2 Years Old!

My baby is a toddler.  So starts the week of celebrations.  Tonight we went to the Lifetouch family picnic.  She danced, played basketball, and ran all over.  Today she will go to Chucky Cheese with Grandma and Grandpa Benson because they can't make it to her birthday party on Saturday.  She has her 2 year check up on Friday.  Then after her birthday party on Saturday we are going to visit my dad again in Luck, WI.

Again, she amazes me every morning.  She is almost forming sentences.  She does somersaults.  She loves to jump.  She is a daredevil.  We've started swimming at Grandma and Grandpa Moritz's.  I'm pretty sure she's going to turn into a fish.

 I've become very bad at taking photos with an actual camera.  Most are taken on my phone and posted straight to Facebook.  These are the latest photos taken with an actual camera.

21 Months

Today Jolynn is 21 months.  I just happened to notice it was the 18th.  I just can't believe how time is just flying by.  3 more months and my baby will be 2.  I don't think you heard me...TWO!

Sentences are starting to form.  Bubbles Pop means: blow bubbles, I want to pop them.
Her manners have also formed this past week.  I have to give the credit to daycare.  We do use it a lot in our home, but I think it is emphasized more at daycare.  She now says Thank you for EVERYTHING.  We reply with you're welcome.

Potty training hasn't gone full force yet.  We toy with it here and there.  I let her run around for a while with out a diaper.  She can say diaper too.  However, everything is poopy.  If she goes potty, she says poopy.  If she farts, she says poopy.  When I do finally buckle down and do the training deal, I wish I could have a veteran with me.  Someone who knows the ropes and can anticipate the action (eliminating some accidents hopefully).

My mom recently posted a photo on Facebook of me when I was 2 years old.  I weighed 23 pounds and was 33 inches.  Not a far cry from Jolynn.  Gee, I wonder who she is taking after. :)

20 months

Wow, bad mommy. Time just flew by between 19 and 20. Somewhere around 20 months, maybe a week or two later, Jolynn just started repeating everything you say. I stopped counting how many words she knows. She doesn't repeat many on a regular basis, but if you say "say this..." she will repeat it. So cute the way it comes out sometimes. And now we REALLY have to watch what we say.

She is so adventurous. She loves to be outside. March has been a crazy month for weather. We had a week of 70+ and then a couple 80 degree days. All she wanted to do was be outside the whole time. One day we spent 3 hours outside, then went in for a nap and she slept for 4 hours!

Jolynn has also been going to Grandma and Grandpa's a lot lately. She spent a night with my parents, then a whole weekend with Jon's. She will be with them again for the whole weekend coming up. I feel a little guilty shipping her off for such long periods of time. I know how hard it is to get up every morning and constantly be moving until she goes to bed. Then wanting to go to bed yourself but you have things to do yourself. I'm sure they love having her, but at the same time what a relief that it is temporary.

This month we took Jolynn to a studio to try out for a modeling agency. Her pictures were gorgeous. It was so hard to choose so M&M ended up buying the CD. I'm so glad they did because the photos truly look like a model. Unfortunately she did not win the modeling gig. Since Jon's aunt is in modeling I thought of asking her how to get Jolynn in the biz. Not sure I want to take that on either.

We have hit the almost terrible twos. One of the reasons I don't exactly want to get in the modeling biz yet. One minute she is up and happy and the next she is crying and sprawled on the floor. Nothing a nap doesn't cure however. Her behavior is so like me. If I'm hungry or tired my mood is exaggerated.

19 months

Part of last month and into this month we experienced our first health scare. We both had been sick for weeks. I took Jolynn in the morning of our game night and they said she had a slight ear infection. She was put on amoxicillin. She was on it for 7 days when all the sudden she developed a rash around her midsection. We called the on-call doctor and she said to stop giving her the medicine. Not knowing if her ears had cleared up, we took her back to the doctor on Monday. This doctor said her ears were not quite cleared up yet and it sounded like she had bronchitis. The doctor also marked her down for being allergic to penicillin. She was put on two different medications, one for the ears and a steroid for the bronchitis. A week later I brought her back to check on the ears. Everything was cleared up. Her cough and runny nose were still causing her to not sleep, so the doctor gave us a sample of Nasonex. That did the trick! Her nose cleared up within 5 days.

She has actually known her body parts for a month or so, but now she is starting to say the parts. She says eyes and arm. She even knows where her knees are. She sticks out her tongue when asked where that is. I think one of the first parts she knew was nose and belly.

New words: arm, big girl, Avery (friend at daycare), Mary (daycare lady), wawa (water), party, Jon. There have been many times that we think we hear her say something and can't get her to say it again. I also have not been as diligent in adding them to the draft during the month.

Potty Time!

I was cleaning dishes and Jolynn made her normal pooping sounds (grunting). I thought maybe I could catch her before she actually did the duty and get her on the potty chair. We missed the chair, I ended up showing her the poop goes in the toilet. Then I sat her on the chair to try and go potty. The training book said to have her go when you go. So (TMI) , as I was going I told her to sit and go potty too. She got up and started walking toward the door. Butt naked (literally) I worried she would go while I was still occupied. Without me saying a word she came back, sat down, and went PEE! Really truly! Not the caught her midstream kind, this was actual pee pee on the potty!

Okay, maybe I'm a bit more excited than I should be. This seemed like such a huge deal. I wanted to sing and dance. Jolynn just wanted to touch it. (don't worry mom, I didn't let her). Jon was outside shoveling so I didn't dump it out so he could enjoy the excitement too. He did a bit of cheering when he came in and we told him, but still not as excited as I was when it actually happened.

Now I have to get brave enough to just let her run naked around the house so we can get her constantly going on the potty. I'm thinking she may be ready. She still doesn't say "yes", but she says potty. The fact that she turned around and came back to the potty chair instead of just peeing next to the door has to be a sign of readiness.

18 months

ONE and a HALF! Our little girl is growing so much. She is walking like crazy, almost running. We rearranged the entryway because she is doing the steps now. She does them pretty well, but just in case this way she doesn't land on anything at the bottom.

We haven't used the monitor in a long time. I decided to see what she does when we put her down for a nap. I wish the monitor recorded. She was playing with the metal flowers on the wall, running circles in her crib, then at one point she had half her body over the railing. The crib is already at its lowest, next stage is toddler bed. We thought it better for her to fall out of the toddler bed than flipping over the top of the rail. We weren't able to get her to take a nap in it right away - she ended up taking it in our bed. She is great at getting in and out of it, and when she gets in she lays down and says "nigh nigh" but doesn't stay in the bed.

We tried the BabyCenter approach at nap time. We laid her down and said it was time for a nap. Shut the door. Jon stayed on the monitor while I stood next to the door. He would tell me "she's out of bed" and "she's at the door". Then I would walk her back to bed in silence and no eye contact. We did this about 8 times. She thought it was a game. So the last time I shut the door so it clicked (meaning she couldn't open it herself). She ended up falling asleep next to the door. I came in an hour later and had to gently keep opening the door little by little. Bedtime went a lot better. She gave us the cue when she laid down on the floor. We did our kisses for everyone (including Polly). Then I laid her down and left the room. She cried for a while next to the door. I sent Jon in this time. He put her in bed and she didn't get up. It has been this way for a week now. Once in bed and she pretty much gets it. She cries for a while, but she doesn't get out of bed.

Another milestone - potty training. We are taking it VERY slow. I have a potty chair. We started by having her investigate the whole thing. She took it all apart. Then we had her sit on it with her clothes on. I have her come in with me when I go and she sits on her chair (clothes on still). Before we get ready for bed and change her diaper one last time we sit on the chair naked. I let her run around the bathroom naked (easy cleanup if necessary). Every once in a while asking her if she has to go potty. When I ask she comes back to the chair and sits down. She took some toilet paper and I asked her what she does with it, she proceeded to wipe herself. I think she knows the concept, just not sure she knows about being wet vs. dry. When I have a weekend of no activities and not being sick, we will have to try the 3 day method.

(This is not the chair Jolynn has, but I thought it interesting when I Googled Potty Chair how many different styles there were and how they have evolved. I think this is the model I had when I was getting trained. Just a bucket under a chair with a hole. The bucket slid out and you dumped in the the toilet.)

New words: Uppee, Yummy, Potty, Baba (Grandpa Benson), mine, me

Painting!

I finally got up the courage to try painting in the tub with Jolynn. Jon was a BIG help. I set everything up and then he "coached" her so I wouldn't get full of paint before Zumba class. He then cleaned the tub (and her) so I could get to Zumba. She started off slow, as the video will show, but she really got into it towards the end.

Finished paintings.

17 months

The time between 16 and 17 months just flew by! We haven't had any revelations in development. She is a little chatter box. Loves to dance and sing. We've been trying to color more, working with markers now. She can take the covers off and put them back on too! She's so smart. She amazes me everyday. I can't wait for Christmas. She has been helping me with gifts. Money was a little tight this year, so most of my gifts have been hand made with the help of Jolynn.

One thing we have started (and by started, I mean we took it out of the box) is the potty chair. I don't plan on making it a die hard thing right now. I think she can tell when she is wet because she pulls on her diaper. We are going to go slow. Right now I can't even get her to sit on it with her diaper on. My mom is prepared - with stickers at the ready. No hurry, but it would be nice if she was out of diapers say by 2 years old. My mom said I was potty trained by the time I was 18 months, but I was also in cloth diapers and could tell when I was wet (not a good feeling).

Florida 2011

There were many photos (too many to load here). Check out Facebook if you want to see them all. Here are a few of my favorites.



Poolside

Swimming with Grandpa Moritz








Meeting "Mickey" for the first time.

Up the stairs at the park, and...

Down the slide!

At the ocean for the first time.

Playing in the sand and

watching the waves.

collecting shells with Grandma Moritz

16 Months

When Jolynn was 5 months I believe she was taking her first trip to Florida. Well, here we are at 16 months and she is about to take her second trip to Florida.

We've moved up to a booster chair. She really could have stayed in her highchair, but it doesn't fit well up to the table. So we moved to a booster that fits better.

She loves to read. Just before bed it almost seems like she is stalling because she brings me a book and I sit on the floor. She sits in my lap and we read a book. Then we get done and she brings another book over. We have to go through all the books in the living room (thank goodness we are not doing this in her room). Sometimes I catch her sitting in her highchair (we are still using it as a "chair") with a book open.

Last month, while I was in Vegas, Mike and Margaret took Jolynn for the weekend. They bought her a new pair of tennis shoes and cowboy boots. I'm glad she wore them just about everyday. While we were in Florida, they noticed she was walking funny again (like when they had her). I had her in size 2 shoes. They moved her up to size 3. We went to Stride Rite in Florida and measured her again - SIZE 5! Plan for shoes from now on: get a versatile pair and get her remeasured once a month. Buy special occasion shoes and weather related shoes when needed, not in preparation for a month down the line.

A few weeks ago we had her wellness check up for 15 months. She was 20.7 lbs (30%), 32 inches (90%) and her head was in the 90 percentile too.

halloween

I think I was more excited about going trick-o-treating with Jolynn than Jolynn was of actually going. She was all dressed up and ready to go. We ditched the stroller and Jon carried her for the most part, but he made her walk a good block or more. We went to the neighbors down at the end of the block, then we walked to Mary's (daycare). We hit a few houses along the way, but that was about it. I'm glad we didn't go farther because she started to melt down a block from home. Probably didn't help that I gave her a sucker to keep her quiet and then took it away a few minutes later. She got over it quickly. Jon was anxious to hand out candy. I don't think we got as many kids as we have in the past. There were more kids in costume than normal. I hate giving out candy to kids that don'teven try. Get a mask!

Macaroni Kid Family Fun Day

I receive emails for activities in our area through a site called Macaroni Kid. On Friday I rec'd an email that they were taking old costumes at the Maple Grove Craft Fair on Saturday. You would receive a ticket to get a new costume at the Fun Day at Anoka MS on Sunday.

I went into Jolynn's closet and found a lady bug bunting costume she never wore last year. We already have a couple costumes for this year, but I didn't think it would hurt to have another just in case. I picked out a lion and a flower. I held them up for Jolynn and asked her which one she wanted. She shook her head no. I held up the lion one and another one. She shook her head no again. Then I took down this frog costume. She grabbed it. She knows what she wants.

When you first enter you are given a goodie bag that had a bunch of coupons and free stuff if you go to the vendor's stores. You had to go around to all the booths and get a stamp on a card. Once you had all the stamps then you turn in your card for a spin on a "prize" wheel. All the booths had candy too so the kids (or in my case, me) could go trick-o-treating. Two of the booths were craft activities for the kids. One was making a spider web from black paint and a ball rolled in a pan. Jolynn again made her own decision in which spider would adore her web.




Then we went over to the other craft table that had foam cutouts with foam stickers to decorate them. Jolynn picked out the stickers and I stuck them on.


This was definitely a fun activity and it was all free. The only bad part about the whole thing was that Jon was not able to join us.

15 months

I was very diligent about writing about Jolynn the first year. I feel like I have been slacking since then. I'm going to try harder. I have been documenting many of her milestones on Facebook. There are videos of her taking her first steps, our fun times with friends and family, and hide and seek. The part I have been trying to remember is the words. She is saying more everyday and sometimes they are recognizable. Jon swears she has said a few things too, but she hasn't repeated them.

Words this month (some heard by me, some by Jon, some only heard once): hot, mouth, hiding, ouch, polly (sort of), Mike, Margaret, pretty, nigh nigh (night night-bedtime), ahyaboo (I love you), bath time,
Previous month and ever since: momma, daddy, ow, uh oh.

She loves giving Daddy kisses.

Biggest milestone this month has been WALKING!! A few steps here and there and every day she makes more and more progress. She does more when she is not paying attention and you are not either.

*I tried putting a video of her walking, but it keeps saying an error has occurred. To see video go to Facebook.

State Fair 2011

I'm a little late with this post. We went to the State Fair on the last day, Labor Day. It was a beautiful day, not very crowded. I did not eat my typical fair food, which made my body feel pretty good. I feel like I missed out a little though. The whole point of the fair used to be the food. This year it was more "the experience" and all about Jolynn's experience. I love watching her discover everything.

Her favorite booth at the fair: the shower heads. See Facebook for photo.

First stop was the K-9 building and she received her dog ears.

Then she went through the Cub Foods Farm.
Apron: check. Gathering bucket: check.

Driving the tractor full of hay.

Payment for all her hard work: CHEERIOS!

Midday nap. She can sleep through anything.

A tradition that we started last year - we will get Jolynn's hand mold done each year at the fair. The one the left is her first year at 5 weeks old. The one the right is from this year. Can't believe she used to be that little!

**I forgot to mention we stopped in the Education bldg for our family photo and weighed in Jolynn. Last year I had to weigh myself, then hold Jolynn to get her weight. This year we had her STAND BY HERSELF on the scale. She weighed in at 21.1 lbs.

Where does the time go?

It has been another month since Jolynn's first birthday. The first year went by so fast, how could the next go just as quickly? With work in full swing again my days are very busy and our weekends have been spent gallivanting visiting grandparents and friends. It has been a busy summer. This past month we caught Jolynn standing. She also pushes her legs straight with butt in the air. One of these days she's going to stand straight up and just start walking! She LOVES to "walk" around the house. She has also been very interested in watching me cook. We put her in her high chair and scoot her really close, then I do a tutorial on whatever I am making.

We've started having bath time at 7:30 or so. She loves the water so much and this has helped getting her to bed earlier and staying asleep through the night. Her nose has been very stuffed up lately and the bath also helps get rid of all the crud. She has started putting her face in the water and trying to blow bubbles. Most of the time she just ends up taking a gulp of water. It has been a good thing seeing her put her face in the water and not getting scared. She had fun playing every night with Ethan (friend from South Dakota).

Our friends from South Dakota came for a visit before their kids had to head back to school. Daycare was closed Friday, so I took the day off and we all went to IKEA. Then the next day we went to Como Zoo. I think Jolynn was more interested in people watching than animal watching. Should make the State Fair interesting. We used her new wagon and we had many comments of "honey, we don't have a wagon yet. I want that one for Christmas!". It was hilarious. I swear I could have sold it easily...not gonna happen-we love it!

Words this month: Ow, Uh Oh, Wuff Wuff, HI! (which she says to everyone whether they are coming or going) and lots of DADDY DADDY DADDY!

She's our little dancing girl!

One Year

This past month has been very busy with getting ready for her first birthday. Lots of planning and I have learned a lot. Knowing that this was the first I wanted it to be big. I just thought it should be. After the first what is there? just kidding

Milestones this month - she is walking with a "walker". Go ahead and move into the walking stage honey! We've got the banister up! Unfortunately the baby gate doesn't fit, so we still have to do the modified version that she knows how to push over. Oh well. Jolynn is also eating more solid big people food. I think she is very much over the mush of cereal. She really likes banana, peaches, grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese, pancakes, and waffles. So far these have been the finger foods given. I tried some veggies, but she just chewed on them then spit them out. I forgot watermelon! she is also transitioning to a sippy cup.

She now has 4 teeth on the top and 2 on the bottom. Not sure which ones will come in next, but I think there are more in the works because she has every sign at the same time. Lots of drool, rosey cheeks, chewing on everything, and diaper rash.

We've had a few 90+ degree days with 100+ heat index. That makes for good pool weather. I see us having many more of these pool days if the summer keeps up like this.

We thought she had said Momma a few months ago, but couldn't tell if it was just a sound she was making or the actual name. We believe her first word (that is decipherable as an actual word) is UH OH! It is so cute. She does a lot of babbling and I suspect more words will be coming in the next few months.

ELEVEN Months!

It's hard for me to even write the words. I can't believe she is eleven months already!

Swimming classes have ended. She missed class over Memorial weekend; but had her first camping experience and we visited Grandma and Grandpa Benson's cabin. The following weekend was BOW. She was going to miss her final class too, but my mom was able to take her. I mainly wanted her to take the class if she was afraid of the water as a way to get her not to be. She LOVES the water.

Late May I watched Jolynn crawl from one end of the room to the other, then pull herself up on the toy box and coffee table. I was cooking in the kitchen and the sliding door was open with the screen shut. Jolynn crawled across the kitchen, over to the screen, put her little hand on it - and OPENED IT! There isn't a lock on the screen door, not sure how we will keep her in on this one.

Still working on getting the railing up. So far we have been letting her wander around in the living room while we sit on the couch watching. She seems more adventurous and wanting to discover what things do when she doesn't think someone is watching. If we can't be watching her, she goes in her room and we put up a baby gate or we put her in her exersaucer.

This past month she also started: waving bye bye and hello, claps, and is "cruising" from couch to couch to coffee table and back to couch. I am quite positive she will be walking in a few months. She really thinks she is the stuff when you hold her hands and she practically runs (like a march) across the room. She is so proud, and so are we.

More sounds are emitting from her - can't wait for them to be words. We have been working on sign language during eating. Mostly "done", "more", and "milk". I don't know much else. "please" and "thank you" have been others that I try to do.

Ten Months

BIG CHANGES! May 6 - Jolynn crawled! Since then she has been scooting all over the house. I used to be able to leave her in the living room on her blanket while I got ready for work. Now when I check on her she is into some wires or stuck in a corner. She is also fascinated with Polly's toys. Like she doesn't have enough of her own, she has to go after Polly's. So far Polly hasn't minded. Polly just licks her...over and over and over. Saturday morning I watched her crawl across the living room and reach up to the coffee table. She wasn't able to get off her knees, but I suspect it won't be long.
I'm very disappointed. We have this great video camera that was intended to capture all this special moments. So far we have captured them, but not been able to share them.

Next project - Banister and railing so we can put a gate up for the steps. Also, time to baby proof.

We have been working on the two upper teeth for a few weeks. Looks like the top right has finally broken through. I can't imagine how that feels. Just the thought of it makes me feel bad for her.

Another thing she has found (and quite loudly) is her voice. What once was quiet babble, is now ear piercing screeching. Jon and I have taken to singing when she starts to do this. So far I think it is working.

Two more busy months until her 1 year birthday. I can't believe it. It went by so fast. We have something going on all but maybe two weekends for the next 2 months.

Swimming lessons are going great. I will be gone this weekend at a scrapbooking retreat so the Grandmas are going to take her. They are going to have so much fun. I'm sure they both wish they could be in the pool with her at the same time. There will be plenty of time for that this summer. She LOVES the water. I hope we can spend lots of time at G&G Moritzs.

Nine Months

A few days late, but I wanted to get her stats from the doctor's appointment in this time.

She is still in the 50% for height and 5% for weight. 15lb 12.5oz and 27 inches.

This month has brought a few changes. More teeth are on their way. I see two white dashes on her upper gums. Finger food is getting easier and keeps her entertained for a while. Polly likes it too because sometimes a few fall to the floor. I tried to tell her there would be treats galore once Jolynn arrived.

Movement: she is rolling front to back and back to front. I haven't actually witnessed the back to front, but when laid in bed all the sudden I will look at the monitor and she is on her stomach. She also pulled herself up in the pack and play. This brought us to moving the crib down. That was a big step. I packed up 3 more boxes of clothes. She is onto the 9-12 month clothes. She has also started scooting backwards and in circles. Crawling isn't there quite yet, but soo close. We really need to get that banister up :)

I love waking up in the morning hearing her talk to her "friends" in her crib. Then I go in and peer down at her. She gets as excited as when I pick her up from daycare. It's a great way to wake up.
We also had her 9 month photos taken at Flash over the weekend. See facebook for all 26.

Brookings, SD

We were able to take our first family trip last weekend. Jolynn has been for a long trip to Florida, but not a long trip in a car. This was a four hour trip. She did very well. We went to visit friends. While there, we went to the Children's Museum. It was very cool. I can't wait to go back when Jolynn is more mobile. They have a great outdoor part too, which will be nice to visit when it is warmer.

I can help Grandma Benson gather eggs.

Official weight at time of Brookings visit=15 1/2 lbs

Heather helped Jolynn look at the kids in the toddler play area.

They had a cool room with a window and water color like paints. I probably shouldn't have used red, looks a little creepy.


The boys waiting for us to check out from the gift store.


Pooped out from her exciting day at the museum.