Big Girl Bed

Josie has been really enjoying climbing onto furniture, especially Sophie's bed. Sophie still sleeps in a toddler bed, so it's really easy for Josie to get in there. The two of them will climb on the bed and play. Josie especially loves doing somersaults on the bed. Since she's been climbing into bed she has been attempting to climb into her own bed. Of course she can't do this because she had crib rails on the bed. For days she would try to get into her bed. She would grab the railing, then put her foot on the rail and then onto her mattress. Of course that was as far she got because there was nothing else to help her climb all the way up. Joe and I discussed it and thought that this was her way of saying she was ready for a toddler bed. The next day Joe took down her crib side and put up the toddler rail. Josie was so excited! 

The first night went pretty well. She slept for about 45 minutes and then started crying. We brought her downstairs to get a drink and to play so she could tire herself out. When we took her back upstairs she laid right down and we didn't hear a peep out of her for the rest of the night. I of course had to go check on her to make sure that she was still in bed and doing okay. She was sleeping peacefully. 

We had an hour delay from school so we were all able to sleep in a little longer. I went into Josie's room at about 8:20 to wake her up. When I opened her door and called her name she popped her head up, sat up, and then climbed down out of her bed and walked over to me. She seemed pretty proud of herself.

The second night was a little tougher. I first laid her down she lasted about five minutes before she was at her door crying. We tried laying her back down and the same thing happen. Once we brought her back downstairs to get a drink and to tire herself out she was fine. She slept the rest of the night with no other issues. 

The third night she once again was out bed five minutes after we laid her down. We put her back in bed and we didn't hear from her again until the morning. That was the last night she got out of bed. She might babble to herself for a few minutes before falling asleep, but that is about it. She has really surprised and impressed us. We thought this might be a difficult transition, but just like when we took away her pacifier she handled it like a champ. We are proud of our little girl!

2 Years

I can't believe my baby girl is two!

(Yes, I took a picture of her right before midnight and right after midnight. I am a creep like that.)

Josie is 22 Months

Josie's motor skills keep improving each day. She is still wobbly at times, especially when she is tired. Also, she generally still keeps her arms up for balance when walking. It is so wonderful seeing her walking everywhere. She's getting so fast that she's practically running. When she falls down she picks her self right back up again instead of crawling like she used to. 

Coming down the stairs is a skill that Josie still struggles with. She doesn't like coming down on her belly because she wants to see where she's going or at least see us. We worked on trying to get her to come down on her butt, however she gets distracted after a step or two. She really just wants to walk down, but that doesn't quite work. She usually just ends up trying to leap into our arms. 

Josie is getting really good at climbing. We used to keep a stool by the couch for her to step on to climb up onto the couch, but now she can do it all on her own. She also enjoys climbing in and out of laundry baskets. It's really cute, unless there is laundry in it. She also tries to climb into the bathtub by herself. We always keep a good eye on her while she's around water so this isn't a big deal, but we really have to watch her now.

Josie loves climbing on the couch and relaxing against pillows. She has really upped her 'couch potato' game!

Speaking of Josie's climbing skills, Josie fell out of her crib at the beginning if the month (November 2nd). I heard her stirring in her room after a nap. Then she got quiet again, so I thought she went back to sleep. The next thing I knew I heard a loud thud. I ran up the stairs and found her on the floor crying. She was fine, but I was completely freaked out. Joe lowered her crib right away.

The biggest thing this month that happened was Josie kicking her pacifier habit. She has been more or less playing with it for the past two months, but it still was the easiest way to soothe her when she was upset. We realized it was really just a crutch for us instead of her, so one day we decided to go ahead and collect them all. She was fine without them the whole day as well as during her nap time and at night. She didn't seem upset by them being gone. She did find one hidden somewhere and put it in her mouth, but didn't fuss when we took it away. At the babysitter's house she stole a paci from the younger boy who was there, but I think it was again to play with instead of to soothe her. I'm really impressed that it was so easy to get rid of the pacifier. Sophie still used one until she was 2 1/2. I still find it funny that Josie was more ready to be rid of it then we were ready for her to be rid of it. My baby is growing up!

Josie had a head cold at the end of the month. She was so stopped up and could barely breathe. There was a lot of snoring and drooling from her. One night she woke up and was fussing so I brought her down to the couch to sleep. I slept next to her and I woke up to Sophie the next morning crawling on to the couch to lay down with us. She listened to Josie snoring and told me that Josie sounded like an elephant! Hilarious!

Having a head cold made Thanksgiving pretty crummy for Josie. We went to her first Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Julie's house. Josie was not having it and fussed half of the time. She barely ate anything. The dinner at my parent's house went a little more smoothly. She still didn't eat much though. She did end up feeling better a few days later on my dad's birthday. 

We tried getting a picture of the 3 girls together. That didn't go well at all!

While Josie's gross motor skills are improving, speech isn't so much. She still jabbers like she always has and does randomly say a few new words here and there but nothing is used regularly. I'm told that with speech usually there is an explosion of vocabulary after going through speech for a while, so I'm hoping that will be the case for her.

Even though Josie doesn't say much I know she understands us. She will do things that we ask her to such as to dance, find her lovey or get a ball. She does ignore us a lot though, which I think is her choice - more of a selective hearing thing instead of not understanding. She often surprises us with things that she can do that we thought she couldn't. She always keeps us guessing. 

We had a snow day this month. I was so excited for the girls to go play out in the snow. We really didn't take Josie out into it last year since she was still young and not walking. It wasn't the wonderful experience I was hoping for though. Getting her packed up into her snow bibs was difficult, especially since they were a little too small. She wanted nothing to do with hats or gloves. When I brought her outside she kept falling over. It was hard for her to move in the snow bibs, plus walking on uneven surfaces, like snow, is difficult. Even when I would try to let her sit in the snow she would fall backwards. Stupid snow bibs! She enjoyed eating the snow just like her big sister. Hopefully our next trip out into the snow will be better.

Josie's new favorite thing to do is grab the cord on the lamp in the living room and pull it so she can turn off the light. Last month she kept trying to do this, but couldn't get it turned off. She is so pleased with herself for being able to do it now. 

Here are more pictures from this month:

Silly faces

Josie is able to open the front door. It is a good thing we have multiple locks for that door!

Josie gets so excite when Cosmo lets her touch or pet her. 

Halloween

Josie is 21 Months

Josie is walking all of the time now. She is getting faster every day. She is still wobbly and falls often, but we see improvement all the time. We are so proud of her!

Josie has started to become interested in climbing onto the couch. We have a stool that we put next to the couch so she can step on it and climb up. She looks so proud of her self whenever she gets up there. It's funny to see her snuggled up against blankets and pillows on the couch next to her sister or Joe.

Speech is going okay for Josie. She continues to add words to her vocabulary. She still doesn't talk very much, but does surprise us with different words from time to time. We are still waiting for the 'speech explosion' to happen. I've been told that it is common for kids who are working on multiple skills (like Josie working on speech and gross motor skills) to focus more on one skill than on both. This seems to be the case for Josie. She is making a lot more progress with PT than speech. She still has work to do with PT, but not as much as with speech. She is working hard in both areas though (and not usually enjoying it) and we are proud of her. 

Josie with her speech and PT therapists. She likes them even though they make her work. 

Ever since Josie started talking and babbling, Sophie has wanted to hear her say her name. Of course with Josie's speech issues this hasn't really happened. One night after everyone had gone to bed Josie was fussy. I brought her downstairs to get a drink. I went to go get her milk and left her in the living room. I heard her saying "eeeeeee." I looked at her and she was staring at and reaching for a picture of Sophie, all while repeating "eeeee." So even though 'Sophie' is hard for her to say she still has a way of saying her name. It is really cute. Eee for Sophie!

There was a bad stomach bug that had been going around this month. Poor Josie ended up getting it (she has the worst luck when it comes to bugs and illnesses). It lasted for a few days and ended up giving her a horrible diaper rash. 

Josie has started crying when I leave her at Janice's in the morning. She has never really had separation anxiety when I leave her there. I don't know if it is because she has been sick or what. It breaks my heart though. I already have a hard time leaving the girls, so seeing her cry for me is horrible. Janice says that she stops crying soon after I leave, which is a relief. I just hate seeing my baby so upset.    

We did two of our traditional fall activities this month: Boo Fest at Kinman Farms and Treat and Eat night at my school. We had a great time at the farm. We walked around, fed the animals, rode in the barrel ride, went through the corn maze, and took a hay ride to go pick some pumpkins. Josie helped pick out a nice one! We had a really nice time. 

Josie wasn't that interested in Treat and Eat night. We spent some time in my classroom waiting for the event to get started. When the even started, we went downstairs to join in the fun. She seemed okay at first (besides wanting nothing to do with her headband), but started getting upset after about 45 minutes. There were so many people there (I think she has a little social anxiety like her momma).

Here are some more pictures from the month:

A glimpse of teenage Josie.

Josie loves when I play music on my phone. She gets a huge grin and walks over to it. She also enjoys grabbing the phone and putting it up to her ear so she can hear the music better. 

Those big, beautiful eyes!

These two love each other so much. 

Grandma Linda is a great grandma. She always helps us out when needed and loves Sophie and Josie so much. She has been super helpful with Josie's PT and speech appointments. She watches the girls at our house during those days and helps with scheduling future appointments. We couldn't do this all without her!

Now that Josie can walk around, she loves the park even more. 

Pacifiers are basically toys now. Her favorite thing to do is to put them completely in her mouth, which freaks out people who aren't used to it. 

Sophie used to always say that she was daddy's girl and Josie was mommy's girl. I usually was the one to put Josie to bed. This month though, Josie has wanted her dad more than me! She would reach for him at bed time and gave lots of belly laughs and snuggles. 

Joe had a day off of work so he took the girls to Totter's Otterville. There was barely anyone there and they had the ball pit all to themselves. They were in heaven!

Josie's lion lovey is one of her favorite possessions. She sleeps with it every night. She gets so excited whenever she sees it and will rub it all over her face. 

When Josie gets really tired, she will rub her eyes. She will do this with her hands, her lovey, or her pacifier. We know it is nap/bed time when she starts doing this. 

I had the bright idea to fill the girls' sandbox with beans so they could play in it throughout winter. I wasn't thinking about what a mess it would be. At least they girls like it. 

True sisters - playing together, fighting over things, and loving on each other.