milestones

AngelBaby
Height: 27.25 (90%)
Weight: 17 lb 6 oz (75%)
This beautiful, happy girl makes me melt! She's so good natured and smiles and laughs easily. Her favorite toy is her teething banana and her flower rattle. She sleeps 10-12 hours at night (with one feeding) and takes 1.5 naps a day (20-30 min in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon). We've been consistent about swaddling (if consistent, it will be magic! especially for long term good sleep habits) but recently, she prefers to wiggle her strong arms out in her sleep. At seven months old, she is finally starting to do better with eating baby food but it's still a very messy struggle as she seems to have trouble swallowing (simply that she doesn't know what to do with it). But then again, she's a really messy eater even when nursing. She can get through about half a 1st stage jar now before she's clearly done trying and doc says as long as she makes slow progress, we don't need to worry. She rolled over a few times at four months old but didn't start consistently doing it until recently. She can't quite sit up on her own yet but she's sure trying. Her favorite sound is "dada" (but doesn't cognitively connect it with daddy yet) and she loves to blow raspberries. She's growing incredibly fast as I'm reluctantly moving her into the 9 month old clothing sizes already. Like our other little fish, she loves the water already. And we've enjoying seeing her personality manifest more and more lately. She's easy going, social and generally happy. Her fussy moments are rare and usually caused by an upset in her schedule. And I love that she's ticklish! Especially her chunky thighs and up her back.

Ladybug
Height: 38.5 (92%)
Weight: 30 (75%)
Still my mischievous little imp and her sister's little echo. Her constant companions are still yellow and panda, as well as their "babies" (the matching burp cloths). But other favorite toys include the animal zoo, the doctor's kit and the play kitchen. Her favorite movies are Bolt, the Frog Princess, Emperor's New Groove, Nemo and Rapunzel (note that all but one are movies about animals). She even quotes entire scenes from the movies and will song along with her favorite songs (make me melt!) Her favorite snacks are fruit snacks, raisins and goldfish. Her favorite foods are pasta, rice, cheerios and anything she can dip in sour cream or ranch. Thankfully, my girls will eat pretty much anything we give them so our dinner time battles are pretty tame. She gets bored and makes a mess but she does eat really well. She's stubborn and willful but loves to cuddle and is 100% a daddy's girl. Her favorite color is purple are her favorite places are Grammy's house, McDonalds and the pool (where her fearlessness scares me more than anywhere else, she jumps in with no hesitation, no matter how deep and is always trying to do something bigger and crazier). She knows all her colors, does pretty good with her letters and can count but not identify numbers.

Butterfly
Height: 43 (95%)
Weight: 40 (80%)
My little girl is getting so grown up. Her cognitive understanding amazes me. She engages in conversation, reports on her activities for the day (during our bedtime "talktime", describes memories of events over a year ago, makes up her own songs, plays pretend princess/chef/Disneyland/house/doctor/fighting badguys) and loves to learn. She's exceptional at coloring (crayons or sidewalk chalk) and follows directions surprisingly well (at least according to our doc). She's eager to please, loves to make friends and is such a good big sister. She fetches things I need or tries to calm the baby when she's crying. She can get the baby to laugh more easily than anyone else. She's a good helper and is pretty good at doing her assigned chores (making her bed, gathering laundry, putting the silverware away, setting the table and putting toys away). Her favorite activities are playing princess, dancing, coloring, playing Memory Match or Candyland and playing with friends. She's got a serious sweet tooth and would live on junk food if we let her (especially chocolate and cookies) but she's good about trying the food I give her (although she really is the slowest eater I've ever seen). Rather than favorite movies, she really likes to find new shows on netflicks. Lately, she's hooked on Shaun the Sheep, Sesame Street, Angelina Ballerina, Yo Gabba Gabba and anything princess. Her favorite color is pink, favorite toys are her dolls but truthfully, she prizes her books and drawing stuff as much as any toy and she wants to be a doctor, mom and ballerina when she grows up.

Our typical day:
7:30, wake up with Ladybug in my bed (she snuck in sometimes between 2-5 without waking us). Daddy has left for work (or might be finishing getting ready) so me and Ladybug cuddle and watch a cartoon.
8:00, AngelBaby and Butterfly are awake. time for breakfast and general morning chaos.
9:30, M- Butterfly to gymnastics while we go to the grocery store, T/Th- girls go to daycare while mom goes to the gym. W/F- Butterfly goes to preschool while we either go to gym or run errands. Lately Butterfly and Ladybug go on playdates with Grandma once a week and they LOVE it.
11:00, we meander home, play with toys or color pictures
12:30, lunch
1:00, girls nap while mom fights the urge to pass out and tries to be productive (chores/starts dinner/email/blog/etc)
2:30, Butterfly comes upstairs for some one-on-one
3:00, Ladybug joins us, we play with toys or watch a movie for some extended quiet/cuddle time
4:00, AngelBaby awake, general chaos. usually play with toys, maybe play outside or go to the park, go for a walk, etc.
5:00, mom goes crazy (making dinner with three children underfoot)
6:00, we race for the first hug when daddy gets home and dinner
6:30, evening chaos--sometimes a homework night for me and daddy, sometimes a playdate, running errands, movie night, game night until
8:30, put AngelBaby to bed
8:40, pjs and books for big girls
9:00, put big girls to bed, go clean the kitchen until
9:20, put Ladybug back to bed...twice
9:30, putter, read, honey-dos, declutter, reset for tomorrow
11:00, blissful sleep