Coraline’s First Haircut

Quite a bit later than Jameson’s first haircut (given, she’s a girl), but we finally got Coraline’s hair cut at the end of June in the hopes that it would resolve some of the crazy knots we’ve been having!

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She was very intent on her video, and unlike Jameson, was all smiles! She’s also had a couple opportunities to see him in action though, so she didn’t have any fear.

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She even sat still enough for a braid, which was pretty amazing to me! (It hasn’t happened since)

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It didn’t, however, really affect the knot situation. After a number of shampoos for both Jameson and Coraline, where I tried to go more natural and manage Coraline’s eczema, I was still having trouble. I also tried a detangler, and it helped, but we still struggled. I finally gave in and bought the good stuff from California Baby.

From the very first night we used it, even drying overnight on the pillow, her (and Jameson’s) hair have been silk soft and easy to brush, comb and style. Coraline’s standard style is pig tails (I hope this phase never ends). I can’t believe it took me that long to commit (okay, California Baby is expensive). But totally worth it for me. It’s a baby wash and shampoo, but to make it last we are just using it as shampoo. I love it.

I also bought their “gel”, and I’m pretty happy with it given that it’s “natural” — it’s certainly not going to spike Jameson’s really long hair he’s been growing out. I use it on Coraline and Jameson’s flyaways, not every day, but when we are having a particularly awesome hair day. Morning routines are getting so much easier. Hopefully the fear of that brush will go away soon!

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16 Month Old Walker

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Coraline developed major attitude this month! From shaking her head yes and no, she moved just shaking her head no to everything! She also started pointing and yelling “no”, a development while we were visiting Meemaw (perhaps from yelling at the dog to leave her alone?). Coraline was hitting and pulling hair this month as well, finding this funny, because perhaps we laughed at her once. So we’re working on being “gentle”, and petting nicely (both humans and doggies).

Our “bye bye” now includes a wave as well, and we’ve actually seen a couple signs and spoken “more” and “all done” from her, though not consistently, since whining still gets her what she wants, usually. We’re working on that one as well.

Coraline even got her very first pedicure, from Aunt Melissa! (Jameson got his painted blue as well)

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A little pretend play from Coraline. She will make sucking noises for a baby doll, and woof woof from her dog stuffed animal. But these are still short but sweet episodes! She also learned how to blow the whistle (and somehow pulled the vent cover off the floor and put a bunch of the musical toys in it one day without us noticing)

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Whistle skills

The teacher who followed Jameson for most of his time at school from each room is taken to coming to Coraline’s room and doing her hair occasionally. She never sits still for us for more than a clip, if that, but I love these little pony tails on top of her head!

This month we really noticed that she wants everything that we or Jameson has, like snacks and cups. She still loves being chased, and she loved bouncing on Jameson’s bed at Meemaw’s house. Putting things back together or making them work brings her delight and I love her little laugh.

She enjoys bouncing on pillows, so we added one to her crib. She doesn’t sleep on it for very long, but she smiles happily when I lay her down on it.

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She’s very ticklish, under her arms and the bottoms of her feet. The tickling laugh cracks me up, and also sounds remarkably like Jameson did. However, she sure is hard to capture on camera smiling. When the camera comes out, her solemn face appears unless I can capture her on the move (which is just as difficult!).

Coraline is reasonably indiscriminate about what she eats, enjoying most meat and fruit. Vegetables and pasta are hit or miss depending on the day. This month we started her on Jameson’s “special yogurt” tubes, which she also likes, though she needs help to avoid squishing it all over her face and clothes. We also began putting her in the booster seat, and we all eat together for dinner. She still throws a lot of her food to Sasha.

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She’s only allowed the bottle morning and night, and we continue to try the sippy cup at daycare during the day. On weekends though we don’t tend to even offer the sippy with milk because she refuses consistently. Instead, we give her water all day long.

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For some reason, she has suddenly developed an intolerance for getting her head and hair wet. While she still loves water and bath time, she hates the part where we have to rinse her head. I’m hoping she gets through this phase quickly since she really seemed to love water! Our bedtime includes several books, and she always wants more. Her favorite is Jameson’s former favorite, Doggies by Sandra Boyton.

But the biggest change this month? We have a walker! In one week, we went from crawling to walking nearly all the time. Her first time walking on command was to Jameson, of course! He was delighted. She still a little uncertain on the grass and wants to hold hands, though.

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One week later, she’s kicking a ball around the room!

She is starting to do a lot more climbing as well, and showed how she could climb from chair foot stool against Jameson’s bed to being on TOP of Jameson’s bed (and then falling off it when we weren’t looking the very next day).

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Growing Up

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This was a huge month of growth in Coraline’s abilities! She is now speaking a few more words, including “baby”, “bye bye” (with a wave as well), “ball”, and “up”. She continues to use the same word for socks and shoes which kind of sounds like “ochx” which still makes me laugh. (Other words she already knows are dada, mama- rarely said, doggie or Sasha, and hi)

She likes to try and put shoes and socks on by holding them up to her feet, which is cute. Aside from waving, other gestures this month include a firm “no” headshake. When asked “where’s Coraline?” she will raise her hand up and pat her head with a big grin!

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Coraline has always been affectionate, but it has progressed now where she used to lay her head on a lap or legs, now she is actually giving hugs with her arms. I witnessed a spontaneous hug from her to Jameson last week, which was adorable.

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Other gross motor skill updates include standing! Finally! Within a week, she progressed from pulling up to a standing position to pushing a walk behind toy.

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Coraline shocked us though when she managed to stand up by herself in the middle of the floor with no assistance! She sat down again right away, but has since managed that feat a couple more times. Remember just the other month she was barely standing at all?!

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This month, she also moved up into the new room, the first room for 9-18 month olds. She was held back because of her bottle feeding issues (she loved Ms Colleen!) and since there was space in that room for a good amount of time. We have borrowed clothes from our neighbor, and she is now currently in 18 month shirts, 12 month pants and size 3 shoes. Her feet seem to grow very slowly, haha.

We have begun reading her bedtime stories, though she really likes flipping through the books herself. She also likes to play ball, rolling it back and forth with us.

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She even loves being tickled. Another word for the books this month: she likes to say “tickh tickh” which I think means tickle, either when she is being tickled or when she is initiating the tickling.

Coraline also sits on little ride on toys outside now. She mostly goes backward, though she’s learning how to move forward.

She can go backwards pretty good now!

Coraline just hates the swing though, baby swing or even on my lap. She is terrified, and will burst into tears just watching me even if she’s not swinging. She also hates… milk in a sippy cup.

She started drinking from a straw, which she really enjoys. She just loves the water. But milk? No dice. We tried cold turkey, but she held out. So we are trying again with yet another sippy this weekend (after already trying the 6 or so types we already have at home).

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We have just been so thrilled watching her grow this month. We are also thankful that at her follow up ENT visit, the doctor did not recommend replacing the tube that fell out from her ear early. We are continuing to watch it, and continuing with the chiropractor on occasion, and hoping that all remains well through summer at least.

Such personality! She seems like she’s ready to be added to our family cellphone plan, right?!

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11 Months for Coraline

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This month was harder for little Coraline in terms of sleeping. While she was generally happy during the day, her nights were filled with crying out: Only for a moment or two before she fell back asleep on her own, but none of us liked hearing her cry out in pain for weeks at night, with pain medicine or not.

She finally broke through two more of her top teeth, for a total of 5. (And just days after turning 11 months old, she broke through the last of the swollen set, finally, for a total of 6 teeth). Hence her cute quirky crooked smile here she used while teething!

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She spent most of this month teething, with a cold, and then got a yeast and bacteria infected rash under her arm. One of the tubes in her ear came out, unusually early (it was only in about two months). She’s currently on 4 medications, including two ointments, ear drops and oral antibiotics. Ooof! Poor thing.

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Coraline figured out crawling within just a week after I recorded her video of the scoot she had been doing. She didn’t go backwards at all, and just straight up started moving forward. Sometimes she puts her feet down in what Brian calls her spider crawl which cracks me up, and rarely she’ll put both feet and hands on the ground with no knees, but straight in the air.

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And she’s getting up on her knees! Not pulling up yet. This month, we’ve brought out the stand and play toy, to help her practice standing and pulling up. She loves the jumparoo and both jumps like a maniac and also swings herself back and forth like I never saw Jameson do in it, but she doesn’t do very much standing outside of those supported activities. Coraline has such little feet that I sometimes wonder if that might have something to do with it.

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Our babbling has just started becoming more words and imitation. She mostly just says “hi”, and if I can say that aside from the babble of mamama and dadada her first real words have been “dada” and “hi”. We’ve started taking sign language class with her, as we did with Jameson. So far, I’m pretty sure she’s signed “all done” (or just being crazy at the end of meal time).

She’s learned to point with her index finger and I can see her little wheels turning. The other day she held up Jameson’s socks to us, and when I responded “sock”, she put it down on top of her own socks and stared at it.

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Coraline has learned how to rock herself back and forth, though she’s still very conservative about it. She rocked herself in the glider during the monthly photos this month.

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She’s a 17lb even small fry, just beginning to show preferences in what she’s eating. Yes to fruit, peas, and pasta. No to mashed potatoes, and many vegetables. Meat is hit or miss. She still practices the sippy, but since she doesn’t even take a bottle that well from us very often, we aren’t forcing the sippy issue yet. She’s a good eater like Jameson though in terms of just being able to do it: not a lot of gagging. However, she seems to be more prone to putting fistfuls of food (or anything else) in her mouth, so we have to have a hawk eye on her all the time now. A favorite game is to see who, me or her, can make it to the dog first who is eating her cookie treat and leaving crumbs everywhere.

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Snow Play

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This was Coraline’s first snow experience on New Year’s Day! We unboxed Jameson’s old snow suit, but realized we had no boots for her so we improvised with pajamas, a couple plastic bags, and a couple layers of socks. We were only outside with her for about 20 minutes, but she had a good time looking around. She was pretty happy to be in my arms, and a little concerned and curious about the snow but overall did great!

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We brought out the sled for Jameson who loved daddy pulling him. He didn’t even mind too much when he fell off this year and was really thrilled to be outside having fun. The process of getting two kids in their snow suits though was the least fun part.

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Coraline was not a huge fan of Jameson’s snow covered mittens covering her face. Oops!

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After Coraline went in, we let Sasha out for a bit. Sasha always loves snow balls. She acts like a puppy again in the snow, but like Coraline we limited her play time outside since she tires easily. She happily went back inside to nap afterwards.

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We were excited the snow lasted into the weekend, since it always seems that it melts away before we get a chance to play in it. The rising temperatures made it perfect to build a snowman, and Jameson and daddy got to make too! They even pulled carrots up from the garden for noses.

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When Jameson talked to grandma on the phone later about his snowmen, he said that he wanted her to bring a hat (he loves the Frosty the Snowman song). Unfortunately the snowmen melted before she could come over with a hat; maybe next time!

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Backyard Labor Day

We enjoyed a pretty low-key Labor Day hanging out in our backyard for a little cookout with the neighbors. Little Peyton has gotten so big, he was trying to play with the big kids!

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Lily and Jameson ran up and down the yard hand in hand; I just sat at the bottom snapping a thousand photos as they ran closer and closer with big grins.

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I’m just waiting for Jameson to learn how to swing by himself, but for now he loves me to push him on the swings since I make him go high, and occasionally “crazy!” pushing him side to side.

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Coraline also got to experience her very first time in the swing. She was okay for a moment, but wasn’t a big fan (presumably because Jameson was pushing a little jerky). He insisted Coraline wanted to go high, but I assured him that she did not.

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Then I took a few photos of her big gummy smile which shortly after became one of the last when she started breaking through her very first tooth!

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We tried to get all the kids together on the blanket, but this was the best we could do. Jameson ran back and forth and back and forth and refused to sit still at all.

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As a reward for sitting so nice (sort of), Jameson was really excited to eat a green tomato. Yep, that isn’t an apple. That is a big green tomato. He ate the whole thing. No, he didn’t get sick. Thank goodness!

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It was nice to have a day to just relax, and of course we always enjoy the shorter work week. Jameson asks everyday now if we have to go to work and if he has to go to school. He is very excited to stay home!

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Sitting Pretty

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Coraline is a sitter! She started sitting up just before last week. We had been practicing as much as possible, ever since she started trying to lift her chest up from a lying down position as if trying to sit.

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She sits with a little pillow behind her, preferably. We get about 30 seconds without toppling, sometimes longer if she’s using her hands properly. She is starting to be able to hold toys while she sits as she gets better about balance.

She was just a little concerned about the grass and so wasn’t too interested in smiling for me. But no outright crying, unlike Jameson, so that’s a plus!

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Falling either direction doesn’t appear to bother her though. She’s gone face first a few times and is only unhappy when it’s in the grass.

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Don’t worry, the grass was soft and cushy!

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5 Months Old

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We’ve made it to 5 months old! The next month seems like a big milestone itself to me: dramatic reduction in the likelihood of SIDS, sitting up, playing and personalities. I just love 6 months and forward. Don’t get me wrong: I will undoubtedly miss the months of wee little baby, squishy and flexible and pliable. But this is when things will start to get fun.

And speaking of fun: some of it is beginning now! Coraline is actually doing some playing rather than simply observing. She is an expert at tummy time, far more than Jameson ever was, because she loves to be on her belly. She even sleeps that way now! She learned how to roll back to belly this month, and that’s all she does.

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This also means that we have ended swaddling officially, pretty much shortly after she turned 4 months. I will probably miss that, and her little ear hairs on the side, going away the most. Speaking of sleep… this girl is trouble.

She will unexpectedly sleep through the night one night and turn around to be up most of the night the following… it’s been difficult, to say the least. I put up the mesh pads so she can’t get her arms and legs stuck through the slats just yesterday and she slept through, thankfully. This never bothered Jameson, but does seem to bother her. That, and getting frustrated when she does want to return to her back and doesn’t know how to roll that way yet. In addition, if she gets too frustrated, it’s near impossible to get her to sleep so we are always watching for that fine line of trying to get her to go back to sleep on her own without feeding her and getting too frustrated. I’m looking forward to the end of this stage.

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Such is her strength that even while lying down on her back (which isn’t very often anymore!), she can lift her whole chest up like she is trying to sit up! She has terrible balance, but she loves when I grab her fingers and pull her upright into the sitting (or even standing) position. She gives the biggest gummy smiles when I do that, and when I kiss her cheeks loudly by her ear.

Coraline also found her feet this month, to the entertainment of all! She even occasionally chews on her toes, which I think is awesome.

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She is okay in the excersaucer, which we started putting her in this month after her first time at daycare. She likes it okay, but I think will like it more when she can stand easily. Right now it’s harder on her with a pillow propping her feet up to the appropriate height.

Coraline is also practicing holding things with two hands and will give a funny face when she first puts her toy in her mouth as if she’s say, “eww what is that!?” and then… “mmm that feels good on my toothless little gums!”

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Coraline is officially taking bottles consistently at daycare, but still refuses at home or anywhere else but nursing from me. However, we’ve all enjoyed being able to feed Coraline her first foods, which is fun. She got the hang of it quickly and while she doesn’t eat too much yet, she enjoys what she gets. And on those thankfully rare occasions now that she has trouble with the bottle at daycare, they are able to supplement with cereal.

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We’ve enjoyed a lot of outdoor play this month, from her first time in the pool to tea parties with Jameson and Lily. The weather has continued to stay on the cooler side for August, but we do hope to get one more time or two on the water bouncer.

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Coraline is a delight to be around when she’s awake and not tired. She rarely if ever cries for hunger, and only calls out when she wants to hang with her family or gets tired. She’s so very smilely, and we love that she has finally found that thumb (at least, most of the time). I’m looking forward to teaching her the sippy (hopefully — if she continues to refuse the bottle at home!), and beginning to explore more food, as well as rolling the other way, and… of course… maybe a bit better sleep. Pretty please?

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First Foods

Coraline tried her first foods a couple weeks ago. We started with oatmeal, baby cereal single grain of course, as we did with Jameson. With Jameson, who we found had a pretty big span between bowel movements, we wanted the additional fiber in his first foods that comes from oatmeal and brown rice. While Coraline doesn’t have this issue, we wanted to just the same make sure that she didn’t have any bowel troubles as we transitioned into food. We haven’t had any, and she is doing really well.

She gets oatmeal a couple times a week at dinner, and unlike with Jameson, we also brought it to the daycare for the days that she doesn’t eat from the bottle. That way, we can all feel good that she is still getting some food in her system! Thankfully, in the past two weeks, we seem to have overcome that difficulty (at daycare anyway).

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Coraline makes a bit of a face every time we feed her, like she has to remember what this is and oh yeah, I have to open my mouth to get it! She does well with all textures now, from thicker to thinner. Most times she does better with it a little thicker so it doesn’t come right back out! We love our little chipmunk; her big cheeks give the impression that she’s storing up all that food in there, though she is adept at swallowing now and rarely if ever gags.

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By the end of her first cereal, she was reaching to get that spoon in her mouth herself!

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While I know breastfed babies should wait until 6 months before starting food, the issues we have had with her eating at daycare prompted us to start early to no ill effect. She doesn’t have it frequently yet but is getting used to the spoon and textures, a perfect first step before we really begin feeding her food in earnest in a month or so.

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5 Weeks Old

Five weeks old! Coraline went from no expressions to some smiles this week.

She also got to meet Lisa and not-so-baby anymore Vivenne. We actually saw them twice this week, again when we went to the playground, though Coraline slept through that!

Over the weekend at one month old, she seemed to give us some first really focused smiles. Since then, I’ve seen about one a day. It’s always so wonderful to see that delighted reaction from them after caring for them without gratification so long.

Also note the baby acne began this week suddenly. It doesn’t seem too bad, but I also minimize it is pictures 😉 you may be able to tell another photo where I did some editing on her tongue. She may have thrush, so we decided yesterday to to treat it as if she does. There are no other symptoms, and she’s had it for a couple weeks already with no change.

Jameson also seems to note that she’s gotten heavier. After putting her in his lap for a moment, he requested instead that she should sit next to him!

Brian’s childhood friend Hollie came to visit on Saturday with her three girls. Coraline slept while Jameson played Mr. potato head with the girls. He loved that they were willing to zoom him around in his bilibo; he event threw himself around in it after the game was over.

Sunday, my parents came up to visit, so our weekend was kept busy again!

Five weeks gone; next week, we will be halfway done with maternity leave and hopefully well into consistent spring weather!

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