Gabe has been really active, as usual. He still very much enjoys going to the park and frequently requests the outing. He's getting really good at going down the slide by himself (without wiping out at the bottom), and can climb up all the playground steps without any help. Gabe is just beginning to figure out how to jump. A couple of times, I let him jump on the sofa just so he could feel the "lift off" sensation when he sprang up. One last gross motor acheivement he's made is getting into the carseat on his own. Granted, I sometimes give him a little boost as he's struggling to climb up, but for the most part, he gets there by himself. I have to say, this has been a relief, because Gabe's carseat is in the back row of the minivan, and it takes a bit of maneuvering to squeeze back there while lifting him into his carseat. It's much easier on the lower back to only have to buckle him in.
Gabe is still really interested in practicing his letters and numbers. Although the idea of there being two different symbols for every letter in the alphabet is still a confusing idea for him (upper and lower case), Gabe has moved on to discovering phonics. For Christmas, Gabe got a Leapfrog Letter Factory phonics DVD, and he will watch the heck out of that thing. He understands that each letter makes a sound, and he's getting really good at putting each sound to its respective letter. It's still very much a work in progress, but he's getting there, and he loves it. Gabe's also learning to count -- not just rote counting from memory, but really understanding how many of something there is. As in, he knows we have two hands and five fingers on each hand. One of Gabe's favorite games is to identify people by name. I'm always kind of impressed by this, because he frequently can tell you what someone's name is after only hearing it once or by overhearing it being used in conversation. Same goes for animal or vehicle sounds; often I don't even remember teaching him the things he seems to know. Like when I tried to stump him the other day by asking him what sound a rabbit makes (here I'm thinking that I don't even know this). He paused a second then said "hop, hop" and jumped as he said this. He's a pretty observant kid. He's the one finding the "green light" on the smoke detector, the "red octagon" at the stop sign, or the "star" on someone's tiny tattoo. It's a neat perspective.
Gabe has gotten a tiny bit better about hitting and throwing, but I know as soon as I finish typing this sentence it will probably change again. Screaming behavior is still in full force... and so is the whining. But believe me, I'm very grateful for his sweet and fun times, and there are many -- not complaining at all.
Gabe's communication is improving vastly all the time. He is becoming much more comprehensible and he is increasingly combining words to make 3 or more word sentences. It is no longer such a struggle for him to say the things that he wants as opposed to signing and whining. If I had to choose my two favorite things that he says now, it would have to be "me, me, me, me!" (in response to 'who wants to eat?' or other like querie) and drumroll... wait for it... "Luvoo" (yes, as in 'I love you'!). I'm in love.
I've started introducing the fork and spoon at mealtimes. It's going okay. Forking makes more sense to him than scooping. He is still attempting to scoop by smashing his food with the back of his spoon. He gets the food in his mouth pretty consistently. It might take some time, but we're getting there. And truthfully, I'm glad I waited till now, when he's more coordinated, to persue this, because I don't like messes that much.
This month, Gabe likes: Christmas lights, car rides, the park, letters, numbers, CARS (his collection of matchbox cars is dwindling one by one because he hoards and hides them), getting tickled, his videos, medicine droppers, Ari & Bella (yay!), steak & orange juice (and other foods -- these are only the new ones), geting tickled, hamming it up for the camera, showering with Daddy, his ball pit, and his tumbling mat.
This month, Gabe dislikes: getting dressed, being put down by Daddy, when he doesn't get his way (i.e. get to watch his movie or get to tote his blankie around), and having to interrupt playtime (i.e. to eat, go home).
Ariana is making improvements, but as usual, they are more subtle. She is still rolling to get around. Only now, she is making some efforts to bring her knees up under her to get into a crawl position. When she does this, she usually gets really excited, and in her excitement, she rolls over (thereby leaving the crawl position). Ariana is also sitting for much much longer periods without support. It is pretty amazing how long she can sit if she is focusing. When Ari is concentrating really hard on something, she sticks her little tongue out. In speech therapy, we are trying to teach her the command "tongue in", so she is more aware of it. As you can imagine, with all that time spent with her tongue out (in combination with low oral motor coordination due to the CP), Ari still drools quite a bit. We used to just use a cloth bib to save her shirts, but we trying a new approach now that she's older. We've been telling her to "wipe your mouth," which she does using her little hot pink and turquoise blue wrist sweatbands that our Occupational and Speech Therapists bought for her. Ari responds to both requests by putting her hand in her mouth (essntially pointing to her mouth or tongue), and this works well enough, because the tasks get accomplished in the process. But back to the topic of sitting for extended periods, it's really neat, because I often forget how long she's been sitting there without any support. I've stopped counting the minutes and seconds. She can even play with a toy while she's sitting there. What's still hard for Ariana is sitting somewhere that only provdes minimal support or poor support, such as a restaurant highchair, grocery cart, or even her stroller if she isn't strapped in. Her Physical Therapist explained to me that this is because Ariana only has trunk control in a complete sitting or foward sitting position -- not on the different grades of leaning positions. Therefore, if she attempts to utilize any minimal support provided (like a low back in a grocery cart), she loses control, and reverts to her extension patterns. It's just a matter of time before Ari will get strong enough to support herself in these enviroments too. Once she fully masters sitting, we can start working on reaching up and to the sides while in the sitting position. Practically all of our physical therapy excersises work on strengthening her trunk to these ends (and ultimately, for walking).
While Ariana has always been very expressive, she's recently become even more so. We have adapted ways of communicating with each other, because she is currently nonverbal. When I ask her if she wants something and the answer is 'yes', she'll grin widely, clasp her hands together, raise her eyebrows, and kick her legs. If it's 'no', she'll throw her arm out as if to say 'get it away' (it's similar to the ASL sign for 'all done'). She also has sounds that accompany these gestures. Ariana loves to imitate people. She does back-and-forth turn taking with making sounds, and she often comes close to approximating what someone is trying to get her to say. She tries so hard, it's really adorable. We are working on identifying objects with pointing (i.e. "which one is the doggy?") as well as trying to incorporate some simple sign language and gesturing (i.e. clapping, signing 'please', and pointing to body parts -- which she loves!).
Ari is still eating poorly. She improved for about a week. Now, not so much. Her appetite is so fickle. One day she loves a food, and the next day, she acts like it's poison. Sometimes, her preferences change from one
bite to the next. Oh, and I put Ariana back on breast milk. Other than the fact that it's the healthiest thing she gets in her diet, I have many reasons. She is constipated chronically, and while the breastmilk doesn't seem to be helping this, it's not making it worse either (like cow's milk). I am hoping that the antibodies will help boost her weak immune system. This past week, Gabe got sick (bad sick) and Ari and Bella missed it (so far!). Lastly, I have an oversupply, and Isabella won't take a bottle to save her life. So, I was pumping and storing every night for no reason until Ari started drinking it. Waste not, want not.
This month, Ariana likes: pointing to her hair, being called "pretty", being sung to and singing into her microphone, telephones, remote controls, toys that make sounds or light up, getting tickled, watching Gabe get tickled, sweet foods, her ball pit, sliding down slides at the park, getting makeup put on (yes, really), and when people talk in silly voices or make funny faces.
This month, Ariana dislikes: going to bed, eating foods that are not sweet, when Gabe screams or takes away her toys, when she is sitting for too long, being left out, and not getting what she wants (i.e. the phone, to shred the magazine).
On December 27, Isabella turned three months! I can't believe it. I am loving this stage though (no surprise, seeing as though she is my most easy baby). There have already been so many new developments in the last week, but I'm saving them for next month's post, because I told myself I would stick to December milestones only, or this post will go on for days. Anyway, Bella was 14 lbs. at 3 months old. She is a chunky baby, and I love it. She has about five rolls on each leg and three chins. I told you -- she loves to eat.
This month, Isabella has been cooing and smiling and laughing. She has only belly laughed a handful of times, so far, but it was so cool when she did. Luckily, Jake and I both got to witness her first laugh. Isabella is very personable, and will socialize with anyone that makes eye contact with her. I wish I was talking to her right now instead of typing this post because she is just so tempting. Bella also loves to squeal. I think she enjoys the sound of her own squeals as much as I do, because she can entertain herself pretty well just doing that.
Isabella has been getting so much stronger. She can now pull her head up when she's on her tummy. I have to say that tummy time is still no walk in the park for her though. She gets pretty fussy, and doesn't like to stay there for long. I really think this has something to do with the fact that her tummy is just so huge that she is essentially balancing on it and supporting her whole body weight on her belly alone (I guess it doesn't help that she's doing this with only one forearm and hand). Naturally, much pooping and spitting up ensues in this position. Doesn't sound too comfortable, huh? Bella still perfers to be on her back, kicking happily, or in a propped up sitting position on the couch. The more people she can see from her vantage point, the happier she is. Which leads me into my next announcement that she has enough head and trunk strength to sit propped up, whether it be against the couch back or for a couple minutes in the boppy pillow.
Isabella has also been grabbing at her toys recently. I messed with her swing by dangling a rattle from some links across the top, and she's been having at it. At first, I thought it was a fluke that she wound up with the rattle in her hand. But after subsequent repetitions of this rattle and link shaking behavior, I realized that she was, in fact, playing with it!
Isabella's schedule has been getting more regular. She still eats every three to four hours during the day (I try to feed her often when given the opportunity, so she won't be hungry at night), and she seems to be taking three naps. Normally, they aren't long naps (more that an hour), unless I wrap her in the swaddle blanket. Speaking of the swaddle blanket or miracle blanket: can I just say that I highly recommend it? I'm going to preface this next statement by saying that I'm aware that Bella could shift on me at any time (please, don't sweetie), but Isabella has been consistently sleeping through the night. Starting at a little after two months old, Isabella has been sleeping from 8:30 or 9 PM to as late as 8:30 AM. Yes, she has gone a full 12 hours many a night. Granted, sometimes, she wakes up at 6:30 AM, but not usually. After we put the twins to bed, I nurse Bella and then wrap her snug in her swaddle blanket, put her in her crib, turn on her womb sounds teddy bear and her mobile, and walk away. She'll watch her mobile and then peacefuully fall asleep. In the morning, she wakes up cooing. I know. I am very lucky. My baby is sooo nice, and she clearly loves me. All this does not mean that I sleep 12 hours -- I don't. But my baby would allow it, and that's all that matters.
This month, Isabella likes: being in a sitting position, when people talk to her, sucking her fingers, watching Gabe and Ari, mirrors, her mobile, eating, and taking baths.
Gabe loved jumping & dancing on the giant jumpolene that played music.
Ariana bounced right along with a little help from Mommy. 
Ariana peeked out from within the bounce maze to wave to Mommy.
Daddy climbed up the slide dozens of times; rope in one hand, toddler in the other.
Gabe slid down the 20 foot slide all by himself.
Ari loved the slide so much that she would whine whenever it was Gabe's turn.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Jacob and I celebrated our anniversary by going to dinner at Windows on the Green at The Phoenician resort. We ate a six course dinner, and every bite was pure gourmand heaven. It was our first night out without any babies in a long time (thanks to Isabella's new sleeping schedule), which made the evening that much more novel.
