Excited and full of Energy

Last night we got together with Matt's family to celebrate Lori's birthday. Her birthday was almost a month ago but it got overshadowed a bit this year due to Coen's arrival, so we celebrated it a little late.
We went to a tasty little Greek restaurant in Ballard. The place was not very busy and was laid back, so I felt comfortably letting the girls wander. Etta showed off her walking skills along with her friendly nature. She walked up to other tables, she grinned at the waitress, she walked around the huge long table seating us so she could explore.  Matt ordered pork chops and when it first arrived he thought he would be taking leftovers home, but Etta the eater decided that Greek food was good so no meat was left-over :)

We came back to our house after the restaurant for dessert and hang-out time. This is when the girls got really goofy. They had some seriously silly, giggly, energy. During this energy bout Matt tried to take pictures.

Here is Etta showing her fast, easy, 3-stop away to escape an Aunt's arms during pictures.

#1- get at least one foot out from under your tush

#2- lift your arms

 #3- slide and squirm

Ta-da!

Babysitting Coen

Last week Thursday we had the honor of babysitting little Coen. Not only were we the first babysitters for him, it was the first time Lori had been away from him. They chose us to babysit partly because they were going to Taproot theater which is about 5 blocks from our house. So it would have been easy for them to leave the play early and arrive quickly if they needed. But there was no need, he did great! He napped in my arms a little, he endured photo shoots with the girls, he drank from a bottle like a pro, and he had a paci to sooth him (although he hardly whimpered).

Etta was curious about his binky, and for safety reasons we allowed her to point out his toes but not his eyes.

It was critical to Addie that baby Lion was swaddled and in the picture too.

Addie on Mondays

On Mondays Addie is in the sibling care room at school while I am in class with Etta.
Here are some pictures of her and Ari on Valentines Day.
As I have mentioned before, Addie has had a renewed interest in babies
 and swaddling since cousin Coen came.

A couple recent developments

Etta is walking. It was a slow transition so I did not know when I could officially call her a walker. I would say she is one now, but with some limits. She still likes being carried as much as I am willing (which is less & less these days). And she has not taken steps outside yet. I know walking outside took Addie longer too. There are just new surfaces & textures to be unsure of. I will need to start putting her in actual shoes to help her feel more sturdy when walking outside. Her feet are still so tiny and they curve a bit still when she walks - it is like she is trying to grip the floor with her toes.

Addie is writing her name (ADDIE all caps, not Adeline). The childcare worker at the gym taught her. She came home a few weeks ago with a page she colored with her name written on it. She told me she wrote her name herself, but I assumed she meant with someone's hand over hers. Well, yesterday I witnessed her writing her name by herself, just with verbal reminders of what to do. I was quite impressed! I will now be more diligent about talking over letters with her and not selling her abilities short.

Presidents day in the Couv

The weather was great so there was some outside playtime.

Addie checking for eggs. She is wearing a raincoat of Grandma Ellie's. She remembered that grandma had it, so she told me she did not want to pack her own raincoat because she wanted to borrow grandma's. There is plenty of room for her to keep wearing it the next few years!

Aubree with her Aunt AJ

Asa and Gus

Etta loved rocking on the horsey, and she did not mind attention from the cat too much either.

We did some "wagon" rides.

A bucolic ride by the pasture.

Addie joined too.

 Asa was supposed to be eating his dinner. He grudgingly ate a few bites,
and then Etta was happy to help (she had already had her dinner, but that didn't stop her). 

 At dinner time the kids got to be at a small table. We were going to have Etta in a highchair, 

but she refused the highchair because she wanted to sit just like the big kids. It worked great for her 

because while the other kids were distracted by the camera she could steal food off their plates!

Little cousin Loren was feeling left out.

 3 beautiful little princesses

 It's hard to tell. But in the background is Asa who is wearing his red cape. 

At one point Aubree had the cape on over her dress and she looked very medieval.

We went to church with my folks and one of our girls had a great time...

Addie told us she wanted to go to Sunday School at Papa  Grandma Ellie's church. So she did, and she had a great time. It was set up a lot like her class at our church, so the routine probably felt really familiar even if the space & people were different. Start off with play-doh or puzzles, free play time with blocks and a play kitchen, Bible story & song time and a coloring page corresponding with the story, goldfish snacks, then a little more play time.

Speaking of great: Etta completely slept through the night the first night we were there. 

That was pretty great for us. It was also pretty great in the morning to be able to help Addie go potty or change Etta's diaper, then send them off to play with grandma & grandpa while we snuggled back into bed. Then when we got up an hour or two later, there was a hot breakfast waiting for us. 

Daddy's Girls

In our continued efforts to help teach Etta to sleep through the night, we had been doing the "Sleep Lady Shuffle". This worked wonders when Addie was having trouble falling asleep on her own when she was around Etta's age. You start off right by their crib at night, not talking to them much or touching them, just physically present. You go to that same spot if/when they wake over night. You stay at that position for a couple of nights, then over a span of 2 weeks or so you progressively move farther from their bed until you are in the hall. Instead of just sitting on the ground, we brought a single mattress up for this training.
The girls loved the mattress on the ground because they got to climb and pretend to sleep on it. Their favorite location by far was when it was in the closet. I had decided the closet was better than the hallway because with the door from her room open to the hall she would hear too much noise from her big sister.
So instead I put it in the closet that connects Etta's room to ours.  It was a nice snug fit in the closet and I joked that it was Matt's new bedroom. Really, though, the girls inhabited it as much as possible.

Etta might scream the entire time she is in childcare at the gym, but Addie does well. The childcare worker has this little routine (she is a stickler for doing things a certain way: her way). First thing, wash the hands before entering. When we first enter we take off shoes then she wipes the girls eye gunk and noses. She is very thorough about the nose cleaning portion and usually has the kids lay on the ground. So on about the fourth time we were there, Addie took off her shoes then laid herself prostrate on the floor and patiently awaited her nose excavation. It has been the same ever since. Addie lays down with a smile and waits to have her nose cleaned while Etta clings to me and sobs. 

This most recent time I picked the girls up after my workout, I found braids in Addie's hair. Addie will hardly sit while I brush her hair. She cries and fusses if I attempt a ponytail, but she will let someone she has seen not even once a week since Oct. braid her hair. Go figure. So here is a picture because it might be quite a while before I am granted that privilege. 

And Etta wanted to say "hi" to the camera and get a picture since big sis did. 

One of Etta's new words is "dance". She will sit on the hearth and bounce her bum and say dance. Then if we do not respond right away, she will try to make it even more clear what she wants by attempting to open the tv cabinet since that is where we play music from. When she sys dance she wants two things: us to turn the music on, and to pick her up and dance with her (or swing or run or jump).

Matt has Addie. Addie has Lion.
Matt has Etta. Etta has Dog-dog.
They sure love their daddy!