The Mimic

Tiegan's mind is just a sponge these days. She hears and understands so much. Having older siblings has taught her things well beyond what we expect her to know and say.

• She already knows her ABC's
• She can count almost to 20 (and 11 in Spanish)
• She will sing: Happy Birthday, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABC song from memory. And now that we are approaching Christmas she is getting pretty good at Jingle Bells.

And she doesn't forget. We walk Tyler and Syndey to the school bus stop each morning. I will point things out to her like bird's nests I see in the bare winter trees. She will remember and everyday make a point of looking for those things we talk about own our walk. Two years old is a great age.

Tiegan "Cute-isms"

This girl is so dang cute!

One of her latest things is to go up to anyone and everyone and tickle them. "ticko, ticko she says and breaks out the tickly fingers. Rarely does it ever tickle, but we all pretend just to keep her doing it cause she is so cute.

She also loves to dance, and will occasionally break into a little dance, even if there is no music.

Although she is pretty stingy with kisses, she has been giving me awesome hugs lately. I love it when she wraps her little arms around my neck and gives a squeeze. Often she will include patting me on the shoulder while hugging. She obviously learned this from me as I use this method to soothe her quite often.

So, this on isn't exactly a 'cute-ism', but nonetheless noteable. Tiegan has finally moved down to one nap a day and this is proving to be much easier to manage. In case, for some extraordinary reason, I actually forget in the future, Tiegan is an AWFUL napper. Thankfully she is sleeping well at night (pretty much 7 pm to 7am), but naps are painful. It has escalated to include crying fits as I rock her and mid-air wrestling matches. Alas, moving to one nap has resulted in a much less resisted nap. At least so far. Hopefully it keeps up. She is also sleeping for about an hour vs. the typical 30 minute nap. I hear all the time about these kids who take 2-3 hour naps and I dream of how wonderful that would be. I could actually take a nap and also be productive around the house. But I need to stop my dreaming and accept the situation as it is. Okay, so this is veering far from a cute-ism, but the whole point is that she is getting better and there is hope. :)

About a month ago we broke out the kid size Dora chair and she instantly took to it. What kid wouldn't - it's the perfect size! What's cute though is watching her back up to sit down in it. It usually takes a couple of times and involves at least one butt plant onto the floor rather than in the chair. She thinks nothing of it though, stands back up and tries again. It cracks me up every time.

She has also been saying more and more words lately. It's incredible. One of her first complex words was 'cracker', which was adorable to hear her say. She also says 'cuckoo' now that she learned the tick-tock song at ECFE. Oh, and she has recently really added the word 'no'. When she says it she doesn't just emphatically say "NO", rather the says in a nasally, imploring voice, "no, no, no, nooo".

Well, that;s it for now, but with so many cute things coming from her every day, there is bound to be another edition of Tiegan "Cute-isms" in the near future.

 

Finally, More Teeth

After many months Tiegan has finally sprouted her two top teeth.  It has been a little rough on her, but nothing a little Tylenol can't fix.  She looks so different now with her pearly whites sticking out from the top and bottom of her gums. :)

A List of Firsts

Tiegan has had a slew of 'first moments' lately:

• First Haircut - 2/12/11 - there was a little crying, but not for the actual haircut.  I guess she didn't like being confined to the chair.  I realized shortly before her scheduled haircut that we might be headed for a disaster considering she was pretty much missing her morning nap altogether and hadn't eaten at 12:30.  Ooops, but all was well.  It was a quick haircut since there wasn't much being cut, then we were on our way.  It was mainly to get all of her longer baby hair to match up n length to the newer stuff.  She is such a blondie now - all of the dark newborn hair is gone now. :(
• Sharing a bedroom with Sydney - it's official, approximately 9 months after I would have expected, we have finally transitioned her to sleeping in the same room as Syd.  It went really well and basically was no adjustment at all.  It is soooo nice being able to walk into my bedroom and turn the light on at night!  It's been way too long.  She is still waking up at 6:15 (pretty much exactly) and Andy brings her to our room and gets her to sleep in the crib for another hour usually.  Not ideal, but it probably actually is since his shower or Sydney would probably wake her up before 7:00 if she were to stay in her room.  So, I happily accept this!
• Playing at the Eden Prairie Mall playland.  Same day as the haircut.  I thought, ahh, let's see how she likes running around with all the other kiddos.  Tiegan had a blast, but I foresee that I will never be able to walk past the playland with her without hearing wails to go play.  It was really fun to watch Syd and Tyler with her.  They had fun keeping an eye on her and showing her the ropes.  They are such awesome siblings.  They truly enjoy taking care of her and it is so heartwarming to witness those moments.

Pro Walker

It took a little while from her first steps to really walking, but  for the past week it seems to be her preferred mode of transportation.  She is off and walking all of the time, and for the most part, doesn't even bother grabbing our hands for help.

About a week ago she took her first long walk (about 8 feet) and the very end she stopped and did a little dance.  Adorable.  She also likes to clap for herself when she walks.  Can you tell she is lavished with attention and support with her every move?!?

First Steps

I finally witnessed Tiegan's first steps today.  She took about 3 sideways steps towards me.  Later she repeated her performance for Sydney.  I think she surprised herself a little and has no confidence yet.

She did a great job though and was so darn cute!

First Birthday

So bittersweet.  We are so excited that our little baby is turning one, but now our little baby is becoming our little toddler.  I don't think she will ever lose her nickname of "Baby" though.

This year Tiegan got to share her birthday with Thanksgiving.  She did get a special cake from Kowalski's though for dessert, along with pie, of course.

We are planning on having many family members and friends over to celebrate on Saturday the 27th.

"Uh-Oh"

Besides the much appreciated mastery of "Mama" and "Dada", Tiegan's first word was recently spoken.  That's right, her first word was "uh-oh".  It is the cutest sounding thing you have ever heard when she says it in her lilting baby voice.  I'm guessing she hears mom and dad speak this word many, many times  day to her older sister and brother!

Off and Crawling

We were all watching Tiegan closely during the long holiday weekend at the cabin.  Just a couple of weeks ago I noted how she was starting to really move around like an older baby, and she has been making moves towards crawling (getting up on all fours, but then mostly rotating and plopping back on her seat), but nothing happened.

Apparently she didn't want an audience, cause Tuesday morning she showed what she was capable of while mom was babysitting.  Now there's no holding her back!

First teeth (finally)!

For months we have been making the prognosis that Tiegan was "teething" and week after week her fussiness produced no teeth. Finally our fruitless prognostication bore fruit.

Stacy was holding Tiegan in the kitchen. She often holds Stacy's hand in a playful way just passing the time. On this day, Tiegan thought it might be a good idea to stick her mom's hand in het mouth...instead of the soft gummy mouth we were use too, Stacy felt the sharp sting of a new tooth with a second right next to it, about to reputure the surface. Finally! New teeth to explain at least why that day baby was unhappy.

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"I see you Dada!"

It was somewhat typical night of putting Tiegan to bed. She had been in the car seat for the 4 hour drive back from the cabin, and I expected some resistance. Rocking wasn't going so well as a little fist clutching a silky blanket kept swiping me across the chin; then the head started arching back -- a sure sign she had no intension of peacefully settling into sleep. So I gently laid her down in her crib.

To my surprise she didn't exactly fuss. Instead she started to entertain herself -- a little impromptu solo-peek-a-boo with her blankie followed by a some rolling around the crib. I simply stepped back and sat on the floor waiting for sleep to over take her.

The crib was quite and I was starting to wonder if she'd actually fallen asleep. Then I suddenly started to notice something moving above the 6 inch white crib bumper. I paused think it might just be a pair of feet, but as the fussing started to get louder and more frequent I got up to investigate. To my surprise, "feet" were actually an upright Tiegan. She managed to pull herself into a seated position and was looking at me sitting on the floor through the crib rails -- Busted!

Welcome to the world of the vertical baby Tiegan!

"Look at me -- I can stand!"

We were over visiting Bappa Keith today. Laying on my side, I was playing with Tiegan on a blanket spread out on the living room floor. She has been showing signs that she is getting ready to crawl (up on all fours rocking, scooting backwards) but stand? she seemed a long way from standing. Boy was I wrong. Grasping onto my shirt and shorts with both hands, she very tenaciously pulled herself up to a standing position. At first I thought it was a fluke, then she did it again...and then again and kept doing it until she was exhausted. Life is about to start getting interesting around here.

She Said Momma, I Swear!

Even Andy agrees.  She only does it when she is crying though, so it could just be a crying sound she makes, but it could easily be her calling out for me.  She has me nearly convinced.  Her first word was 'Momma'. :)

A New Perspective

Tiegan gained a new perspective of the world this week as she showed us that she is able to sit up on her own (for a small amount of time).  I am looking forward to her gaining strength and being able to sit and play on her own.  She has never seemed happy to be lying down and playing, so hopefully she will be more content now.

Peaceful Rest

I wish.  We have been struggling with getting Tiegan to sleep well through the night.  At about 3 months old she was a great nighttime sleeper.  Had to rock her to get her to sleep, but then I would feed her at 10-ish and she would be out for up to 7 more hours.  It was wonderful and now it is gone.

Tiegan now cries to be fed before 10:00, then gets up several times to be comforted after her 10:00 feeding, only to wake up 4 or 5 hours later to eat again.  Then she wakes up before she should in the morning.  Of course we bring her into bed with us then cause we are exhausted.  It's a vicious cycle.  I hope she will soon go back to her long sleep habits, but I'm guessing we are all going to have to work on it.

This is one of the toughest parts of parenting an infant.  I look forward to someday being able to sleep in.  I'm guessing it will be several years.  Sure their worth it, but it's still tough.

Bananas

Finally, solid food!  Tiegan got her first taste of 'real food' today.  Just as we did with the twins, we bucked the system and didn't go with the traditional rice cereal for her first food.  Tiegan got to try bananas.  She wasn't quite sure of it, but appeared to like them.

It's just the beginning kiddo.  Lot's of exciting new food adventures to come!

Peek-a-boo

After many attempts over the past couple of months to entertain Tiegan with peek-a-boo, she has finally succumbed to the pressure.  She now startles, then giggles and smiles when Andy plays this with her.  As always, very cute.

Rollover

Tiegan rolled over for the first time today - from her back to her front.  I knew in the morning that today would be the today.  I just had a feeling.  Maybe it was the fact that I had to work today and figured it would happen on a day I was gone.  No worries though.  She rolled over for Nana and Bapa and that's just fine.  I look forward to seeing it for myself someday soon.

Giggles

I got my first giggles from Tiegan tonight.  After changing her diaper before bed she was especially chatty. We were talking back and forth and she started laughing.  She responded with a lot more laughs when I would laugh back at her.  Very cute.

She's Not a Newborn Anymore

Tiegan is already 8 weeks old.  Its hard to believe.  While she isn't yet sleeping 'through the night', she is doing exactly what is expected of a 2 month old baby.  She has a longer stretch of sleep lately which lasts about 4-5 hours.  Oddly it isn't making me feel more energized yet.  I am really looking forward to the time when she goes to sleep at 8 p.m., wakes up only for 1-2 more feedings, but basically sleeps until 7 the next morning.  Hope it's not just a dream.

Sydney and Tyler are just as in love with her as the day they met her.  Tyler is always saying "She's so CUTE!" The other day he said we have the cutest baby and that she was so cute that it was impossible.  He is a great big brother.  He is still learning to be gentle with her though.  We are always telling him to hug her like a marshmallow.  He has made some progress, but I think she will just have to get tough fast around him.

Sydney just can't leave her alone.  She sees right through me most of the time and makes a beeline for Tiegan.  She is always talking to her and rubbing her head.  Unfortunately it is rarely soothing to Tiegan and usually gets her more active.  I usually prefer her to be quietly alert. :)

As a personal triumph, this marks 8 weeks of exclusively nursing.  She hasn't had one drink of formula yet.  I hope to continue through the first year, but taking it day by day.  Every time I think I have things down something changes and presents a brand new challenge...kind of like parenthood itself.

I suppose I should note what Tiegan is doing now.  She is smiling at us quite often and now makes the cutest cooing sounds.  On the flip side she has a shrieky cry that can nearly deafen a person.  We don't hear that too often fortunately.  She is also holding her head quite steady, can often hold her head up if I pull her to sitting from laying on her back, and also likes to be held standing up so that she is bearing weight on her legs.  I fear that she will be an early walker.  Time will tell...