Keeping up with Alette and Abria: February 2011

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

We spent the morning at a friend's house - playing games, drinking tea and decorating cookies. The girls loved the chance to dress up!

Abria's energy flagged by the end of dinner. Here, she reclines in my arms but still manages to serve herself ice-cream dessert.

A very full and happy 5 year old!
Our valentine's day dinner out used to be a romantic affair for two-now it is a rambunctious dinner at the Pop Shoppe, a local kid-friendly restaurant. What's better than pink pancakes?

Pictures from the (recent) past

The snow and cold have been dreadful-so anytime it was above freezing we went out. Sometimes it was only as far as the 'pretzel man' at Rutgers, which considering he is parked only two blocks away, can take an astonishingly long time. The girls have to step on every block of snow/ice, run around every tree or pole, pick up random sticks....

Over the christmas break we took the girls bowling. Alette was adamant that she did not want to go...too bad. However, we all had a great time. They set up bumpers and even a slide for the ball so there was really no way the girls could avoid hitting a pin. I've blocked out the memory of our scores, but Abria and I did tie...for last place.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

5 Year Stats-She's above average!

It is hard to imagine that 5 years have gone by since Alette was a newborn baby. We trecked to the doctor every month or so, she was constantly weighed, measured, poked, prodded...Now, a month after she turned five, I finally remembered to make an appointment.
Since birth Alette has been at the 50th percentile for height-despite having 6ft tall mom and a slightly taller dad. Most of the time, her weight was in the same percentile-in other words, a perfectly average daughter. No longer. Suddenly she has shot up to the 90th percentile in height and 75th for weight. I figured a crazy growth spurt was going on as she went from size 4 to size 6 in about 4 months. I nearly fell off my chair laughing when Dr. McHugh said she must be a good eater. Yes, she has a hearty appetite (when she chooses) but is still sorely lacking in variety. In the meantime, thank God for good health for my little girl!

Recent Words of Wisdom

18months

At 18months, Abria weighs a whopping 28 1/2 lbs and is 34" tall. She is a bundle of energy-she loves dancing and clapping to music, scribbling (unfortunatley not always on paper), chasing her sister, and playing with her toys. She's using more and more words but still communicates primarily by pointing and making the sign for 'more'. She's had a continual cold for the past few weeks, I've never used so much tissue in my life. Morning naps are a thing of the past :( but thankfully she is still taking a long afternoon nap.

Okay, it's not a REAL gingerbread house...

Our attempts at a gingerbread house was a fiasco this year. We mixed the dough, rolled it out, cut the patterns, put it together...only to have it fall apart. So we put it together again....only to have it fall apart again. I even tried to use duct tape and the glue gun. Finally we ditched it. I was determined to have a house for Alette to decorate so we built a cardboard house, then 'glued' on graham crackers with icing. So far it is till standing although the candy decorations are slowly disappearing.

Abria

Our last dr. appointment was not fun. Abria had a major fever and was feeling rather rotten. So the immunizations were put off a week...nothing like procrastinating the awful stuff. She's dropped to the 90th percentile for weight (although with her puffy winter fleece on-below-she looks huge!) and is off the chart for height. Not a huge suprise with a 6ft. tall mom! She loves her books, turning on and off the lights, climbing onto tables, and petting the cat. She's walking....abit. She's still pretty convinced that walking should only be done when holding onto someone's hand.

Abria

Politics According to a 3year Old

I was listening to B.Obama on NPR last week and decided to further Alette's awareness of politics by engaging her in discussion. This is how it went:
me: Alette, Barak Obama was on the radio, he's going to be our new president. Isn't that good?
alette: Obama's good?
me: yes, he is. Mommy and Daddy like him a lot. We think he's good.
alette: he listens to God?
me: I think so. We're excited that he's going to be the president.
alette: I want duck for president.
I think we have a ways to go before she's up to speed on her political saviness. Who can blame her for wanting a fun loving, mischevious duck for president though?

Introducing Abria Hope

During pregnancy I prayed for a quick delivery and a nonfussy eater. Abria came into this world on Friday, July 18 at 9:00pm, half an hour after we arrived at the hospital. With a full head of dark hair, and a voracious appetite, she behaved nothing like her older sister. Abria's now nearly 18lbs, and is a happy, content baby. She loves chewing on her hands, squealing, shrieking, and taking baths. We are still waiting for her to sleep through the night! She doesn't always need to get fed, but seems to delight in babbling and squealing at all hours. Somehow her big drooly smile makes it all worthwhile.