July Milestones

In July, Gabe & Ari turned 29 months on the 19th, and Isabella turned 10 months on the 27th.

This month, Gabe has been talking so much! He carries on full conversations with complete sentences, and I think he sounds coherent to most people by now. The only time people might not know what he's saying is when he combines some words by slurring them together ("I don't want --> "Iaowant") or when he starts talking about something completely unexpected and at times irrelevant to the conversation taking place :). But it feels kind of strange to finally have someone in the house that replies to me during the day (I'm so used to talking to babies that just make noises). His favorite thing to do lately is memorize movies and books. He pretty much has the entire 'Cars' and 'Air Buddies' movies memorized including sound effects and soundtrack. His mind is like a steel trap, and he just parrots everything we say, which is why I hear him tell me everyday how it's "freaking hot" outside (thanks Daddy!). Don't get me wrong, Gabe definitely still sounds like a toddler sometimes, and I love that too, like when how he calls 'hamburgers' "hangamers" and 'tomato' "ponano" -- I don't discourage that one bit. Gabe's personality is starting to show so much as he's growing. He is starting to sometimes exhibit shyness when new people are around. He already has an acute awareness of privacy, and he will demand that the door be closed when he's on the potty. If Isabella happens to crawl over to the bathroom and push the door open, he's burst into tears until she's out. And when my sister who will remain nameless was here the last time, she started smacking her butt while dancing. Gabe saw this and got the most embarrassed look on his face. When my sister then tried to apologize to him, he looked away in humiliation and wouldn't make eye contact with her for some time after. Who would've thought a 2 year old would know the difference? He also has periods of bossiness, and he can be a real tattletale at times -- earning him the nickname "hall monitor". More often than not, it actually comes in handy because he saves Isabella from quite a few potential mishaps by eagerly alerting me or taking away her coveted weapon of mass destruction. While I'm in the shower, I'll hear this "No Bella! No eat it! Garbage Bella!" as Gabe proudly trots into the bathroom and disposes of some soggy ripped page from a magazine. Generally though, he's just a really good boy; eager to please, affectionate, inquisitive, and rambunctious.
This month, Gabe has been wanting to be more independent. In particular, he likes to get into and out of his carseat and his booster seat at the table by himself, and he likes to open and close the front door to let people in and out. He gets really frustrated when anyone tries to do these things for him, and he won't relent until he gets his way, shouting "Gabe do it!" over and over and over. He has also been doing great using table utensils to eat as well as using his napkin to wipe his hands and mouth. It's nice to have at least one of my children stay relatively clean by the end of a meal. Ariana has been really getting around using her belly crawl this month. Instead of just using her arms (as he was in the video from earlier), she has really been starting to use her legs and knees to kick and help her gain momentum. I love watching her get to where she wants to go, even if she does make a huge mess as soon as she gets there. She loves emptying cabinets and my purse. When I catch her doing it, she gets a huge grin on her face as if she is just delighted to be the one breaking the rules now! Speaking of her budding independence, I decided to start introducing Ari to the potty, and she LOVES it. She is ecstatic at the mention of the word 'potty'. We usually only put her on it once a day, at bedtime, but she has been consistently going potty whenever she's on it. There have only been a handful of times when she hasn't gone #1 and #2 in the potty once on it. This is huge, because Ariana has always had problems with constipation, so I was dreading the day she would associate the potty with discomfort. Fortunately, I find that it's been quite the opposite -- I think it's easier for her to go in a seated position, and she feels like such a big girl that I think that motivates her to actually try to go. Not only that, but she's been able to balance quite well sitting on it by herself! If she slouches, I just ask her to sit up and she perks right up again. I will decide to pursue it further when I figure out a way for her to communicate to me when she has to go throughout the day. Ariana has also been trying to articulate much more recently. She has been heard jabbering consonants frequently (especially when we let her talk to people on the phone). She likes to say "hi" or "ha" for 'hi', "dadadada" for 'Daddy' and sometimes 'all done', and "ba" for 'bye', 'block', 'ball', and 'book'. I feel like she is actually starting to try to express herself verbally now, which is really half the battle for her.

Isabella has decided this month that she doesn't want to be a baby anymore. Somehow, she got the memo that baby food tastes awful (when she used to love it), and she has been turing her nose up at it ever since. Not only does she do that, but she'll slap the spoon, shake her head, scream, and yell "dododododo", which clearly means 'no'. So, she's been eating just regular table food -- whatever we eat -- and almost just as much too. I am so surprised how much and how fast that baby can eat with just 4 teeth (2 top and 2 bottom). Certain foods that even Ariana won't eat now, Bella will devour.

Bella has also started giving closed-mouthed kisses and blowing kisses this month. She gives kisses as she says "um-ma!", which sounds like a big 'ol smooch. She has been waving hi and bye, giving 5, and pointing to things that she wants. Her words are 'dada', 'mama', 'dO' (no), 'ba' (bye & book), 'baa' (ball), and she has been trying to imitate whatever else we say too. Usually, when we are encouraging Ari to pronouce a word by repeating it over and over, Isabella will tend try and steal her thunder by imitating us first.

Gross motor wise, Bella has started cruising (walking along furniture), and 4-point crawling (up on all fours!), but her preferred method of transportation is still belly crawling. And it's no wonder why, because she is so efficient at it -- really, she looks like a baby crocadile chasing her prey. I, personally, can't wait until she walks, so we don't ruin all of her pretty clothes. Isabella has also started climbing furniture, and she can climb right up our stairs. Isabella, though still so good-natured, is also getting an attitude. She will let you know when she doesn't like something -- whether it's being put down, if she's bored, if you take away one of the dangerous and/or dirty objects she thinks are her toys, or whatever. She likes to scream and, recently, hit. I don't know where she learned hitting, because not even Gabe does that anymore, but it's become a reality for us. If Gabe or Ari tries to grab a toy from her, she will slap them silly across the face, while yelling "dOdO". It was funny the first time, but she's been getting reprimanded for it, which kind of baffles me. I never had to reprimand or discipline Ari and Gabe until they were about a year and a half. It's just starting kind of early with her (but then again, so is everything else). She's growing up too fast!