The Bacher Blog

Our little baby girl is growing so quickly. Those of you parents may recall how fast the 1st year goes and how much amazing growth happens SO fast. It is hard to sometimes even recognize a change until- “Wow- I think Alana has been reaching for things for awhile now… What? How? When?!?!” I wish I could keep up more with tracking her milestones. I’ll start with a quick recap list of the past few months… so I have it documented.

- Social smiles. (She mainly smiles at people who converse or sing to her, but she will light up at her brother when he even glances at her.)

- Giggles… but still almost sounds more like a smile coo.

- Holds her head up high and steady while in Tummy Time. (Wow- some babies actually don’t scream during tummy time?!?!)

- Rolls over from tummy to back. (Maybe more of a topple.)

- Reaches for toys (and hair… Mom chop coming soon!)

- More curious about her surroundings, sometimes resulting in less nursing during the day, which can mean more wake-ups and nursing at night. (AKA- 4 month wakeful period, but a bit early.)

- Lotsa eye contact. (Sometimes even in the midst of nursing, Alana will catch my eyes and light up with the biggest milk grin ever. It is SO sweet and melts my heart every time, but that again distracts her from her nourishment.)

Her big brother still usually ignores her, but lately he has been interacting a little more with her. It is fun to see their “relationship” grow. Here is a little video from today… Playing Footsie

Two years, two months, and two days! Caden has been such a fun two year old so far! Don’t get me wrong, he has his terrible two days and moments. Those two year molars and the recent tantrums do make for some trying times. But overall- he is a such happy boy with a lot of great energy.

Today was Caden’s 1st day of his tumbling class. When we got there he was more excited about the walls than he was about the mats and equipment. He kept running around the edges of the room pointing up at the colored bricks and naming the colors. Once the class started, he did pretty well. He enjoyed most of the warm-up- especially the running and the front rolls. He also did pretty well on the balance beam, but was reluctant on the ladder and bridges. We signed him up for tumbling (and for soccer, which he will start in about a week) to keep him more active, but also since he is still a little behind in his gross motor skills- not jumping yet and not climbing much. We hope these classes will help him a little. He also starts back up with his music class and his toddler classes in a couple weeks. We are excited to get back into a schedule of fun and educational activities!

Caden has gotten much better with his tolerance of his little sister. He usually doesn’t cry anymore when she cries or fusses. He still often ignores her and still shows some jealousy. He has been grabbing my hand more often to guide me to what he wants, which has been really cute… except when he is trying to pull me from Alana.

Lately Caden has had some new issues with naptime. Fortunately he still let’s us put him in his crib for his nap without complaint! But he will stay in his crib and talk to himself or his stuffed animals for sometimes 1-1.5 hours! He is clearly tired before we put him down, but he doesn’t go to sleep right away. He sometimes starts to call for me or cry after that long animal chat session and then I realize by the stench when I walk in his room that there is clear reason he has not fallen asleep. Luckily if I quickly change his diaper and put him back down, he will usually take his nap after a few minutes of complaining. It makes for a very unpredictable afternoon though. No more afternoon plans for us.

In addition to talking to his stuffed animals in his crib, Caden is quite the talker in general. He repeats SO much of what we say… and he knows some entire books and songs. He has always had a strong interest and great memory of letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. Recently he added the word “trapezoid” to his vocabulary. I am always amazed at what this little boy verbalizes!

Unfortunately he also can quote a lot of Dora episodes. I often have to resort to sitting him in front of the TV while I focus on putting Alana down for her naps. I am open to other suggestions, but I am not sure how to keep him in one safe place without the TV on. He would follow me up to Alana’s room and would yell and cry if I didn’t pay attention to him while I try to get Alana down for her nap. So… needless to say- he has fallen in love with Dora. That’s what happens when you have quality time with a smart, adventurous, cute, famous girl!  Oh and a positive of watching Dora… he can count to 8 in Spanish and knows some colors as well.  I love my little bilingual boy!