Alia is 22 months old

It finally happened. Here I sit at my computer on the 27th of the month and I just realized that I forgot Alia's monthly birthday for the first time ever.  It blew past without so much as a realization.

That should clue you in to how busy and how at times overwhelming things have been around here. We're getting ready to take off for our annual visit to Turkey and I suppose the preparations for the trip in addition to all the activity of the household, the month passed unnoticed. So there you go...nobody's perfect.

This month I have felt a lot less than perfect when it comes to parenting Alia. It was a huge relief to me when my Mom came for a visit. I swear up until the day she arrived, I could bet that Alia's goal in life was to defy me and test me for all the waking hours. That said, it's getting better. Although there were days that I felt like crying from the moment I got up, that is just one side of Alia. The other side? The one that uses her smarts for good versus evil? Well, she is a delight.

First of all, the words just keep coming. Mango, knees, wine, nuts, bus, eyes, nose, ears, duck, quack, doggie were all learned within a couple of days...some within minutes of the others! She is getting a little more comfortable around other kids and often will wave hello when she sees another child. Unfortunately, she waves endlessly and sometimes the other child will walk away without acknowledging her or will swat at her ever-waving hands. It's tough being a baby/toddler!

Alia is tall. Most people think she's 3 instead of not-yet-2. She wears a 3T in most clothes, and a size 8 shoe! Ajay jokes that she should just share my shoes, but I tell him it's not the same 8.

If there is one theme for my life with Alia, it would be complicated at the moment. She tests me. She resents my attention on Amelie. She still slaps and kicks. She is given time-outs. But she is also a prankster, a jokester, a little girl with a punchline at the ready. She is beautiful. She is quirky. She is very bright. Alia is healthy. Alia likes healthy foods, but not NOT meat. No way! Avacados, yogurt, cheese, and milk are staples. She also likes oranges and bananas, raisins, and nuts (cashews and almonds specifically). Alia likes more than anything her Daddy. Her world begins and ends with him. And that makes him a very lucky man!

Turning the corner

I realize I don't write much these days. Call it writer's block. Call it having the blahs. Call it shear exhaustion from having two under two! I'm tired. I lack creativity. The quippy thoughts that once filled my head have been replaced with wondering about if I'll get a nap in the next days.

I feel like I've just exited a rough patch with Alia. Little Miss Sassypants has really been testing me and questioning her boundaries...almost to the point of me dreading days to come. Seriously, I never thought that I would be the Mom saying I haven't been enjoying my child, but there are those days.  Some days I wake up knowing that Alia is going to fight me all day every minute, and I'd rather be spending that time cooing with Amelie.

What's been going on that's so bad? Well, first, I'm tired...really tired. Although both girls technically sleep all night long now, we can count on 1 to 4 crying outbursts through the night on any given night that may or may not require our intervention. Yes. That's right...Alia, my best little sleeper began waking up at 12, 3, 5 a.m. crying for Daddy. Amelie, who can sleep from 7 to 6 am no problem sometimes awakes at 3 and can't go back to sleep, so finally at 4 I'll get up and feed her and put her back down.  So that said, regardless of how involved we are with a given wakeup, it's interrupted sleep nonetheless.

That said, I feel like we're turning a corner. After my Mom's visit last week, I felt that there had been a much needed buffer and distraction between Alia and me. And while having my Mom here was like caring for 3 instead of 2 (sorry, but it's true), there were benefits from the visit.

Amelie is 6 months old!

I sit here thinking about Amelie...reflecting on where she is and how far she has come. My heart fills with love thinking about this sweet little human being. Amelie weighs in at 17.15 pounds and is 27.5" long. That's right...another girl in the greater-than-95th percentile!

Okay, seriously, she's the sweetest little thing in my life right now. Of course Alia is sweet too, don't get me wrong...when Alia is sweet, she's sweet. But Amelie? She is sweetness....see?!

So what's new this month...well, for starters, Amelie is engaging a million times more. With everything! I have to feed her in an isolated spot because she gets too distracted to eat if she's not!  She loves to watch the palms sway in our yard. She loves to watch the grasses blow in the yard. She love love loves to watch her sister! 

This month marks a HUGE advance in Amelie's sleep. I finally got around to fully sleep-training her...even for naps. Yep, that's right. I put her down, and she now miraculously goes off to sleep on her own...every time. It is amazing to me how quickly she can learn.

Amelie also continued on solid foods, adding squash and sweet potatoes to her old repertoire of rice cereal. She's doing well...I offer her food twice a day (mid morning and mid afternoon) and she typically is interested in eating once, sometimes twice.

Amelie giggles with the best of them...her laugh is infectious. She enjoys being tickled. In fact, when she's really tired and cranky, a good old game of "tickle baby" does the trick every time.

Amelie began resembling Ajay this month...sure the nose is mine, but the eyes and brows are definitely Ajay. Oh, and did I mention this month she'll travel to Turkey for the first time? Here she is trying on her bathing suit....and can I just say how much I love that little body???? 

Who's afraid of their babies?

As I sit here typing this, I have just completed my first day solo with the girls. My nanny had a death in the family and Ajay is on 24 hours at the hospital. Yes, my baby is 6 months old, and Alia is 21 months old, and today is the first time I fended for myself entirely. Except for the day when my Dad was visiting and Ajay had to work and my Dad was put on "hold the baby" duty while I wrangled Alia. Anyway...today? Whew!!!!

I have to say I've worked up to it.  Many days I'll have the girls solo while Ajay is at the gym, or if my nanny is coming in later and planning to stay later, etc. But today? We made it through the entire day. Okay, even that's not true...my nanny showed up but was utterly useless to me (yeah, I know, realllllly nice, Andrea, right? sooo sensetive....so thoughtful) so she went home at 11. So she actually was here for 3 hours. But you know what? To be honest, she was a warm body but I handled everything....Amelie's sleep training style nap, Amelie's feedings, Alia's breakfast, lunch, bath, and dinner. Amelie's nighttime routine. I did it. And know what? The sky didn't fall. There were a few more tears than normal, but we didn't crumble.

And I realize, I am capable of this. If the girls were slightly older and slightly further apart in age, it would definitely be easier, but know what? I can do it. Now would I want to do this every day? All by myself? In addition to the house/laundry/etc.? Ummm, simply? No. Not if I had a choice. I appreciate the help I have and appreciate that I can spend so much time with both girls as a result of having help. I appreciate that on any given day I can grab a daytime nap to compensate for a sleepless night due to teething or whatever. And I appreciate that it allows me to be a little calmer, a little easier.

That's all. I'm the boss. My babies don't rule by fear any longer. Oh, and Amelie? Day 2 of sleep training completed. She put herself off to sleep like a champ for the third time today without a hitch.

Alia is 21 Months!

That's right...our little jokester has put another month to bed. This month, it's like Alia's sense of humor blossomed before our eyes. She enjoys punchlines...usually "GOKA" which is what she calls yogurt. Here's an example...
Me: Who loves Alia?
Alia: Daddy!?
Me: who else?
Alia: Mommy!
Me: Very good, Alia. Who else?
Alia: Noni! (My Mom) Amma!!! (Ajay's Mom)
Me: Very good...who else!?
Alia: GOKA!!!!!!!?

And Goka is said about 40 octaves higher than the other names for impact. Yep, that's our funny girl. Alia is also making lots of connections in her mind....for example...she knows how to sign "wind"...you put your hands in front of yourself with your palms facing each other and then sway your arms back and forth. Well, Ajay and I have always used "did you make a windy" to mean, well, you know...pass gas, and the other words I hate for the natural occurring event. Only now? When Alia makes a windy? She signs "wind" and smiles her biggest Alia smile. If it didn't smell so bad it would be adorable!

Alia is learning sometimes several words per day. All you have to do is get her to focus and she'll play along as long as her attention span allows.

Alia began going to many more social things this month. She goes to gymnastics on Monday and music class on Friday. On the days in between we go to the library for story time. She especially likes the songs...she looks up at me like she's in heaven as soon as the begin Twinkle Twinkle.

Alia has finally gone down to one nap per day. Moving her from a 10AM nap to an 11AM nap in order to accomodate her class schedule has been relatively easy. Now she sleeps a solid two hours and usually chugs all the way through the rest of the day with no need for her former 4PM quiet time. Although if she's cranky? A little quiet time never hurt anyone!

Alia's favorite things are Daddy, Froggy, Yogurt, Amelie, Mommy, Aunt Carol, books, puzzles, and somersaults. She likes to inject Noni and Amma into her stories....Noni rides skateboards and motorcycles, while Amma finds worms with Alia on her walks. By the way, Noni and Amma are Alia's grandmothers who refuse to be called Grandma.

Alia loves her bath. She will not sit in a filled tub, however. She prefers the spout to constantly produce a nice stream of warm water so she can back her bottom up to. She sticks it out for the perfect water/bottom contact. She loves to fill buckets and cups full of water and dump them on herself and all her toys.

Alia is transforming from a toddler to a little girl. She is more sure-footed. She is more tenacious. She is a confident little girl on the cusp of developing more independence. And until then? There's Daddy!

Sleep training...in earnest...

So Amelie turned 6 months old today. And yesterday? I realized I hadn't really been doing the greatest job of sleep training her for her naps. Sure, at night we have our routine....bath, pjs, bottle, and bed. She puts herself off to sleep without fail every night. But naps? Another story.

See, during the day, I have my nanny do the majority of naps, and she is a user of crutches...the bouncy ball instead of rocking chair, and she also will use a pacifier if Amelie is particularly difficult to put off to sleep. Nap time usually involves tears and feeling of forcing her to sleep. With crutches. And when she finally goes to sleep? It's usually for 30-45 minutes. Yeah, not good. Then the process might even repeat itself if my nanny deems her still tired....she'll bounce her back to sleep for however long it takes. Until this weekend.

With our annual trip to Turkey just a month away, I realized I need to get serious about getting this girl trained. I can't be taking bouncy ball on the trip with me! And the last thing I want is to fight the time zone change in addition to an already difficult nap situation.

So this weekend I dusted off my Ferber book and reviewed. I know that he is highly criticized for being the cry it out guy, but if you really familiarize yourself with his theory, you'll find he is much gentler than Dr. Spock of the 70's that all our parents used. Anyway, yesterday we bit the bullet.

And today? Amelie is 2 for 2 on getting herself off to sleep at naptime. There are complaints. There is squawking. But she's already caught on to the routine after 3 naps yesterday following the same pattern. Sleep sack, put it bed, white noise machine on, and "It's sleepy time, Amelie". That's all. No bouncing. No pacifier. No crutches. Oh, and did I mention that this morning's nap was an hour and a half long with no need for intervention?

Let's see how tomorrow goes!