Scarlett is 21 Months Old

 

 

 

 

Here's some of what she's saying these days:

• "What?!"  Much like Christian, when you ask Scarlett something of interest to her, she'll respond with an enthusiastic, "What?!"
• "Go away!" Scarlett says this when Bella is around.
• "Stop / Stop it!"  If she doesn't want us to sing to her, or touch her or talk with her, she'll let us know.
• "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!" Her sweet, precious, "No" has become long, and LOUD!
• "Bella" Scarlett says Bella's name perfectly now.
• "Hug"  Scarlett is so very affectionate.  Sometimes she'll just walk up to one of us and say, "Hug" and give us a sweet hug, and sometimes pat our backs as she hugs.  Afterwards, she'll look at us with big ol' kissey lips and give a kiss, too. 
• "Shhhh ..."  Sometimes, if we tell her Christian is sleeping, she'll say, "Broer seeping ... shhhhhh ..." as she puts her index finger to her mouth.
• "Hi!" and "Bye!"  Practically every person Scarlett comes across gets an enthusiastic hi or bye.  And if they don't respond, Scarlett will keep saying it until they do.  Ha!
• "Bass you!"  Every sneeze, and some coughs, get a "Bass (bless) you!" from Scarlett.
• "Amen!"  At the end of our prayer at dinner, Scarlett gives a loud, "AMEN!"  And if you haven't said it - or she missed you saying it - she will look at you and say, "AMEN!  AMEN!" until you do.  She's the little "Amen Police." :)

And here's what Scarlett is doing:

• Christian has become rather emotional over things lately.  Many times, as he's crying and carrying on, Scarlett will just stand there and observe him.  And then she'll walk over, look him in the face and give him a hug and pat his back.  She loves her big brother!   And likewise, if we're around other kids and one does something to upset Scarlett, Christian comes over and looks at her so sweetly, puts his arm around her and says, "Sister, are you okay?"
• Suddenly, Scarlett has strong opinions over what she wears some days.  If she catches me in her closet, she'll come over to lend a hand and I will point to something, and she'll say, "No!"  I point to something else, she ponders for a moment and then, "No!"  I keep trying and trying and eventually, she finds something she likes.   I love her independence, but it can take a long time for her to make a decision, so I try to get her an outfit when she's otherwise occupied. :)
• She continues to love shoes - and socks.  She doesn't care whose they are, or how ill-fitting they are.  She makes me laugh when she comes walking into the room with one of Jonathan's socks, pulled all the way up to her knees.
• Scarlett is Mommy's "Mini-Me" and imitates so much of what I do.  We were at the salon recently and there was some hair mousse at her level and she picked up the bottle, shook it, acted as if some was in her hand and then rubbed her hands together and ran her hands through her hair. 
• Scarlett loves to color and draw (unlike Christian).  She is amazing because she actually holds her chosen writing implement correctly - I never showed her.  She gets so focused on what she's drawing, too. 
• Her favorite movie these days is, "Tangled" (Disney's Rapunzel movie).  The moment I put it on, she's completely focus and doesn't move.  Every day, she chases me around the house, "Tagnoood!  Tangoood!"  and if I deny her the request ... whooooo ... look out! 
• Scarlett continues to go pee-pee on the potty nearly every morning, and often at bath time, too.  I haven't tried random potty excursions throughout the day just yet, though.  I'm so pleased with her do-it-yourself potty training that I'm just going to let her do what she's doing.
• She LOVES to wash her hands.  If she sees me washing my hands, she runs over, "Hands ... HANDS!!!" while sticking her hands up.   She loves soap, and is great at scrubbing her hands and turning the water off.   Alas, if only Christian were as into washing his hands.
• Scarlett has figured out what hot is ... and when she touches something rather warm, she says, "Hot" and blows. 
• Scarlett LOVES to swing in the big kid swing, and slide.  If she goes down the slide by herself, she always goes on her belly - it is so cute!
• And finally ... the tantrums.   Oh boy, the tantrums.  They have become very regular, and very physical - moving her body all over the place, throwing herself down to the floor, etc.   On one hand, it is frustrating because when she gets like that, there seems to be no end and it is impossible to understand what has her so worked up.

 

 

 

 

How to Occupy a Child at a Doctor Appointment

Ah, kids these days ... so very into technology.  And Miss Scarlett is no exception.

 

In today's case, it was a very good thing!  This here iPad kept her occupied for much of my doctor's appointment today.   And an occupied Scarlett is a very good thing! :)

 

She quite a whiz at this iPad, too.  She's discovered things that I didn't even know it could do! 

 

The Sleeping Blueberry Face

One thing Scarlett will actually eat is blueberries.  I gave her a small container of blueberries for the drive, and when we arrived at her destination I found she'd fallen asleep - empty cup of blueberries in her hand, and the sweet evidence all over her precious face. :)

 

And this morning ...

... I thought I'd sit Scarlett on her other potty right after she got up.  A few mornings ago, her diaper was DRY after waking up.  And they say that a child is ready to potty train once they start having some dry overnight diapers.

So I set her on the potty, asked her to go pee pee ... and wouldn't you know it ... SHE DID! 

20 months old, people!! :) 

I Love This Chubby Lil' Face!

 In the midst of wondering just how in the world I'm going to plump up this little princess for her next gastroenterologist appointment, I captured this pic on my phone.

 

Her face is just so round, full and delightful in this picture. 

 

Who says she's too underweight?  Oh yeah ... the doctors.

 

Well, what do they know ... just look at that chubby lil' face!

 

Scarlett and the Slippers

 Ahhh, Miss Scarlett and her shoe fetish (not unlike her Mommy in that regard).  she has discovered Christian's Lightening McQueen slippers and loves to walk around in them.  

 

They are so cute - and big - on her tiny feet!  I wish I had taken a video, as her gait when in these slippers is just too cute!

 

Scarlett's Gastroenterologist Visit

Today's visit to the pediatric gastroenterologist (actually, the doctor's nurse practitioner [NP]) went pretty well.  Thankfully, there was no blood work or any invasive tests.

I hated to see on paper the reason for the visit was "Failure to Thrive."  I knew that was her diagnosis, but seeing it on paper just makes it ... well ... crazy.

We were shocked to learn that she has gained almost no weight since her 18 month well-child exam in July.  Back then, she weighed 18 pounds, 11.9 oz.  Today, she weighed 18 pounds, 14.1 oz.

The NP asked about Scarlett's eating habits - what she eats/drinks, quantity and setting (i.e., at the table, with all of us).

We shared Scarlett's love for veggies and more savory foods, and her lack of interest in sweet foods.  I told her that Scarlett eats best at dinner, and she pointed out that is a time when she's in her high chair, surrounded by all of us eating.  She suggested that Scarlett eat every meal in her high chair.

Scarlett is still breastfeeding A LOT, and prefers it to eating real food.  Sometimes, it feels like she is chasing me all day, demanding milk.  She nurses more frequently than a newborn, despite our efforts to offer her food at the first sign she's hungry.  But if she's denied her milk, she gets mad ... really mad.  So it has been a struggle.

Naturally, the NP's suggestion was that I need to start weaning Scarlett.  I knew it was coming, so I wasn't shocked at the directive.  She suggested I pick a timeframe during the day when it would be easiest for me to deal with the inevitable fit Scarlett will have when denied her milk.  She said if Jonathan is home, then I can simply leave for a while when she's mad about the milk, and then he can make sure she gets real food to satisfy her hunger.

We have actually done something similar for dinner at times.  For a while, Scarlett wasn't wanting to stay in her seat when we sat down for dinner.  So, I'd take my dinner in another room, and let Jonathan eat with the kiddos without me ... and Scarlett would actually eat just fine.   Problem is, Jonathan has a lot of travel coming up ... so I won't have his assistance with the process.

Here are the official remarks from today:

• Wean from breastfeeding
• Substitute whole milk, Similac Go-N-Grow, Pediasure or another toddler formula for breast milk.
• Encourage high calorie foods, i.e., avocado, oils, creams, cream cheese, peanut butter, Nutella, butter, mayo, ranch dip, etc.
• Offer 3 meals per day with snacks
• provide structured meal times
• avoid food battles
• always sit with Scarlett at meals to model good eating behavior

We have actually tried some of the above-referenced foods.  She likes butter, mayo, ranch dressing and avocados.  The problem is the quantity she'll eat, which is very small.  She's not too into peanut butter, and we've not tried Nutella with her (but having Nutella in the household is a bit of a problem for the rest of us ... it is soooo delicious!).

They sent us home with plenty of Pediasure for Scarlett to try - in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and banana flavors.  I know Scarlett won't like it, though. She just isn't into sweets.

But we will try every single suggestion that has been given to us.  We want Scarlett to be healthy and grow big and strong!   Stay tuned!!

Another Successful Potty Time!

Tonight in the bath, Scarlett got rather upset, looked down and started to say, "Pee pee!!!"  

So Jonathan took her out, put her on the potty and VOILA!  Scarlett went pee in the potty!

This is huge ... HUGE! 

I had heard potty training girls was easier than boys and I desperately hoped it was true - especially given the long, drawn-out process it was to get Christian potty trained. 

In fact, recently Scarlett said, "Poo poo" to me and walked out of the room.  She returned a few moments later with a diaper.  She knew she'd pooped and wanted to be changed.

Scarlett is awesome!! :)

Success at the Potty!

Each night after her bath, Scarlett sits on her Elmo potty for a few moments.  On occasion, she's gone pee on the floor after her bath, and before I can get a diaper on her.  That's how it goes.

Tonight, she pointed out to us that she had some pee dribbles on the floor, and we got her on her potty right away.  She sat there, let the rest of it come out ... and wiped herself with toilet paper afterwards.

Oh, it was such a proud moment for us all!   20 months old, and her first peepee in the potty! :)

Imagination Avenue

Today we met our friends at "Imagination Avenue," an indoor play area.  I loved watching Scarlett play!

Below, she is very patiently getting an exam by "Doctor Christian." :)

Miss Scarlett is 20 Months Old

20 months old and going strong ... that's our Miss Scarlett!!

She is such a busy, busy little girl these days!  Always on the go, always climbing on something, somewhere.

She loves computers ...

And loves to go to the library and pull books off the shelves, and walk all over the chairs.

She's still so petite, but looks like such a big kid at times!

And she adores her big brother!  The other day, we put him in timeout for a few minutes, and she walked over and kissed him over and over again.  Kind of defeated the purpose of timeout, but it was just too cute!

Miss Scarlett loves to go in the backyard, even when the heat is stifling.  And she gets really upset when we deny her a visit to the great outdoors.

Scarlett used to LOVE bath time.  But somehow, out of the blue, she gets really upset and screams when Jonathan announces bath time.  It is quite the mystery.  So he's now started asking her if she wants to wash her hair, and she goes to the tub willingly.

 

She is now big enough to get on Papa's shoulders!

Each day after we drop Christian off at school, Scarlett and I take our time walking back to the car.  She loves to stop and look (eat) rocks, and smell flowers ... and look at planes and birds in the sky ... and look for the moon.  We aren't ever in a hurry, which is nice.

In fact, Scarlett now likes to sit on the bench in front of the school and watch as late parents quickly drop off their children.  She likes to wave "hi" to everybody as they walk by. 

She is so fast and is hard to keep up with!  We were at the park, and I turned to find her on the other side, conquering the stairs!  

Scarlett has been eating soooo much better lately!  She's really liking black beans, Spaghettios and asparagus.  And if she sees fresh blueberries, she'll gobble them up (in the photo below, we were in a church parking lot waiting for MOPS [Mothers of Preschoolers] to start, and having a snack of blueberries).

But the fact remains, she's still very small for her age.  As such, we have an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist on 9/11.  We know in our hearts she's fine and expect the appointment will be short and sweet.  Since we see her every day, we don't see the growth ourselves, but other people have commented that she seems to be taller, and her face getting fuller.   We have noticed that her tummy is getting more plump, as are her legs.

She's very expressive and is starting to put words together.  Like, she has been telling Bella, "Go away" when Bella gets near Scarlett's food.  And if she wants her shoes off, or an article of clothing off, she'll say, "Take it off."

She has figured out the remote control to the TV has a purpose and if she doensn't like what's on, she'll bring me the remote to change the channel.

Scarlett has very little patience and the moment things aren't going her way, she protests ... VERY loudly.  Doesn't matter if we're at home, our out in public.  She knows what she likes and wants and has no patience for things that displease her.  

She is still extremely attached to Mommy.  In fact, Jonathan can no longer soothe her when she wakes up screaming.  And he cannot put her to bed ... period.  She won't have it.  So if I go out somewhere in the evening (which only happens on occasion), Scarlett stays up until I get home.  

We don't have immediate plans to put her into daycare.  We have made some great friends and get out and about quite a bit these days - MOPS, various playdates, Bible study, church, etc.  So I feel she's getting some great socialization and interaction with other kiddos.  In fact, one of our favorite friends is Allison. whom Scarlett adores.  At last week's Bible study, Allison brought Scarlett some Hello Kitty stickers and paper, which kept Scarlett happy for quite some time!

More Baby Pumas

Miss Scarlett is actually outgrowing her shoes, which is great!  Means she's GROWING!!

I found these cute Pumas on clearance ... and Mommy LOVES a good deal!  

Aren't they CUTE!!

Scarlett and the Artichoke

Miss Scarlett is 19th Months Old

Miss Scarlett is just so cute at 19 months!  She loves to do things, like ...

• Wipe her face
• Throw something in the trash (she's started doing it without being asked!)
• Help wash clothes
• Get the newspaper
• Put her toys away
• Bring me a diaper on request (she follows directions really well!)
• Take clothing off and on. Her clothing ... or Christian's ... or mine ... or Jonathan's.  Our dirty clothes hamper is a wonderland to Scarlett! :)

Showing off her pretty new Mary Janes!

We were at a birthday party with toys galore, but my little Miss made her way to a bedroom and into a dog kennel and decided to play there! :)

Scarlett hasn't seen much rain in her 19 months of life.  It was sprinkling one morning and she sat down and just watched the raindrops hit the sidewalk.

And, of course, she still has a thing for getting on top of the table.  

Scarlett is 18 Months

Miss Scarlett is now an 18 months old ... a year and a half!

 

 

She's doing some really cute things now:

1.  Stacking lipsticks.  She likes to play with my tubes of lipstick and has been lining them up on the floor in an upright position. Then she realized she can stack them on top of each other.  I think that is pretty brilliant!

2.  We pray together at dinner every night.  She sits in a corner between Jonathan and me and reaches out a hand to each of us as we pray.  She stays quiet and still, and when we say amen, she also says amen. 

3.  She really likes to wave and say "BYE!!!" loudly to the teacher as we drop Christian off at school in the mornings.   Also, when she has decided it is her bedtime, she'll look at Jonathan and Christian, wave and say, "BYE!!!!!!!" and then walk off to our bedroom with me in tow.

What is not cute:  the continued screaming at the top of her lungs.  At home.  In the car.  Out in public.  High pitched and very loud.   Christian sits in the back with hands over ears, tears in eyes, begging me to sing a lullaby to calm her down.  I feel terrible for him!

At Scarlett's 18 month exam, her doctor remained concerned about her weight.  She had only gained one pound in three months, and that landed us an appointment with a pediatric gastroenterologist in September.   I am quite certain it'll go down like this:  we'll pay a $50.00 co-pay, get some bloodwork only to have the doctor (actually, nurse practitioner) declare that Scarlett needs to eat more.

Of course, we already know that.  And actually, she's been getting better about eating - esp. at dinner.  Some of her suprising foods lately have been brussles sprouts, artichokes and whole black beans.

But she sure does like to eat sand!

She's got so much curly hair ... we wish she'd let us put it into piggy tails!

She really liked being on the swing all by herself!

And she's really into pointing at things and saying, "That?"

Really, she's just CUTE all around:

Here's the running total for her stats:

18 Months:
Weight:  18 lbs. 11.8 ounces  (still not on the growth chart)
Length:  29.33 inches STILL  (Only 2nd percentile)
Head:  19.09 inches (92nd percentile)

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 growth 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

A Princess and a Pretty Summer Hat