All of the photos for this post are labeled “Caroline 16 months” because this morning I asked E “How old is Caroline now?” and he said “16 months”. It sounded right enough until I went to look up her 15 month milestones and realized THIS was her 15th monthday and I was getting ahead of myself. I guess when you abandon your baby for a week to go on vacation you forget things like her age. At least I got her name right.

(Speaking of vacation, I’ll be back to annoy the crap out of you will a zillion vacation pictures soon. You are going to HATE IT.)

From all of my parent’s reports, Caroline handled my absence pretty well. There might have been some crying and she had a few problems staying asleep all night but she luuuuuuvs her MorMor and Bumpa and is never going to forgive me when they go home. She ate like a horse and didn’t crack her head open so I’d say it was a raging success. Although it doesn’t really matter one bit, since I am NEVER LEAVING HER AGAIN. That week was fantastic but holy cow did I miss my babies.

Caroline is officially in the middle of a growth spurt and can no longer stand in front of our fridge when I open the doors or she’ll get conked right in the noggin. This makes her extremely angry, since standing in front of the fridge begging for food is one of her favorite hobbies. Other hobbies include jumping up and down on top of tall things and giving people heart attacks.

Likes include grapes, juice, clapping, kicking, standing on one leg, jumping, somersaults, slides, dogs, her grandparents, being held, OUTSIDE, animals, stairs, singing, basketball, hockey, dancing, noodles, apples, squeezy food pouches, shouting really loud and chairs.

Dislikes are bedtime, falling on her head, not being allowed to drink bath water, and not having food within reach constantly.

Cruisin'

Get out of my way!!

Crazy warm weather means bare feet on the patio

15 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Plays with ball – She’s an excellent kicker, but her throwing skills could use some work. No way she’s getting recruited for the Red Sox with her lousy aim.
Uses three words regularly – “Bah” means 15 different things, all involving food. But she also says mama, daddy, dog, hat, kitty, hi, and sings the Bubble Guppies theme song (sort of). She also signs hat, fish, more and please.
Walks backward – Yes. I made her do it so I wouldn’t accidentally lie to the interwebs.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Scribbles with a crayon – Yes, although she’d rather eat them.
Runs – Fast.
Adopts “no” as his favorite word – I have yet to hear her say “no”, although when she MEANS “no” there is absolutely no doubt about it. LITERALLY minutes after I wrote that she looked into my face and said “NO” when I asked if she wanted a carrot. Goodie.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
“Helps” around the house – She likes to sweep, throw things away and pick up toys.
Puts his fingers to his mouth and says “shhh” – She’s a super good mimic, so I probably could get her to do that…but I haven’t seen her do it yet.

Even though I have been telling people my kids are “three and one” for weeks now I don’t actually BELIEVE it. Three?! How can Evan be three?! Three so many years! Three is huge! Three is preschool and backpacks. Three is inside jokes and friends and opinions and ideas and favorites and independence. Three is clothes in size ginormous and shoes with huge rubber soles. Three is sitting in a chair at the dinner table. Three is repeating everything that comes out of my mouth.

Three is a kid who INSISTS he is too big for naps but falls asleep on the couch at 3 pm clutching his favorite blankie.

If you asked me RIGHT AT THIS SECOND how I like this age, I’d be very enthusiastic. It’s so great! He’s like a real human! He is kind and helpful and polite and is capable of understanding what I say and following directions. He was good for the babysitter. He’s super excited to see his grandparents next week. He is the best big brother ever. If he’s bored and whiny it’s easy to distract him with a game on my iPhone (BabyCenter needs to add “can unlock and correctly use a smart phone” to their list of milestones because it is HUGE) and I can finish Stroller Strides or shopping or whatever. It’s nice to have a kid I actually LIKE as well as love. Because other days – the ones where he hits me in the head with his sippy and throws himself on the floor at the mall and screams at me and I have to drag him out kicking and screaming – I still want to sell him to the circus. He is a wild beast who refuses to use his words or tell me what’s wrong or calm down. He will cry until he’s out of tears and then fake-cry until he can’t breathe. Oi, the fake crying is the WORST.

But really, there are more good days than bad and even the bad days are more like bad HOURS instead of days. He might stall at bedtime for a few minutes but he sleep all night. He isn’t the most adventurous eater but I’m not worried he’s going to starve to death. He likes to play trains with me but can also play by himself while I fold laundry or clean the kitchen. He still agrees to cuddles and kisses and tells me I’m pretty – even if his favorite game is telling me to make a sad face and then laughing at me. Three year olds are like walking, talking contradictions and life is never, ever boring.

Likes include his blankie, milk, cereal, bagels, cream cheese, running, slides, the mall, Target, friends, the dog, the cat, the iPad, bubbles, watching TV, trains, dinosaurs, snow, lollipops, Daddy, reading books, baby sister, and being carried when he is tired.

Dislikes include being woken up, watching “Mommy’s shows”, sharing, sticky hands, wiping his own butt, and being carried when he is NOT tired.

Having my picture taken is LAME.

Not even in a booster seat!

Plotting things

Obsessed with cereal

On the look out for cereal thieves

35 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Describes how two objects are used – Yes, he can talk about trains and Legos all day.
• Uses three to four words in a sentence – His sentences have gotten SO much longer and more complicated (but also way more understandable) in the past week or two. Almost every day E and I look at each other in amazement and how much Evan understands and repeats.
• Names two actions (e.g., skipping, jumping) – Yes, but his favorite is “Be quite guys, I’m SLEEPING” when he is pretending to sleep.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Hops and skips – He can hop hop hop but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him skip (or asked him to skip)
• Follows a two- or three-part command – Yes, and I am ABUSING THE CRAP out of this milestone when I need something thrown in the hamper or the trash or when Caroline needs something. He’s a great helper.
• Separates fairly easily from parents – I would have said no until last Saturday, but the morning after the babysitter put him to bed he woke up asking for her and told me to go away. So YEAH WHO NEEDS PARENTS?
• Rides a tricycle – He hasn’t tried since last summer, but I’m betting he’s going to be a cycling machine once the weather warms up.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Balances on each foot for three seconds – I just asked him if he could do this and he picked up his foot and looked at me like I was a crazy person. DUH MOM, THIS IS FOR BABIES.
• Gets dressed without help. – He can take OFF his clothes, especially his pants and underwear when he goes potty by himself (by himself!!!!!) but he has a little trouble getting them back on.

So it turns out Caroline is not only a genius when it comes to mobility, but a genius at EVERYTHING. I know you’re not going to believe me, because everyone thinks their baby is a genius, but it’s true. She is a tiny, adorable genius.

Caroline is super good at communicating. She can say kitty, mommy, daddy, hi, bye, cheese and yes. Then on a whim I showed her the sign for “fish” and she learned it immediately. Now she can sign fish, hat, milk, more, please and thank you. And she does! She signs please and thank you!! Plus she puts it together to say “cheese” while signing more and then sign please. I’m going to have to get out my baby sign stuff from the class I took with Evan and teach her some more. Heck, I should probably just break out War & Peace and we’ll start reading it at bedtime now, seeing as how she’s a genius and all. She also has a baby language that sounds like “ttkka ttkka ttkka!” that means “tickle tickle”, but it also means “let’s play” and “let’s go” and “I’m happy” and “PAY ATTENTION TO ME.”

It’s kind of weird, having this tiny little baby – because she is still tiny, people are always shocked when I say she’s 14 months – who acts so much like a little person. She will grab your hand, anyone’s hand really, and lead them around the mall or the store or the house or anywhere they will follow. And it’s adorable because people always LET her get away with it. She also does the back-up-into-any-available-lap thing Evan used to do so don’t sit on the floor unless you’re ready for a lap full of ginger. And today at a friend’s birthday she made every single adult hang her upside down. Which is not something people normally DO to babies, especially babies they don’t necessarily know very well, but she is both convincing and insistent. Someone suggested I tie a little sign around her neck that says “If you pick me up I will throw myself backwards” to avoid accidental head-dropping.

She still eats anything, but is on a fruit and cheese kick which is…not so good for the diapers. We’re down to only nursing before nap and before bed and she doesn’t nurse to sleep for either, so E can do it if he’s home. I’ve got 21 days left to wean her entirely, but even if I were to leave right now I suspect she’d have a rough 24 hours and then be totally over it. She drinks milk/water/juice out of any kind of cup and just generally shows up her brother’s super picky habits on a daily basis.

Likes include blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, watermelon, yellow American cheese slices, climbing, dancing, music, slides, peek a boo, shoving her entire hand in my mouth, her brother, the kitty, books, pretending to be a dinosaur, hanging upside down, running, Daddy, smiling, tickles and pretending to use the iPad while really just smearing stuff on it.

Dislikes include raspberries (who knows why), having ANYTHING taken away, shopping carts, sitting still, having her nose wiped and falling on her head. Although she falls on her head so regularly maybe that IS something she likes.

Bazillion pics now, milestones below:

Giant head bump is GIANT. Although she doesn't seem to mind at all.

Vintage sweater & hand-me-down party dress and shoes

Being hauled off to eat cupcakes. Torture!!

Maybe she's a musical genius too!

14 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Eats with fingers – Score one for baby-led weaning! She can feed herself almost anything, especially if you put it in a snack trap. She can also feed herself with a fork/spoon if you put the food on it for her.
Empties containers of contents – My floors, let me show you them. Oh wait I CAN’T because they are covered in all the things Caroline took out of containers.
Imitates others – Yes! That’s why I started signing.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Toddles well – Oh Baby Center.
Initiates games – She will grab my hand and make me play things like “pat baby’s mouth while she goes ahhhhhh to make a funny sound” or “everybody try on this hat AHAHAHA THAT’S HILARIOUS”.
Points to one body part when asked – She knows “head” and she can find MY nose, but I don’t know if she knows any others.
Responds to instructions (e.g., “give me a kiss”) – When she feels like it. TODDLERS.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Uses a spoon or fork – See above.
Matches lids with appropriate containers – I seem to remember having trouble answering this one with Evan too, since we don’t have any container/lid toys. I think she would understand the concept, since she’s a baby genius and all.
Pushes and pulls toys while walking – No biggie.

I sort of can’t believe that after 33 months of posts – and only 2 more to go – I completely forgot Evan’s 34th monthday. Just totally let it blow right by without even a thought. I’ve had no trouble adjusting to writing 2012 on everything but admitting it’s February? Forget about it. At least it was just a monthday and not an actual birthday I missed. Like my husband’s. Which is on Saturday. Oh crap.

I think by blocking the date out of my head I was subconsciously avoiding trying to write this post. 34 month old Evan is pretty much the same as 33 month Evan which will probably be the same as 35 month Evan. This isn’t an age with big, exciting milestones to celebrate and check off and compare to other kids. This is an age of subtleties and new emotions and suddenly realizing my kid is drinking from a real cup and helping watch his sister at the playground and sitting quietly while we wait for an appointment. Yesterday in the car he said “My trains are right here, Mommy, all my trains” and I realized he has just used a personal pronoun correctly, twice. I’m not sure I’m ready for pronouns to replace all the Mommys and Evans and Daddys and Sisters. I can’t even pretend he’s a baby anymore. No matter how hard I squeeze him he just keeps on growing.

We are in the midst of a bedtime/naptime renegotiation, where he NEEDS a nap or he ends up falling asleep on the floor but if he DOES take a nap he won’t go to bed without hours of delays and then wakes up at 4 am, turns on all our lights and insists it’s morning. Even though we skipped naps on Tuesday, he tried that TWICE Wednesday night – once at midnight, once at 3 am and I ended up lying in his bed for an hour listening to him protest how NOT SLEEPY he was until he drifted off. I’ve been around the parenting block enough times now to know this is A Phase and like all Phases it will change before I can really do anything about it – but I’m still considering a door lock for his room.

When it comes to The Tantrums, a few parenting books are on their way to my door thanks to the magic of two-day shipping with a trip to the library on the agenda for tomorrow. I also took a more proactive approach and signed both kids up for weekly gymnastics. At the first class, Little Evan ran around like a wild monkey and then cried his eyes out when it was time to go home. At our second class, he ran around like a wild monkey, attempted a cartwheel, learned to do a somersault, swung on the high bar, waiting his turn, jumped in the foam pit, threw a Frisbee through a hoop, and cried his eyes out when it was time to go home. How many classes do I think it will take before he participates in warm up, jumps off the trampoline, learns to vault and DOESN’T cry when we leave? I have no idea but I’m willing to keep taking him until it happens. STRUCTURE is the name of the game, folks.

Speaking of structure, Evan heard some of the girls at Stroller Strides talking about school and now he keeps asking when he gets to go. “Evan go school too Mommy! See friends, see teacher, see trains. Bye-bye Mommy! See-ya later!” I guess I can’t keep putting off a decision for much longer, not unless I want to crush his dreams of backpacks and new friends and access to crayons that haven’t been chewed up by a certain small ginger toddler. I wrote “call preschool  at the church for a tour” on my to-do list today and if I like them I’m going to call it good and sign him up. I decided to stop stressing SO MUCH about preschool. We’re talking about circle time and finger painting here, not choosing between Ivy League colleges. As long as they don’t believe in corporal punishment or include a unit on Zenu our benevolent overlord I don’t think I need to spend so much energy on researching every single option withing a 60 mile radius.

I would like to sum up 34 months in a short, catchy way but honestly there is TOO MUCH of EVERYTHING to even try.

Likes include carrots, lollipops, trains, chips, dinosaurs, books, being carried, running, sitting in my lap, not sitting in my lap, Daddy, babies, friends, his blankie, milk, sleeping, Mickey Mouse, iPads, singing, the alphabet, helicopters, dogs, kitties, and the aquarium.

Dislikes include really loud noises, waiting his turn, riding in the shopping cart, sharing, and being forced to use the potty when he’d rather be playing even when he REALLY REALLY has to go.

I swear he's getting MORE gingery by the day

I have to put his dinosaurs to bed before he'll take a nap

Night night Mommy! Get out Evan's room!

34 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
• Names one color – His favorite colors are orange, pink and purple, but he still gets the rest of them mixed up a lot. Still on my list of stuff to ask about at his 36 month check-up.
• Names one friend – He cried yesterday because he didn’t get to see his friends, all of whom he can name.
• Carries on a simple conversation – Yes, although sometimes I have NO idea what he’s talking about.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
• Alternates feet going up and down stairs – Yes, although he fell the other day and is now being SUPER cautious on the back steps.
• Uses prepositions (e.g., on, in, over) – His new favorite joke is talking about all the places he is not going to put his poop. No poop in tub! No poop on baby! No poop on dog! No poop under couch! Ahahahahaha!
• Speaks clearly most of the time (75 percent can be understood) – I don’t think the PERCENTAGE is getting any better, but he’s using a lot more words. Other people can understand him about 50% of the time, but it’s more like 90% for me.
• Stacks eight blocks – FOURTEEN BLOCKS. BOOM.

Evan & friends built (and knocked down) this tower over and over for 10 minutes.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
• Is toilet trained during the day – Still yes. Next step is to get him to stay dry during naps.
• Wiggles thumb – Yes, but he’s about as good at giving a thumbs up as my cat is.
• Expresses a wide range of emotions – SO MANY EMOTIONS
• Draws a stick figure – Still no, but he’s started declaring his scribbles are things. Mostly dinosaurs.

A summary of Caroline at 13 months…

What she ate: Mini-waffles, grapes (red and green), Pirate’s Booty, grilled cheese, Goldfish, blueberries, carrots, pretzels, yogurt melts, string cheese, lollipop, watered down juice, boob, and a clementine although she really just sucked the juice out and left gross slimy sections all over the floor.

What she wore: Size 4 diaper, size 4 Mary Janes, white socks, 12 month leggings and dress she ruined by crushing blueberries with her butt, 12-18 month jeggings, shirt and sweater I bought at Old Navy to replace ruined leggings and dress. Adorable smile.

What she did: Went to Stroller Strides, ate from a snack trap, played in the play area, climbed up the stairs and down the slide by herself, made new friends, went to a playdate, stood on a chair, fell on her face several times, learned to climb into a chair correctly, clapped, said “all done” when I asked if she was all done nursing, made me laugh, ran away, gave kisses, tried to eat a lot of inappropriate  items, played peek a boo, watched Toy Story, took a nap in my lap, cried a little bit, hugged her daddy, went to sleep without an argument.

Likes include running, climbing, smiling, clapping, laughing, taking off her shoes, blueberries, her brother, friends, being upside down, tunnels, slides, making important calls on her (my) cell phone, tea parties, trying to kill herself.

Disliked include falling on her head, when people try to help her after she falls on her head, being told not to fall on her head, eating clementines the right way.

I’m out of monthly stickers and Caroline refuses to hold still or pose for pictures so these are…blurry. That’s a nice word.

She takes her sandwiches very seriously

She is SO blogging this playdate

Wassup Red?

Finally sitting in the chair without giving anyone a heart attack

TINY JEGGINGS

Lap nap after a busy day

Dinner of champions

13 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Uses two words skillfully (e.g., “hi” and “bye”) – She can say mama, daddy, kitty, doggie, hi, all done, and sit
Bends over and picks up an object – Yes, especially if it’s food

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Enjoys gazing at his reflection – She will kiss the baby in the mirror but she loses interest pretty quickly. There are lots of things that need kissing.
Holds out arm or leg to help you dress him – She CAN, although she thinks pulling a shirt over her head is some sort of baby torture. But she can take her clothes off like a…nope, can’t bring myself to make any analogy here.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Combines words and gestures to make needs known – Does weeping and yanking on my pants while I’m trying to eat my lunch without sharing count? How about weeping and yanking on my pants while I read to her brother? Or weeping and yanking on my pants because it’s only 71 degrees in the play room and she prefers it at 73? SHE HAS A LOT OF NEEDS.
Rolls a ball back and forth – Y……es? I feel like Evan was super into balls at this age but Caroline is too busy climbing on stuff and pushing cars around. I’ll see if she wants to play tomorrow.