no thumb

i can't believe how sad it makes me that riley is no longer sucking her thumb. it didn't happen willingly, however. last week her thumb was swollen, blotchy, pink, purple, and scaley. i thought she got bit by something outside or picked a nasty weed or something so mike took her to the doctor's. immediately upon seeing her thumb he said it was an allergic reaction to sucking it. what?! seriously. the first day went okay until it was time to nap and go to bed at night. it is a HUGE comfort for her to suck. it calms her down and soothes her to sleep. i have always loved the fact that she sucked her thumb and never had a pacifier. it's so sweet. the next day or two she started sleeping without sucking and doing fine. i was so happy. she did seem much crankier and whiney and super restless when it came time to go to sleep, though that is getting better.

so great she's not sucking her thumb anymore, right? not really. i'm sitting here crying about it. all those relaxing moments we had together where she would suck her thumb and rub my arm and little scab or patch of dry skin or mole are gone. she hasn't once said "Arm!" or "Mole" when i'm putting her to sleep. it was such a sweet moment we would share that was quiet and i felt so loved and so maternal just being by her side and letting her rub my skin. but now she has no desire. it sounds really selfish but i almost want her to suck it again just to be able to lay next her like that. unfortunately, it's another phase that is over and a sign that she's getting older.

i'm sure there will be something else, a new thing, but for now while i wait to see what that new thing is i'm devastated.

crawling

so, at 9 months and 1 day spencer crawled. it was just a few little crawls toward the camera that i had put on the floor. she was totally off her belly on all fours. no "wounded soldier" for her! i'm sure it's only a week or so before she's zipping around the house.

say "hi" spencer

spencer started waving a day or two ago. it's totally obvious that she's waving and not just batting her hand around. when she sees something she likes or gets excited she'll wave and clap like crazy. once in a while i'll say "say hi" and she'll wave. she was waving to riley today at lunch and laughing.

the girls are getting cuter and cuter together. spencer loves her sister and riley already acts like a mommy. if spencer's crying riley will say "it's okay, i'm here. i'm not leaving you" or "mommy's coming mommy's coming" in this reassuring sweet adult-like voice.

potty break

we kinda lost momentum on the potty training thing and i'm sure it's my faulty. i let it slack a bit and that's not the right thing to do. i should put her on there regularly and consistently. for the past two days riley has not shown much interest. she pees once and a while and pooped the other day (actually went in her pants a little then i rushed her to the potty and she finished). she is such a helpful girl, too. when done, she lifts the lid, grabs the handle of the basin and dumps it in the toilet. she even turns on the water in the tub to rinse it out. then washes her hands.

the handwashing gets to be a little messy and a hassle but she's practicing good hygiene so i'm proud.

she may not be ready and i'm not going to push her. i must admit diapers are so easy and once she starts wearing underwear it's going to be a lot of work with reminders and then you have public bathrooms and such so i'll enjoy this time while i have it. why do people rush this process?? i really don't see the hurry.

if you're happy and you know it

clap your hands! spencer started clapping last week. she did it while i was holding her by mike's drums when he was playing. she nearly jumped out of my arms and was hootin' and hollerin'. now she claps when she sees something she likes or gets excited; like when she sees the hugs n' kisses balloon grandma brought over. she also knows this word. i ask her "where's the balloon?" and she looks up and around. once she spots it she smiles and claps.

she also got 2 more teeth this month--the ones on either side of the top two. i don't know what it is but riley and spencer always got two teeth at once. she has a pretty big space between the top two but they have room to move and if they don't no big deal. one thing that drives me nuts is that she grinds her teeth so hard. uuuuuuuueeeeeeewwwwww. i get goosebumps just thinking about it.

no weight gain this month. at a steady 15 lbs, 12 oz, however, she did grow 1.25 inches and is at 28.5 inches.

poop on the potty

this past weekend we started putting riley on the potty. we've done this before and nothing happened so it obviously wasn't the right time. we gave it another shot and had a few great days. i put her on her potty chair saturday morning and let her sit and sit and sit and sit for a while. i even left the room, closed the door and let her take care of business. and that she did. pee!!! yay!!! she got three marshmallows and a prize (left over from her stocking at grandma's). an hour or two later poop!! no way. this was awesome. i knew i would be excited but not this excited. i was thrilled. she showed daddy by pointing at her poop, wrinkling up her nose, and saying "don't touch it. it's stinky." she peed a few more times that day. of course it just being the beginning she's not telling us that she has to go but we put her on there and wait and see what happens. i say, "wanna sit on your potty?" she says "yeah, sure" or "oh-kay" i need to record the way she says this because it's the cutest thing. and then she runs off to the bathroom.

sunday--peed a few times but pooped in her diaper
monday--pooped and peed. still had some wet diapers
tuesday--no pee, but poop in the potty. i found that whens he gets entranced with something she soaks her diapers. like when watching tv.
wednesday--bit of a speed bump because she's not feeling well at all. my mom saw that she was going to poop and asked if she wanted to go on the potty to which riley replied "no. i want to go in my diaper." HOWEVER, tonite (after she was tucked in bed) said "i want to try to poop." at first, i was thinking that she just didn't want to go to bed but gave her the benefit of the doubt and i'm so glad i did because she peed for an eternity. she actually told me she had to go! that's a step in the right direction.

we'll see how she gets over this cold. our next step is to put training pants on her and let her wet herself. i hope that's the right thing to do. the last thing i want is to pressure her. it seems like such a long process--the whole training thing--and i'm honestly not looking forward to it just because it feels like i have no idea what i'm doing.

thanks to carin for the potty power dvd. riley loves it. mike and i even find ourselves singing, "whatcha gonna do when you're sittin' on the potty . . sittin' on the potty for a while"

i'm organizing!

riley has been saying this for about a week now. she's been organzing her shoes in the closet just about everyday, asking "can you organize with me?" she takes the shoes out and puts them in a line or pulls one out and offers an explanation of it, like "this one's kinda little small." aunt joann was over yesterday and touched a shoe and riley said "don't mess up my line!" riley even organized a tube of lotion. when i went to take it from her she told me "leave me alone." while it sounds really funny it actually got me a wee bit mad and i said something i'm sure my mother told me: "don't you tell me to leave you alone."

while i'm on the subject, i might as well list the hilarious things riley has said lately:
-arm! armie! (i'll never forget this one; some kids twirl hair, riley rubs arms)
-when talking about playing with her friends, "you just have to be yourself" (i think this is from edward)
-i have a question, mama. . . . don't tease me
-i'm hot (she took out a ponytail holder today saying it made her hot)
-when mae mae told her that drinking her pop would give her a tummy ache . . "i know, it has caffeine."
-whatchoo doin' over there?
-there's no monsters in here
-you like my beautiful shirt? (it's more like "beeaufull")
-that's boring stuff

i'll post more as i think of them. there are so many. riley talks nonstop. i love it.

my new favorite thing she's doing is reading to herself. she gets through about 5 books in 5 minutes, telling the story and turning the pages. this is really the first thing she's done independtly. riley's not one to play with toys or keep herself occupied for very long. some books she knows so well that she can actually recite them. like sisters. "in many ways are different." "one found it boring." and she definitely knows her mother goose. we read that one all day long. just by looking at the pictures she knows what rhyme it is, most notabley "jack be nimble," "mulberry bush," "down by the station," "old king cole." i remember being amazed when she recited a rhyme that i hadn't heard and later that night came across it. i think it was "banbury cross" rings on her fingers and bells on her toes so she'll have music wherever she goes.

edward

that would be edward as in edward scissorhands, currently riley's favorite movie. every single night at about 7 we put it on and watch the same scenes. riley knows some of the dialogue too and knows what's going to happen and when ("she's going to play the piano," "he's cutting the doggy's hair," "he's eating a pea"). i don't know what it is about this movie that has riley so intrigued--she watches nothing else with this much intensity. tonite, while mike was out, i had to put spencer to bed while riley was still up. riley ALWAYS comes in the room, peaks in from the hall, opens and closes the door--"you like it like this?"--but not tonite because she was watching edward. it's really a sweet movie and totally kid friendly. come to think of it, riley is a big tim burton fan. last christmas we read the nightmare before christmas book, and she recently saw pee wee's big adventure--"francis was walking. he's mean." "pee wee jumped in the pool with his clothes." and yes, she's only 2 though with her tastes i'd say she's 12.

boot scootin' boogie

that's you, pencie! you don't crawl yet but you definitely get to where you want to be . . all on your bum! you scoot and scoot and scoot until you're turned around and halfway across the room. grandma told me today that you scooted all the way over to the farm, and tipped it over until the lid came off and you could get the pieces. you always pulled yourself up on your crib and got a little bump on your noggin. thank goodness daddy lowered your mattress. i was stressing the other night because you were crying and i had visions of you tossing yourself out.

i don't know if you'll even crawl--you may just start walking. you are dying to pull up on things like the couch, ottoman, the wall bookcase in your room, and even your crib. your little legs aren't strong enough to keep you up but if they were you'd be standing for sure. you get so excited when i hold you up like you are standing. you jump and smile and laugh. it's only a matter of time until you're completely mobile and while i'm so excited i know there will be no stopping you and life will get even crazier.

overall you're a pretty quiet baby. you smile constantly and grunt a little but not a ton of vocal action; however, last night in the tub i think you found your voice. of course i had no idea what you were saying but it was pure joy coming out of those little lips!

and your teeth! you had your bottom 2 at 5 months, then came your top two and now you're getting teeth on either side of the top ones--so 4 on top! what i don't like is that you grind them and it's so loud. i wince and get goosebumps when i hear it. i grab your cheeks like i'm puckering your lips to get you to stop but you keep doing it.

shoo flu, shoo!

riley, my poor girl, i have never seen you so sick. you got sick on daddy's birthday with a cough first. i remember coming back from picking up dinner and your sickness took a major nosedive just in the 20 minutes i was gone. i came home and daddy had you in the steamy bathroom because you're cough was so bad. you start coughing and crying and then you couldn't breathe. he was holding you and you were just moaning and crying. it was awful. that night your fever reached 103. your skin was on fire. it was a rough night with you waking up crying and miserable. i took you to the doctor the next morning and they "tickled your nose" with a q-tip--that was the flu test. sure enough . .. positive.

i started feeling bad that day and then it hit me like a ton of bricks thursday morning. thank heavens mae mae came over to help because i could barely care for you girls. after a few doses of tamiflu, cough medicine, and tylenol, you were getting back to your old self.

the flu took spencer down on thursday too. another nose tickle and positive flu test. good grief! spencer, you did the best of all of us. thursday was really you're only bad day. that night you just wanted to be held and cuddled. you slept on my chest from 5-5:30, and it felt so good to hold you.

daddy had a snow day on friday so he was home to help get you girls better. we were all feeling okay by the weekend but we're still on the road to recovery with lingering coughs and runny noses. we're definitely getting flu shots this year.