January Milestones

Another month has passed again. My babies keep right on growing without ever looking back. So bittersweet :). On January 19, the twins turned 23 months, and on the 27th, Isabella turned 4 months.

This month, Gabe mastered his phonics. He had it pretty much down pat in the beginning on January, but he can now rattle off his letter sounds without even pausing to think. We like to try and confuse him by rapid-fire drilling letters and mixing them up. It never works-- he's a pro. I'd like to think that early letter and phonics mastery will correlate to early reading, but that's probably getting way ahead of ourselves. Gabe's launguage development has been impressing us in other ways. His pronunciation is becoming more clear, he is using "self-centered" pronouns (i.e. "me"), he has an expressive vocabulary of over 200 words, he is answering questions, pluralizing, is spontaneously imitating new words, and is starting to use prepositions. Gabe also likes to participate in singing songs by singing the last word in each verse of the songs he is familiar with. Gabe has been getting a kick out of naming people. He loves to shout the names of everyone in the room (including the dog). Once he has gone over everyone's names about five times, he'll move on to those not present, "Daddy work! Daddyyyyyyyy! Papa! Gram home?". Gabe has also started trying to memorize his books. His favorite book (and has been for many months) is Go Dog, Go!. On many a morning, Gabe has been found trying to read this book to himself. Overheard: "Yellow dog up. Green dog down. Dog car. Go car! Red light. Stop. Green light. Go car. Go!"

Gabe has been working more with using utensils at the table. He has his own bowl, spoon, and fork now, and he's getting pretty good at it. Overall, I'd have to say that I think this is his weakest area, but it's probably all my fault. I just hate messes, and all this "practice" isn't helping things. What else isn't helping is Gabe's decreased appetite and increased pickiness with foods. To top it off, the bugger has started throwing all of his food off his tray as soon as he's finished eating. I have to anticipate when he's finished and immediately clear the tray or the food quickly covers my kitchen table and floor. Such a boy!

Gabe has officially learned how to jump. Ever since figuring it out, he has been my little jumping bean. He has also been kicking really well (favoring his right foot) and learning how to catch a ball with two hands. He has been so active and rough and tumble, always running and climbing over everything, throwing himself to and fro, that he's given himself his first black eye. It's not merely a bruise. It's a full on shiner, and he's been wearing it with pride for the past two and a half weeks.

Socially, Gabe has been playing with his friends and not merely beside them. Parallel play is almost a thing of the past, as now Gabe mostly enjoys playing catch and chase with companions that are slightly older than him.

Ariana has been desperately wanting to be a big girl this month. I feel like she has suddenly become much more aware of what she is capable of, and she's trying to reach her full potential. Sometimes, in the past, I've felt like I was carrying dead weight trying to get Ari to practice new skills. Now, she wants to learn new things so she can be on par with the other kids her age.

Since seeing Gabe practicing eating with a spoon, Ari has been wanting to eat with a spoon all by herself. I only allow her to do this with certain foods (like macaroni and cheese and applesauce) where she's sure to have more success than not, but does a great job when given the chance (both with scooping and with bringing the spoon to her mouth). I love to see her budding independence!

This month, Ari has been trying to pull up to sit and crawl. Although she has not succeeded in these efforts yet, the fact that she is trying is half the battle! I often see Ari trying to grab on to the edge of an ottoman or the coffee table to pull herself up. It's an awesome oblique/ab excercise, and it shows -- Ari has fab abs! Not kidding, she is ripped. Ari's sitting is always getting better. She is getting much better balance, as now she is often able to play with toys for extended periods while in the sitting or prop sitting position. It should be noted, however, that Ari does sometimes fall out of a sitting position and needs a minute or two to get her bearings when first put in a sit.

At the park, Ari wants nothing more than to slide down the big slide. She will do this over and over, wearing you out completely in the process. She also loves to play in the sand, which is disgusting (think how many kittys have peed in that sandbox) but makes me oh so happy at the same time, because it shows how far she's come since her texture aversion to sand.

Ari has also been successfully identifying family members this month, using her hand to point at each person as they are named. She has been following more simple commands, such as "arms up" when I go to pick her up, and "put your hand through [the sleeve]" when I am putting her shirt on. Ever increasingly, she is showing understanding of what is being said to her.

Recently, one of Ariana's favorite things to do before going to bed is playing peek-a-boo. This is no ordinary game of peek-a-boo. Ariana has just figured out how to lift up her bumper to spy on Mommy and Daddy after she's been tucked in. She thinks she is so sly when she's peeking out at us from underneath her crib bumper. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it just cracks me up to see her mischeviously peeking out at me with a big grin on her face like she's the cat that just ate the canary. So cute!

Ariana has been getting very possessive of her toys. She doesn't just submit when Gabe tries to take them away anymore. This is a good thing, even though it leads to many tantrums and tears, because she is much more motivated to get up and moving. That said, Ari loves to share, just as long as she gets the toy right back.

Isabella is still a wonderful baby! I count my blessings every day that I have such a sweet and content bundle of love as her. Every day she expresses her contentment by squealing, cooing and giggling. She loves to laugh, and she's already ticklish pretty much everywhere on her chubby little bod. She loves to be bounced, sung to, and of course, held. The only times Bella gets irritable are when she's hungry and tired (and who could blame her?). At these times, she won't settle for anything shy of being nursed. Yup, I'm the pacifier. And it's paying off in the growth department: 15 lbs. 7 oz. and 24.5 in. at her 4 month check-up (85th and 60th percentiles respectively). And it may be a little unorthodox, but can I just say that (almost as much as she loves to nurse) I love to nurse her. I didn't get to nurse my twins due to their prematurity and oral motor delays, so this is such a pleasure for me. It is such a bonding experience for both of us. So special.

This month, Isabella has been such a little social creature. She is already loving to interact with strangers, although she definitely recognizes her mommy and daddy. She enjoys social and frolic play, loves the mirror, and vocalizes in response to others.

Isabella has been sitting her Bumbo seat. She loves being in a sitting position, so she can witness everything that's going on. She's been kicking her legs much higher when she's on her back, and she's getting super close to grabbing her feet. She can hold her head and chest up pretty well while she's on her tummy. And although she hasn't officially rolled yet, she is just days away, it seems. She call roll from her back to her side and from her tummy to her (almost) back. She usually teeters on her side, heading in either direction, and then plunks back over. She's trying so hard, and it's dang cute.

Isabella loves grabbing and shaking her rattles and putting them in her mouth. For that matter, she loves putting anything in her mouth, especially her hand and short arm. She's happiest with her little fist and little elbow both stuck in her mouth, covered in drool.

I need to mention that this month, as is to be expected in the winter (if you can call 60 degrees winter), all three of the kids got a nasty cold. We were congested for about two weeks, with sore throats, and low grade fevers (Isabella included), and it was no fun. Thankfully, it has passed, and we're none the worse for it, so onward and upward.