Miss Scarlett's Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

 

Today's annual Bicycle Parade was a hot, humid event.  Miss Scarlett was mighty fussy from the start, but fell asleep for a few minutes while on the parade route.

 

I made her patriotic tutu for her to wear and she did not like it, initially.  But she warmed up to it (or, at least forgot she didn't like it).

 

 

 

Head over here to see Scarlett for last year's Independence Day:  http://loslucerosdeux.blogspot.com/2012/07/princessas-first-independence-day.html

 

I tried to capture a similar pic:

 

Last year:

 

 

This year:

 

 

Dinnertime for Bella

Today I heard Scarlett digging around in Bella's bucket of dog food in the laundry room, which is a common occurrence. But then a few moments later, I heard the sound of dog food going into Bella's dish in the dining room.  I walked over to find Scarlett with the scoop in her hand, walking back to the laundry room.

I watched, intrigued, as Scarlett made three trips back and forth to put more food in Bella's bowl.  She's never done that before.

I went about my business, and then noticed Scarlett decided to pick up the bowl and take it to the bucket of dog food, rather than make numerous trips back and forth.  What a smart girl!

I watched as she put more food in the bowl and then told her to take the bowl to Bella ... And she did! Happily, I was able to catch the bowl before it spilled enroute, unlike our wine bottle fiasco at the grocery store. 

Scarlett absolutely fascinates me!

And Bella was one happy pup!

The Tale of the Wine Bottle

Scarlett and I went to the grocery store this morning after dropping Christian off at VBS.  I didn't plan on actually buying anything ... just wanted to walk around with Scarlett in an air conditioned place for a few minutes.  So, I didn't take the stroller with me and just let her walk around.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.

As we walked along, I looked away momentarily when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scarlett grab a wine bottle and pick it up.   I tried to get to her before ... the ... bottle ... dropped ... from ... her ... hand ...

I was not successful.

Unbeknownst to me, there was an endcap display of wine ... right at Scarlett's level.  And in slow-motion - or so it seemed - that bottle dropped from her hand, hit the floor, and shattered.

Help arrived quickly and the employee joked that at least it was a good-smelling mess.  She was genuinely concerned about Scarlett and was very kind.  I apologized profusely, at a loss for what more I could do.

In the 5.5 years I've been a mom, I've never had something like this happen.  I was so embarrassed.

The Clothing Exchange

Scarlett insisted on a clothing exchange with her stuffed bear, who has a tiny little denim mini-skirt.

 

Scarlett is so petite that the bear's little skirt fits her!  And the bear is wearing Scarlett's shorts. :)

 

 

For the Love of Mickey

Recently, Scarlett has fallen in love with Mickey Mouse.  Any time she gets a glimpse of him on TV or my iPad, she gets excited, "Picky!  Picky!"

Imagine her excitement when we walked into the Disney Store today and there was a Mickey Mouse at every turn!   She kept asking for Mickey, and I kept loading her up with Mickey and Minnie - and she held on tightly to each one she was given.   I'm pretty impressed that I was able to eventually put them all back on the shelves and leave the store without buying anything (though it sure was tempting!).

"Cheese!!"

Scarlett has learned from Christian that when Mommy is going to take a picture, the thing to do is get a huge smile on her face and say, "Cheese!!"

 

 

 

 

 

Scarlett's First Shopping Cart Experience

All this time, I've gone to the store and put Scarlett in her cool stroller.  The bottom basket is huge and can hold quite a bit, so I've never needed to put her in the cart.   But today, Jonathan suggested we give it a try and I was very surprised to find she LIKED it, and she happily sat there throughout our shopping trip

And of course, when I took my phone out to snap a picture, Miss Scarlett gave me a, "Cheese!!"

Love this kiddo!! 

Let the (Very Early) Potty Training Begin!

A couple of days ago, Christian pulled out the Elmo Potty from the cabinet and Scarlett was intrigued!  So I figured, "Why not?"   She's a smart cookie and I'm certain at 17 months, she'll catch on a little.

 

I put her on the potty seat, and she actually sat down.  We showed her how to push Elmo's hand to get him to talk. 

 

Of course, she hasn't done "any business" yet, but we tell her to "toot" and she gives a good push and a cute little grunt.  At some point, something is bound to come dribbling out!    And we've given her a couple of squares of toilet paper, and she knows what to do with it!  She's very observant, you know. :)

 

 

Though it is still very early, I am THRILLED that we're doing this now.  Christian took FOREVER to get potty trained (as boys often do), and even to this day, he'll rarely go potty unless we prompt him (um ... over and over again) to go.  So the sooner we can get Scarlett started on the process, the better.   But with no pressure.

Mommy's Little Helper

Scarlett is my little helper and loves to help with the laundry.  She likes to put the dirty laundry into the washer from the hamper, and she likes to move the clean clothes from the washer to the dryer. 

The other day, I had finished loading the washer with dark clothing and stepped out for a moment.  When I returned, I found she'd started to load the dirty laundry from the hamper of whites.  She came back in to finish the job.

Is she cute, or what??

 

Miss Scarlett at 17 Months

And time marches on too quickly ... Miss Scarlett is 17 months old. 

Scarlett's vocabulary is exploding, and there are too many words to list.  Some of her latest things to say are:

• "No, no, no ..."   Scarlett is soooo precious when she declines something with a, "No, no, no."  Given her propensity to screech, we are thankful her "no" isn't an ear-piercing "Nooooooooooooooooooo!"
•  When Scarlett is in another room, Jonathan will call out for her, "Scarlett, where are you?"  And she'll reply, "I'm right here."  She's started saying more in response to the question, but we can't figure it out just yet.
• I counted two objects for Scarlett recently, and she then said, "3, 4, 5."  I was shocked!  Now we've got her counting up to 7.  What a kid!!
• Jonathan has always said, "Who wants coffee, say 'I do!'"  Scarlett started to reply, "I do ... I do!"  We've now expanded the questions:  "Who wants to have a snack, say 'I do!'" or "Who wants to play with toys, say 'I do!'" And if she's interested, she'll say, "I do, I do!"
• Scarlett has started saying her ABC's!  She was in the backseat one say, seemingly singing a song.  Jonathan pointed out she was doing ABC's and sure enough ... she was.  I like to go through the whole alphabet and pause before random letters, and she CORRECTLY says the next letter.   No kidding!!
• She's discovered how fun a game of Peek-a-boo can be.  She'll sometimes stand behind a curtain and say "peek-a-boo" in her own cute way, or she'll spontaneously put her hands over her face, take them away and say, "Peek-a-boo!!!"   So cute!

She does lots of other cute stuff, too:

• She'll wipe her face on request
• She'll clean up, when asked.  We have a hard time getting Christian to clean up, but when we announce it is time to clean up, she'll walk around Christian's room picking up his books and putting them where they belong.
• She'll wash her hair - and Christian's hair - during bath time
• She'll brush her teeth 

 

She's a little monkey who climbs on everything!  She loves to get on top of her little tables and get into the sand box.  And when I hear a frantic "Mama, Mama, Mama!" coming from the front room, I know that she's climbed on top of her little activity cube and cannot get down.

Miss Scarlett has a lot of hair!  It is so curly, I didn't realize it was so long ... but lookie here!  It always dries into precious curls on top of her head.  It tends to get frizzy, so I've had to buy cream for her hair that is specifically for curly hair.   Yes, dear reader, the beauty regimen has already started. :)

 

It is still a struggle to get her to eat much of anything, but she's sure into eating plants, dirt, sand and Bella's dog food.   Fortunately, she typically gives up the contents of her mouth upon request.  Here she is, eating some dirt during one of our outings.

 

 

According to our scale, she's now right at 18 pounds.  Must be the Angus beef hotdogs we've been feeding her.  Yes, seriously. The are the least-offensive, least-processed, nitrate free, pure beef hotdogs I've been able to find so far.  And they are very fattening, which is what she needs.   Perfect solution?  No.   One of our few solutions?  Yes.   She just doesn't like to eat solid food.  And just when it seems she's getting better about eating, she takes a step back.

 

And the fact is, she's just a small child - but we feel her weight is proportional to her height.  In fact, she's so small that at 17 months, she can still fit into clothing intended for a much younger child.  I came across an outfit she wore for her 6 month pictures and I was SHOCKED to see she still fit into it.   I have found that the sizes for baby clothing are very inconsistent among manufacturers - but for her to still fit into a size 3- 6 month romper was a real eye-opener.   Most of her clothing that fits well right now is a size 12 months.   There are just a couple of 18 month items that she can fit into. 

 

Such a Pretty Girl!

Miss Scarlett at 16 Months

Sitting Pretty

"Happy Birthday to You ..."

Tonight at dinner, Christian was reading a book in his lap and chatting to himself as he often does.  I was telling Jonathan a story about something when he stopped me, "Did you hear that?  Scarlett just sang happy birthday!"

 

Scarlett was imitating Christian, who had just quietly sung happy birthday as he was reading his book.   I didn't believe it, so Jonathan had her do it again and naturally, I rushed to get my camera.

 

Enjoy! :)

 

Scarlett at 15 Months

Our Miss Scarlett is now 15 months old!  And she's more energetic, adventurous and feisty than ever! :)

Look at all those teeth ... and all that hair!

Yesterday we had her 15 month doctor exam, and one of the doctor's first comments was about her small stature.  You can find her historical growth statistics at the bottom of the page.  She hasn't even gained two pounds since her 12 month visit three months ago - and she still doesn't appear on the growth charge for her weight.   However, she did grow about two inches since January, which puts her in the 14th percentil for length!  So that is a great improvement!

The doctor's written notes were:  Patient is underweight.  I advise increasing high protein / high fat foods, including whole milk, meats, peanut butter and cheese.  We will continue to monitor patient's weight closely at subsequent well-child visits (the next of which will be at 18 months)."

While we, of course, wish she'd eat more, we're not too concerned about her weight.  Although the doctor used the word "skinny" to describe her, and let us know she's still labeled as "failure to thrive," I don't think she's skinny at all.  Sure, she's slender ... but she's got a tummy that sticks out and her legs are getting chunkier again.  There are no ribs sticking out.

But once again, the doctor noticed that Jonathan and I are "skinny people" (not too sure what his frame of reference is ... I'd hardly consider myself to be "skinny) and that Christian is a skinny child with a big head.   So he seems to accept that we are smaller people who have procreated smaller people.   We will continue to encourage Scarlett to eat more food.  The kicker is that she really likes veggies ... and veggies aren't high in fat or protein.  But dipped in ranch dressing ... there's the fat and extra calories!

Although, to put her weight into perspective:  she's only gained about 3 pounds since her six month exam. 

Her list of words at 12 months:

Papa
Mama
Baby
Bella
Brother
Bubble
Ball
Cheese

New words at 15 months (at her doc's visit, we were asked if she spoke at least two words):

Up / Uppa
Down
More
Wah-wah (water)
book
ring
poo-poo
hi
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm-mmmmaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh (her kiss sound)

We were asked if Scarlett is using a spoon.  We haven't tried utensils, as we're too focused on getting her to actually eat something - and we don't care HOW it gets in there - ha!   But after being asked that question, we decided to try a spoon tonight - and she used it just fine!!  WOW!  Jonathan commented that Christian - at 5 - STILL isn't too keen on using his utensils.

Scarlett's level of comprehension is amazing!  If we ask her a question, she gives us a very affirmative head nod.  I thought she was doing this for any ol' question and then I tested her and asked questions she either wouldn't say yes to, or wouldn't fully understand - and she did NOT nod her head. 

She's very good at following directions, too.  She'll sit down/stand up on request, she'll give us something we ask for ... even walk to another room to get it.  For example, in our front room, she'd got wooden blocks.  I asked her to get me a block, and she stood up, went to the front room and came back with a block.  And she did so several times - I should probably teach her she can carry one block per hand and get twice as many blocks in one trip. :)

She'll also do things like wipe her nose or face, or brush her teeth, upon request (ha!  Christian STILL doesn't like his face wiped or teeth brushed).

Within the past couple of days, she's figured out how to get up on the couch, and also onto Christian's bed.  She can get down, too, but that makes me a bit nervous.  The other day she fell from the first chair she figured out how to get onto - and there were lots of tears. 

She's been able to get down from our bed from some time, but I always make sure to help her over the edge.  Yesterday, she was asleep on our bed, and I walked into check on her to find she was hanging off the side of the bed, holding onto the comforter.  She was just a few inches from the floor, so she was almost there. 

And she's so dang independent!  She walks off without a care in the world where her Mommy is.  She did it at the mall when we were visiting with her cousins.  We did Parent's Night Out at Christian's school on Friday and took Scarlett for the first time.  Until recently, Christian had always been very clingy with us when we took him for Parent's Night Out.   However, as soon as I put Scarlett down, she walked over to the toys and didn't know - or care - that we were leaving. 

Scarlett's Growth Chart

15 Months:
Weight:  17lbs, 12.8 ounces (still not on the growth chart)
Length:  29.33 inches (14th percentile ... movin' on up the chart!)
Head:  Not noted on our paperwork

Twelve Months:
Weight: 16 lbs, 1.7 ounces (not on the percentile chart)
Length: 27.26 inches (4th percentile)
Head: 18.25 inches (84th percentile)

Nine Months:

Weight: 15 lbs, 11.9 oz (5th percentile)
Length: 25.25 inches (1st percentile ... 99% of female babies Scarlett's age are longer than she is!)
Head: 18 inches (90th percentile)

Six Months:
Weight: 14 lbs, 7 oz (5th percentile)
Length: 24.25 inches (5th percentile)
Head: 17 1/4 inches (85th percentile!)

Four Months:
Weight: 12 lbs, 6.5 oz
Length: 23.75 inches
Head: 16.5 inches

Two Months:
Weight: 9 lbs, 15 oz
Length: 21 inches
Head: 15.5 inches

One Month:
Weight: 8 lbs, 9 oz
Length: 21.25 inches
Head: 14.75 inches

Birth: Weight:
7 lbs, 5 oz
Length: 19 inches

Scarlett's First "Parent's Night Out"

Christian's school held its quarterly "Parent's Night Out" tonight and it was finally time to leave Scarlett in somebody else's care for a few hours.

We weren't too sure how Scarlett would handle us leaving her, esp. given Christian still gets anxious when we take him to school for Parent's Night Out.  But as soon as I put her down, Scarlett was off to play with toys.  Since the event took place in Christian's usual classroom, she knew exactly where everything was and was ready to go!

We returned three hours later to actually find her asleep on a beanbag.  She'd fallen asleep in the teacher's arms and she then laid her on the beanbag.  The room was very noisy and busy, but she slept through it.

Who knew date night could be this easy???

Scarlett's First Day of School ... But Not Really

Today, for the first time ever, we left Scarlett in somebody else's care.  We had an appointment to get our taxes done, and Scarlett is such a busy little girl that it would have been a hectic appointment.  So she stayed at Christian's school in their toddler class for the morning.

 

 



Unlike the first time we dropped off Christian at school all those years ago, Scarlett wasn't devastated that we left her.  We put her down, and she immediatley went on a search for fun and excitement.  She didn't even care that we left!

I wasn't sure how she'd do, since she has unpredictable nap times and doesn't eat much ... but she did GREAT!  She played and played and interacted nicely with the other kiddos.  She never got cranky.

Well ... not until we came back to get her and she saw us. :)

We are so pleased with how well she did.  When Christian moves onto kindergarten at a new school in August, we're considering putting her in daycare a couple of days a week so she can have fun and interact with other kiddos.   She's sooo ready for it!

Scarlett Graduates to the Big Tub

Until today, I'd still been giving Scarlett a bath in the baby tub in the kitchen sink.  Tonight, on a whim, I put her into the bath with Chrsitian.  I wasn't too sure how she'd like it ... but she did great!  She enjoyed having all the water to splash, and all the room to move around.  And Christian thought it was pretty cool to have his sister join him.

Scarlett Doing Some Zumba

We've got a dancer in the making! Christian has a Zumba class on Wednesday nights and Scarlett just LOVES it!

 

Scarlett kisses pretty much everything these days. :)