Sibling Rivalry

This is new territory for me.  I find myself torn between stepping in to teach and letting them work it out for themselves.   How do you deal with sibling rivalry in your house and why do you do it that way? 

Costume Conversation

Alexis-  I don't want to be a bunny for Halloween, I want to be a LION.
Jenn-  We don't have a Lion costume, you can be a Lion next year

Pause

Alexis-  HEY!!  I'm thinking about we could buy a Lion costume.  I want to be a Lion for Christmas.  I want to be a Christmas Lion.

8 Month Birthday

8 Months

This month has passed too quickly!  We are settling down in the back-to-school/almost Fall routine.  Cameron has made great physical strides this month.  He is a full time crawler in proper crawling form.  September 1st he began to pull up.  He had it mastered by September 2nd.  Pulling up and sitting down over and over again.  So happy with himself, too!

 Cameron still sleeps from 8pm-8am.  On occasion I put him down a bit early.  He naps from 10/10:15-12pm and 1:45-4pm. Later last week it was a bit rough with the naps.  He decided he'd try to strike.  For two days during the afternoon nap he cried for about an hour.  Thankfully he is not the strong willed one.  He caught on quickly and has resumed napping peacefully. 

I dropped his before nap feeding this month, so he nurses four times a day.  8am, 12pm, 4pm and 8pm.  He eats solids three times a day.  8:30am- Oatmeal, 12:30pm a fruit or vegetable and rice or oatmeal, 5pm a vegetable and rice or oatmeal.  This month we added cheerios, chunks of bananas (instead of puree), and whole milk yogurt.  It has taken his system 2 weeks to get used to the yogurt.  He loves yogurt!  His only consistent sign right now is "more" and of course it is because he wants more food and FASTER!

My baby is growing up and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  We have begun to discipline regularly at the table.  Cameron loves to bang on his tray and watch the cheerios or puffs fly around.   I have to get stern with him and it is hard sometimes.  He just sits there and smiles back. 

Blue eyes

Insisted on bringing a bat to the nursing session

Family Shot at the last "Sounds of Summer"  Aug. 2013

AWANA

Alexis started AWANA at a local church two weeks ago.  Last week she received her Cubbie vest, bag, and book.  She's a little unfocused in the video above, but overall is doing very well.  We are so proud of her!
This weeks verse is Romans 3:23  "All have sinned"  We talked about how "all" means everybody.  She was especially interested in how her Mommy and Daddy have sinned.   

7 Month Birthday

Likes:  Cameron is one of the easiest going babies I know.  He is content in most situations.  He has been crawling since 6 months and one week old.  His favorite crawl is similar to the army crawl.  He is working to get up on his knees to master the regular crawl.  He likes to be around Mommy, Daddy and Alexis.  He follows us up and down the hall.
When his sister comes in the room his whole body responds in excitement.  That's pretty neat.
He likes to nurse, in fact, when he knows it is time, he practically attacks me to get to the milk.
Cameron does very well in child care situations so far.  We are at the YMCA a few mornings a week,  the church nursery on Sunday, and have a babysitter at the house 3-4 times a month.   He enjoys other babies, especially now that he can get to them on his own.

Dislikes: Anyone who's stressed out.  Alexis was crying with her babysitter recently and he joined right in.  He is emotionally sensitive.  The other day Josh was playing the "fast/slow" game in the car.  Alexis loves going fast and I always pretend to not like it by screaming.  It's a big production...anyway- Cameron heard me screaming and burst out in tears with loud crying.  We're on a mission to toughen him up :)
Last week we found out he is not a fan of the car wash. 

Sleeping: Cameron sleeps from 8pm-8am all the way through.  Sometimes he wakes at 7:30 or so, but I wait to get him until 8 because I need that time ALONE!  He naps from 10:15am-11:45/12:00 and 1:45-4:30.

Eating:  He nurses five times a day.  8am, 12pm, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm.  He eats solids three times a day.  8:30am- Oatmeal, 12:30pm a fruit or vegetable and rice or oatmeal, 5:30 rice or oatmeal.  After meals I offer puffs or baby mum-mums.  He also gets those treats if we are eating out.  They are a great time filler!  He has liked everything so far.

Playing:  Cameron spends a lot of time in the high chair, the jumparoo, the play pen, and on the floor in the living room.  I mentioned before that he is crawling.  It is fun to put him in the middle of the living room and watch him make a choice on what he wants to play with.  We have a lot of baby toys, but it seems he will most often head for the vents or the tv cabinet.  Alexis has an unloaded chick-fil-a card which he also enjoys chewing on.

Signing- Cameron has signed "eat" and "dog" so far.  He is close to getting "more".  I sign every chance I get.  The majority are at the table while he is eating.  Alexis enjoys teaching him the signs and asking me "how do you say it with your hands, Mommy?"

Talking-  For the most part he is a quiet baby.  He laughs more than he talks, which is really fun.  Just before seven months he said "bye-bye"  to our three year old friend, Addison and her 21month old brother, Caleb.  I'm gonna call that his first word.

Updated Q &A with Alexis

Favorite Fruit?  Cauliflower
Snack?  Goldfish
Animal?  A lion
Outfit?  A panda outfit
TV Show?  Daniel Tigers
Place to go?  Chick-Fil-A
Game?  Musical Chairs.  We were gonna play that at church this week!
Color?  Purple
Toy?  Blocks.  I like to build with blocks
Book? Mickey Mouse
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy?  Reading books
What are you going to be when you grow up?  I think I'm gonna be able to pick up Addison!
What about a job?  I'm gonna put the people in jail because they break the law.
Who's going to be your husband?  Grandpa
What kind of car will you drive?  I will drive a brown car.  It's name will be called JaFe.
Where are you going to live?  Georgia
What do you want for Christmas?  I want a green ball. A little one.  And, and, and I want to have batteries for the light in my room.

Four Months Old

Likes: The high chair!  Cameron joins us at the table for meals like a big boy.  We used to slide him up in the rock and play, but we noticed he didn't love laying on his back anymore.  Next month he gets to eat some rice cereal. 
Cameron has mastered the jumping part of the jump-a-roo.  He loves the bright colored animals and is content to watch them for a while. 
Sometimes after dinner we have a dance party with Lexie's school music.  Cameron loves the hopping part of the hop-hop-hippty-hop song.  
Now I will state the obvious: he likes to nurse.

Dislikes: Loud noises.  He is scared of Will's bark and Lexie's scream.  Also, he doesn't like sudden movements.  We're working on it.

Sleeping: Cameron is a very good sleeper, still.  He is swaddled with one arm out.  Occasionally, I will leave both out, but he sleeps better with one in and one out.
 He sleeps at night from 8pm-7:30am.  I still wake him at 10:30pm to squeeze another feeding in. He takes two good naps a day.  The third nap is a fight.  The first and best nap is from 8:45/9:15-11am, unless it is Sunday.  The next nap is from 1-2:30 or 3ish.  The last nap from 4-5.
I no longer have the option of putting him in the swing because he weighs too much. He does not sleep on the go, which is a challenge because we are stuck at home.  You all know I HATE that.  I'm in the process of figuring out what I should do.

Eating:  He nurses six times a day. These are usually the times: 7:30/7:45am, 11:00am, 2:30/3pm, 6pm, 8pm, and 10:30pm.  In a couple months I plan to drop the 10:30 feeding.  I'm too scared to do it right now because I worry he won't sleep through the night. He is gaining well.  Last week he weighed in at 18lbs 10 ozs. 

Playing: During one awake time a day (usually the early morning) I rotate Cameron through the baby things we have.  He usually starts with the jump-a-roo because I know he has his best energy right after waking.  Then we move on to the play mat, where he plays with the animals above him.  After that I set him in the Bumbo to sing songs and/or read books.   The other awake times are spent in the car, dropping off/picking up Alexis, going on walks to the park, grocery shopping, etc...

Signing- We are working on mommy, milk, all done, up, and more.  I've been singing lots of songs with hand motions, thinking that it will help him learn to watch the hands.