It is pretty unbelievable that the girls are already 2. They are talking and absolutely hilarious. They are each so very different and in between the whining there is a lot of fun and learning going on here. The girls all are getting really good at their ABCs and can all count to at least 10. Now, they don't count things all that well yet, but they are getting there. If you ask them what color something is they always say pink first and sometimes will get the correct color, but that is a work in progress. Their vocabulary and speech has come so incredibly far in just the last few weeks. They all speak in sentences, and although they are rarely in to correct tense or order it is amazing to hear the development.
We made a big decision to change Pediatricians. I went back and forth and had a very hard time pulling the trigger, but I felt like I was not getting what I could out of our doctor visits. I am happy to report that we have made the switch to Dr. Paul and after all three girls going in individually for their 2 year check up I am ecstatic with our decision! The level of care is completely different and the amount of information that was provided without me having to ask specific questions was very comforting. All three girls are doing extremely well and are 100% healthy. We also paid a visit to the Post NICU clinic at Children's with Dr. Bear for a 2 year developmental evaluation.
Brooke - our first born! This little girl is hilarious, as she has always been. She is the silliest and she knows it. She is very much a snuggle bug that needs every wink of sleep that she can get. If she is overtired she does not function well, tantrums happen and it is difficult for everyone! Brooke continues to be a real girlie girl, she loves when I paint my nails and she is the first to notice. She has even commented on the nails of my friends. Brooke really pays attention when she watches me get ready and always wants "cheeks", I put a little blush on her one day and that made her so happy! She also liked to take my accessories and put them on, she looks pretty adorable in a scarf! She loves to drink water out of my big cup with a straw, she is very persistent and does not like to take no for an answer. One funny incident was when we were in Indianapolis we were in the hotel room and all the pack n plays were put together for the girls to sleep in and she was dropping sippy cups into them. I asked her to stop and she looked at me, held the cup over the pack n play and said Sooooorrrrrryyyyy and dropped it in again. She has a stinker streak for sure but she is the happiest little girl with a real love for life! I see a ton of me in her, there are many things she does and says that remind me of me when I was young, including the huge blanket that I used to drag with me everywhere. She loves that big ole blanket, but it gets pretty nasty because she takes it everywhere and it is tough for her to be without it for the time it takes to wash and dry it, but I manage to make that happen here and there. One thing that has happened a few times with Brooke is the B-word, that's right, BITING. The first time was with Cassandra, she came up to her leg and bit her, for no reason at all. The same thing happened with Busia a few days later. Then, nothing for awhile and she tried to get Taylor when she took a toy from her. Cassandra intercepted and took the hit on her finger, the next morning I saw a welt on Taylor's that looked very much like a bite mark and when I asked her if she bit Taylor she looked at me and nodded her head and said, "yes". I had to laugh a little inside, loving her absolute honesty, but we have to make this stop. It is also interesting too, because I see her following Taylor a lot, copying what she does or says, it's pretty cute! Brooke is a great eater when she wants to be. Like most toddlers, she will eat like a little piggy one day and eat almost nothing the next. She has learned to try things and is quick to say "no like" when it is not her thing. She has become a super duper snuggler and needs plenty of Mama time everyday.
Here are her stats at 2 years
Height 33 3/4in
Weight 26lbs 2oz
Head Size 18 1/2in
These scores are based in age equivalence
Congnitive (play skills) 26 mos
Fine Motor 28 mos
Gross Motor 20 mos
Receptive Language (understanding) 26 mos
Expressive Language (talking) 22 mos
So, pretty much Brooke is doing phenomenal for her actual age (I never think adjusted age anymore). The gross motor being the only are that all three girls are a little behind and based on what the doctor said if there is an area to be a little slower to catch up in that is the best one. It is just about getting a little stronger and pretty much learning to jump with both feet leaving the ground! Also, being "low tone" extremely common in preemies makes gross motor a bit more of a challenge. Brooke was a little shy in the appointment so she was not a chatty and didn't really demonstrate how she speaks at home.
Taylor - is the boss! She is extremely independent and loves to take charge and care of her sisters. She is very perceptive and will notice the smallest detail. A few weeks ago I went to get my flu shot, she immediately noticed the band-aid on my arm. I went into my bathroom and removed the band-aid and she said, "Mama, band-aid off" as soon as I returned. Taylor is my little song bird. She was the first to say her ABCs, and she sings the words to nursery rhymes and many other kids songs that we listen to often. I love hearing her little voice sing away. She is always concerned with her sisters. If she gets water, she also makes sure her sisters have water too. She is a sweet little thing most of the time. She has been known to be the most frequent visitor to the "naughty chair". Usually it is for pushing, throwing things at dinner and most recently pulling hair! She is pretty dramatic and when things are bad for her she really turns it on! It is hard to break her out of a crying fit. When she is sleepy she knows it and asks to go to night night. It is super sweet when she decides to call it a day on her own. She recently started a new night time routine. She must have her mini fleece blanket folded into a pillow and likes to be covered with a blanket. She is smart as a whip and I would say has the best sentence structure at this point. She has started making the transition from a bunch of words to words in the correct order and tense, pretty amazing to me! Her vocabulary, understanding and memory amazes me daily! Lately she seems to have gone on a low carb diet, for some reason she won't eat much bread, is less into pasta than she once was...the doc said that is great because all most toddlers want are carbs. Taylor also loves the camera, as long as she is the only one in the shot. She will smile on command and loves to see herself on video too. Try to get her to sit for a shot with her sisters...forget about it!
Height 33 1/2in
Weight 26lbs 3oz
Head Size 19in
Congnitive (play skills) 27 mos
Fine Motor 26 mos
Gross Motor 20 mos
Receptive Language (understanding) 29 m0s
Expressive Language (talking) 23 mos
Taylor is also doing incredibly well for her actual age. She was the most interactive in the appointment, she was proud to show off her skills.
Syd - is a little Mommy! Whether it is with her doll or her new little brother, she is so tender and loving with them. She will walk up to Vaughn very slowly and give him a sweet kiss on the head all on her own. She loves to go into his room with me in the morning to wake him. She always says goo-mornin' buddy. It melts my heart! She loves to do tummy time with him and makes him smile a ton. Syd also learned quickly that when someone sneezes you bless them, there is nothing more cute that Syd sweet voice saying bless you after a sneeze, she even blesses Wrigs! I think she may be the one to hold grudges though. A few days ago Taylor pushed her really hard and she fell and hit her nose and bit her lip. There was a lot of blood, but thankfully no major injuries. She was pretty tough considering it was probably pretty traumatic to see so much blood. The funny thing about it is that she talked about it for two weeks. She would go to where the "incident " happened and she would say," Taylor push, naughty". She didn't forget, and who can blame her??? Syd likes to let out serious screams when she doesn't want to be in bed anymore, so we have been working on getting her to rest quietly. We finally decided to move her into the play room for naps. Surprisingly she was totally cool with it from day one. Her sisters need more sleep than she does and with her waking them before they were rested was resulting in rough afternoons. We realized that Syd just simply needs less sleep and we have accepted that. (It took me awhile to get there, because now I literally am lucky if I have 45 minutes during the day when all four kiddos are sleeping). She is super sweet after her naps, usually likes to snuggle for awhile and then does her own thing. She even participated in a pilates video with me, that was really cute! She continues to be a super sensitive little girl that tends to be a little slow to warm up to new faces, but always surprises me in situations that I think will be difficult for her. She absolutely loves the park, I think the most out of the group. She doesn't even give the swings the time of day now that she has discovered the slide!!! Eating is a little bit of a struggle when it comes to fruits and veggies, we can usually coax her into taking at least one bite, but that is about it. If she could have pasta at every meal she would be thrilled! Syd seems to pay the most attention to Wrigs too. She gets a real kick out of his big tale wagging and she loves to come to the back door with me to let him in and yells "here". She is a big repeater, whatever I say she says...yes time to really start watching everything that comes out of my mouth!
Height 34in
Weight 26lbs 4oz
Head Size 19 1/4in
Congnitive (play skills) 23 mos
Fine Motor 25 mos
Gross Motor 20 mos
Receptive Language (understanding) 26 mos
Expressive Language (talking) 21 mos
Like here sisters, Syd is doing absolutely wonderful in all areas and has come such a long way with her strength!
Vaughn - this outfit is awesome because it glows in the dark, so when the first morning I put it on him and went to get him from his nap, I got an adorable surprise with a smile!!!
We also had trick or treating at the Muskego library during story time where the girls received these cool pumpkin straws. They love using them to drink out of Grandma's water.
The final trick or treat experience was at Busia and Papa's house. Unfortunately the weather was terrible, cold and rainy, so we visited the next door neighbor and drove over to one other neighbor's house and that was the extent of it. Bummer.
Cute little cow butt
After trick or treat, Busia's CUPCAKES!!!
