection. They are both enamored with each other (and Finley is always watching and smiling at her big sister).
• She is showing more personality each day and loves to be sung to
• She is a mama's girl- often only calming for me and crying when I leave her sight.
•She had only rolled over once (back to tummy, around 3 months) when I originally wrote this post- but at about 4.5 months she has started to go from tummy to back more often.
•She still pretty much hates tummy time (although she is going to be forced to do more to correct some asymmetry in her head shape).
• She is quiet no longer- always jabbering away
• We have tried letting her sleep unswaddled (twice actually) but she doesn't seem to be ready yet (or mommy isn't). She wakes herself too quickly flailing her arms (or coughing, during our recent attempt).
• Although we love many of her similarities to her sister, her disinterest in real crib naps is a similarity I'd love to get rid of (Harper was 11 months old before she really figured naps out).
• She continues to be our little pint size princess (a name she giggles when she hears). At her 4 month appointment she was 11lbs 2oz (4th percentile),
Her rate of gain slowed while she was under the weather, but the doctor seemed pleased that she managed to gain anything while she was that sick. She was also 23.5 inches (17%) and her head was 11%.



Tummy time


Bundling for a cold MN day


Not sure what to do with her arms when they aren't swaddled


Trying out the bouncer



Giggles



Sister time



Venturing out again



Waking sister for nap time

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Two and a Half and Full of Spunk!

Harper turned two and a half on December 19 and celebrated her "half birthday" with a cupcake date with mom and Finley.









(This was the one she described as her "silly one")

With so much focus on little sister's milestones, I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to document what our spunky first born is like right now.

• She continues to have a crazy vocabulary (her preschool teacher said she easily speaks/thinks at the level of a 4 year old).
• Sometimes those crazy verbal skills make it hard for mommy to remember she is only 2 and doesn't necessarily understand the best way to express feelings, etc.
• She is a snuggler, but isn't afraid to tell you (or her Grandma) to "keep your hands to yourself" if she doesn't feel like touching.
• She is an amazing big sister. Despite the occasional slip up, she is very nurturing and is always interested in what "Fincess" is doing.
• When Finley cries she offers to "feel her better" and says "don't worry, big sister is here"
•She LOVES to perform. She is almost always dancing, singing, twirling, etc.
• We plan to take her night time binky (she is only allowed to use it while sleeping) in the next month... It could be a rough transition. (I told her maybe we could get a stuffed animal to help her through it and she told me "but I can sleep with my purple binky. I have enough stuffed animals. Maybe we can get Fincess one when she gets bigger").

















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Chicago Weekend!

Harper, Finley and I flew to Chicago and met my mom for our annual girls weekend. It has certainly changed over the years. (We used to go to packed restaurants for late dinners and have drinks while waiting for seats... Now we go to dinner by 5:30 and have Harper asleep by 7:30!) Although it may be different, it is still a lot of fun!



Someone crashed in the stroller the day we arrived.


We lucked into no line for Macy's Santa land, so we took advantage. Harper was still not willing to sit on his lap though.

Out annual first night dinner at Weber Grill:











(We asked the waiter to take our picture, apparently he didn't realize we wanted Finley in it!)

We added She'd Aquarium to the trip this year:














Finley bundled for the cold temps!


Swimming!!! (Whether bams likes it or not Harper loved swimming multiple times!)


Bundled big girl headed back to the room.


Piggy tail girl who didn't want her picture taken.


Brunch!


Fincess and mommy at brunch

Chicago Children's Museum:


"Ice skating" in her socks











Sign her up for next season of "Chicago Fire"


Digging for bones



Annual picture at Giordanos. (This year we went at 4pm and didn't have to wait, but we needed the picture anyway!)



What a difference a few years makes! Three years of visits to Giordanos!

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Watch Me Grow

Our little Fincess is 3 months old! I can't believe she has already been in our loves for a quarter of a year! Below is a little update:

• She is still a little peanut. We had her at the doctor for a diaper rash and had her weighed. At 3 months she weighed 9lbs 11oz (5th percentile for weight).
• We started supplementing every daytime feeding with 2oz of either breast milk or formula to help her gain weight (she was only 9lbs 5oz at 12 weeks so we were happy she upped her weight for the 3 month mark!)
• She is really developing a personality. We are getting lots of smiles and coos.
• She loves to smile and laugh at her sister
• She moved out of our room a d into her crib around 12 weeks.
• She is sleeping well- anywhere between 8-10.5 hours many nights, but she seems to be hitting some regression right now- working on rolling, and fighting her swaddle at night.
• She hasn't rolled on the floor yet (she gets a lot less floor time than her sister did), but she has managed to roll herself while swaddled in her crib. (I don't plan to give up the swaddle habit until she shows me it wasn't a fluke)
• She is getting more hair and it looks like it may be darker than Harper's!
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Thanksgiving

Rather than taking another set of flights, the girls and I rode to Pennsylvania with my parents after our Notre Dame trip. They were both great in the car and we were all excited to be at Bams and Dziadziu's for Thanksgiving.
(Daddy met us there on Wednesday).




Hanging out




Checking out Gregory's cars "bed"




Snoozing




Sister time
Thanksgiving Day:












































More sister cuddles






Movie time with Dziadziu (Polar Express)


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