Hi All,
Welcome to September...yikes, is it really September?!
As of August 30th, Brooklyn is 7 months. She weighs 17lbs 7oz (61st percentile) and is 26.75" long (64th percentile).
She's eating solid foods now. She eats bananas, applesauce, pears and peaches but is much more enthusiastic about the baby cereals. She certainly loves her carbs (I have no idea where that came from!). With the solid foods, we're now trying to change her schedule, which is an adjustment for everyone. She's still a great night sleeper though, so we won't complain!
Brooklyn loves the mirror. She gets a huge smile and starts kicking her legs each time she sees herself in the mirror.
She is a happy sitter (and can go from laying down to hands and knees to sitting and vice versa), but she's definitely working on trying to crawl. (I'm hoping that I'll get to write this again next month rather than that she's begun crawling, but I'm doubtful we'll be so fortunate.) She still scoots forward on her booty (now intentionally) and goes backward when rocking on her hands and knees. We don't think she's a fan of tile because she'll scoot or push backward until she gets to the tile then just sit/lay there once she makes it. We like this self-quarantining thing!
Brooklyn has taken up blowing raspberries throughout the day.
Usually she will "give noggin" (gentle head buts) on command. It's her sign of affection, and she does it mostly with Landon.
She sticks her tongue out a bunch.
Her favorite toy is a fake chicken leg. It seems to be the perfect size and shape for her to grip and chew, but it looks pretty funny.
She loves being in the water, whether it be a bath or the pool. She's a splasher and practices kicking with her big brother.
Brooklyn's got a little dimple (yay!) on her left cheek. I love getting her to smile so big that it shows! :)
Landon is 2 years 4 months. He's a true 2 year old at times (when he's upset) and 5 year old at other times. He's certainly entertaining to us, and once he warms up to others he likes to ham it up for them as well.
His hair is getting longer and curlier. We love it and are going to try to grow it out a bit longer to see what happens. Daniel's hair is also getting longer, perhaps too long. They are pretty much twins, although one may be cuter than the other. ;-)
Landon's favorite thing to do these days is bake/cook (both real and pretend).
He still loves music (and sings songs throughout the day, even making up songs, just like Mama), learning, reading (he has many books memorized, so he "reads" as he follows along pointing to the words that he THINKS he's reading), jumping, trash trucks, all kinds of trucks & vehicles, his cousin Jacob, looking at pictures and videos, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, his stuffed koala ("Walla"), the baby toys around the house, make believe play, being praised, doing things by himself, natural balance beams and painting.
Recently he has taken on learning how to swim, startling his little sister, making her laugh, copying Brooklyn, constructing puzzles, asking questions, playing with beach balls, dinosaurs and placing his animal decals on their habitat pages.
Landon has never been a big cuddler. One day this month Daniel was the lucky recipient of a nap with Landon on the couch. We had an over/under of 45 seconds (because he's never snuggled for a whole minute), and it ended up lasting over 2 hours. I feel as though I got jipped because 1) I didn't get any snuggling 2) I didn't get a nap either and 3) I was the one who sang 9 songs to get him to fall asleep there.
Life with the 2 kids is getting a little easier, especially since they're getting along better and better. Brooklyn's feelings toward Landon have been unwavering from the start, but she's even more intrigued and entertained by him as time passes. This may be because Landon has taken more of an interest in his sister. He is concerned when he doesn't know where she is, he likes to bring her toys and put her pacifier in (even if she's perfectly content without either), he thinks he knows exactly what she wants ("she's hungry," "she wants to play in the 'exerciser'," "she needs a pacifier," etc.) and he invites her into his crib when we get him in the morning or from his nap. He seems to enjoy the positive attention she gives him, and he has been extra sweet to her lately with kisses and attention; however, his favorite way to show her affection is to pat the top of her head (yes, like drums). We're learning to be more gentle. :-)
Over the last month, here's what we've been up to...
The splash pad, of course.
And a winery.
Daniel went to Arizona for a long weekend, and the kids and I headed to Papa and Grammie's house. The night we got there Papa and I went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" while Grammie watched the kiddos. We ALL had a great time! Best buddies, Brooklyn and Tyson (the dog), got to play, and Landon had a wonderful time eating quite a few of Grammie's blueberry Mickey Mouse pancakes.
We celebrated Landon's friend, Sydney's, first birthday. Landon had a blast in Sydney's playhouse, as it was full of pretend food to cook!
Landon has been to the dentist several times already because he fell on a tooth at the end of last year. We went for our last visit to check the progress on that, and this time he sat in the big chair and let the dentist & hygienist get x-rays, clean and check his teeth. He was such a brave boy and now requests to "play dentist"!
The Zims took us to their timeshare in Palm Desert. We had such a fun long weekend full of swimming, eating, napping and repeat. Landon turned into a fish while we were there. We had been practicing swimming the week leading up to "bacation" and he was doing well, but once we were out there he realized that he loved being in the water and had the best time. He got much more comfortable jumping in, putting his face in the water and trying to swim to the edge, grabbing toys from the bottom of the pool, floating on pool noodles and just splashing around. We have continued practicing swimming in our own pool while the weather is hot.
The timeshare complex has a mini movie theater that we were able to use for Landon's first movie theater experience. Our private showing of "Despicable Me 2" was a good test for the big theater. He LOVED it and didn't stop watching. Even when we gave him a snack, he put his hand in the bowl and didn't take a bite or move an inch for about 30 minutes.
Landon and I got to attend a 'Parent & Me' class. We had a great time playing and painting! Landon is certainly a rule follower. He didn't let the "teacher" out of his sights, and now he wants to pretend to be a teacher. Brooklyn was supposed to be napping during the class but she didn't want to miss out on a minute of it, so she joined in the fun as well.
He and I have also had a couple more in-home date nights this month when Daniel was gone and we've put Brooklyn to sleep. Before our last "date" I asked Landon what we should do, and he replied, "Mama likes ice cream," so we HAD to make milkshakes. (I did it for him!) ;-) I also told him that we could hold hands while we were on our date, and when I grabbed his hand a few days later on a walk he asked, "We are on a date?".
Big news for the Kelepouris family (NO, I'm absolutely not pregnant!)...Peter, Amber, Jacob & Zoe moved to Temecula a couple of days ago. In fact, they're right down the street from us. (It takes me longer to get the kids into the car than it does to drive between houses.) Landon, Brooklyn and I have walked back and forth a few times already. I don't think Landon understands that his cousin will be living there permanently, but he LOVES having him here and already knows the way to his house.
It was another fun month with great memories!
August Bloopers:
Welcome to September...yikes, is it really September?!
She's eating solid foods now. She eats bananas, applesauce, pears and peaches but is much more enthusiastic about the baby cereals. She certainly loves her carbs (I have no idea where that came from!). With the solid foods, we're now trying to change her schedule, which is an adjustment for everyone. She's still a great night sleeper though, so we won't complain!
Brooklyn loves the mirror. She gets a huge smile and starts kicking her legs each time she sees herself in the mirror.
Brooklyn has taken up blowing raspberries throughout the day.
Usually she will "give noggin" (gentle head buts) on command. It's her sign of affection, and she does it mostly with Landon.
She sticks her tongue out a bunch.
Her favorite toy is a fake chicken leg. It seems to be the perfect size and shape for her to grip and chew, but it looks pretty funny.
She loves being in the water, whether it be a bath or the pool. She's a splasher and practices kicking with her big brother.
Brooklyn's got a little dimple (yay!) on her left cheek. I love getting her to smile so big that it shows! :)
Landon is 2 years 4 months. He's a true 2 year old at times (when he's upset) and 5 year old at other times. He's certainly entertaining to us, and once he warms up to others he likes to ham it up for them as well.
His hair is getting longer and curlier. We love it and are going to try to grow it out a bit longer to see what happens. Daniel's hair is also getting longer, perhaps too long. They are pretty much twins, although one may be cuter than the other. ;-)
Landon's favorite thing to do these days is bake/cook (both real and pretend).
He still loves music (and sings songs throughout the day, even making up songs, just like Mama), learning, reading (he has many books memorized, so he "reads" as he follows along pointing to the words that he THINKS he's reading), jumping, trash trucks, all kinds of trucks & vehicles, his cousin Jacob, looking at pictures and videos, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, his stuffed koala ("Walla"), the baby toys around the house, make believe play, being praised, doing things by himself, natural balance beams and painting.
Recently he has taken on learning how to swim, startling his little sister, making her laugh, copying Brooklyn, constructing puzzles, asking questions, playing with beach balls, dinosaurs and placing his animal decals on their habitat pages.
Landon has never been a big cuddler. One day this month Daniel was the lucky recipient of a nap with Landon on the couch. We had an over/under of 45 seconds (because he's never snuggled for a whole minute), and it ended up lasting over 2 hours. I feel as though I got jipped because 1) I didn't get any snuggling 2) I didn't get a nap either and 3) I was the one who sang 9 songs to get him to fall asleep there.
Life with the 2 kids is getting a little easier, especially since they're getting along better and better. Brooklyn's feelings toward Landon have been unwavering from the start, but she's even more intrigued and entertained by him as time passes. This may be because Landon has taken more of an interest in his sister. He is concerned when he doesn't know where she is, he likes to bring her toys and put her pacifier in (even if she's perfectly content without either), he thinks he knows exactly what she wants ("she's hungry," "she wants to play in the 'exerciser'," "she needs a pacifier," etc.) and he invites her into his crib when we get him in the morning or from his nap. He seems to enjoy the positive attention she gives him, and he has been extra sweet to her lately with kisses and attention; however, his favorite way to show her affection is to pat the top of her head (yes, like drums). We're learning to be more gentle. :-)
Over the last month, here's what we've been up to...
The splash pad, of course.
And a winery.
Daniel went to Arizona for a long weekend, and the kids and I headed to Papa and Grammie's house. The night we got there Papa and I went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" while Grammie watched the kiddos. We ALL had a great time! Best buddies, Brooklyn and Tyson (the dog), got to play, and Landon had a wonderful time eating quite a few of Grammie's blueberry Mickey Mouse pancakes.
The Zims took us to their timeshare in Palm Desert. We had such a fun long weekend full of swimming, eating, napping and repeat. Landon turned into a fish while we were there. We had been practicing swimming the week leading up to "bacation" and he was doing well, but once we were out there he realized that he loved being in the water and had the best time. He got much more comfortable jumping in, putting his face in the water and trying to swim to the edge, grabbing toys from the bottom of the pool, floating on pool noodles and just splashing around. We have continued practicing swimming in our own pool while the weather is hot.
The timeshare complex has a mini movie theater that we were able to use for Landon's first movie theater experience. Our private showing of "Despicable Me 2" was a good test for the big theater. He LOVED it and didn't stop watching. Even when we gave him a snack, he put his hand in the bowl and didn't take a bite or move an inch for about 30 minutes.
Landon and I got to attend a 'Parent & Me' class. We had a great time playing and painting! Landon is certainly a rule follower. He didn't let the "teacher" out of his sights, and now he wants to pretend to be a teacher. Brooklyn was supposed to be napping during the class but she didn't want to miss out on a minute of it, so she joined in the fun as well.
He and I have also had a couple more in-home date nights this month when Daniel was gone and we've put Brooklyn to sleep. Before our last "date" I asked Landon what we should do, and he replied, "Mama likes ice cream," so we HAD to make milkshakes. (I did it for him!) ;-) I also told him that we could hold hands while we were on our date, and when I grabbed his hand a few days later on a walk he asked, "We are on a date?".
Big news for the Kelepouris family (NO, I'm absolutely not pregnant!)...Peter, Amber, Jacob & Zoe moved to Temecula a couple of days ago. In fact, they're right down the street from us. (It takes me longer to get the kids into the car than it does to drive between houses.) Landon, Brooklyn and I have walked back and forth a few times already. I don't think Landon understands that his cousin will be living there permanently, but he LOVES having him here and already knows the way to his house.
It was another fun month with great memories!
August Bloopers:
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| More of my old clothes that my mom saved...she's a fan of bonnets. |
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| The old car seat was for Brooklyn to relax in while we're in the pool, but she wanted to be out of it and Landon wanted to be in it. |
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| We didn't know he knew what a megaphone was. But he's right, my breast pump DOES look like the perfect one to shout and sing into. |
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| Very sad, but so cute, right? Please don't judge me for taking a picture at a moment like this. |
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| I thought we were over this not wanting to take a picture together thing. Nope! |
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| Freshly cleaned car + new car seat + baby food + sneeze = not the worst part of the drive to Palm Desert |
