18 Months

Although Ida is still very small she is making her way up on the scale! She is now 31 inches tall and 18 lbs 2 ounces putting her in the 8th percentile for weight! As of about 15 months she is wearing 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers and size 4 shoes. Ida's hair has lightened up in color quite a bit and her eyes are like a denim blue color with quite a bit of grey mixed in with blue. Her hair is so fine and thin that she doesn't seem to have much there. But I was finally able to get some adorable pig tails just a few weeks ago! Something I've been waiting for for a long time!

This little girl has attitude, sass, and a strut to her walk. And a small part of me loves it! I'm sure I may not always feel this way when she uses that attitude and sass on me. The little bits and pieces that she has already shown me might terrify me just a little for her terrible 2's. But I wouldn't change her personality for anything. I wish that I could follow her around with a video camera all day because I feel like that is the best way of really capturing her personality. It's just so hard to try and put it into words. I hear so many positive comments about her. She just has this personality that draws people to her and that people love.

Ida is a screamer. She always has been and the more she wants something the louder she screams! Especially when it comes to food. She loves food and is the perfect definition of hangry. She gets so mad when she is hungry. She is really trying to talk but her ability just hasn't caught up to her desire yet. Much like her walking. But she will try to repeat anything you ask her to, it just usually all sounds the same. :) She never really picked up on the signing. She will sign all done, please and milk, although I'm no sure she knows exactly what the sign for milk means. And I think she uses the sign please more for when she wants something. She went through a small period of signing more but it was short lived. She also has said a couple words like Austin and Dad. She is starting to get into more things like cupboards and climbing onto the table. She is also a lot more destructive than Jacob ever was. I have to be a lot more careful with books because she will rip the binding off or rib flaps off or color on books, walls, furniture. I've had to be more careful with leaving things out.

Ida has a million facial expressions. And she has started trying to explain things to me and she is so cute because she makes so many different facial expressions while she does it. As well as her arms and hands. Even though she doesn't talk much she is extremely good and letting people know what she wants through her continual grunting. Which is pretty much nonstop every day. She may not use words but you know what she wants. And if you pretend you don't know what she wants, she looks at you like yours super dense. She is really funny when she gets mad because her expressions change in like .2 seconds. One second she is crying and the next she has a completely straight face with no emotion. When she is throwing a fit she lays flat on the ground, face first, and spreads her arms straight out. She also has the best frowny eyes when she is sad or upset. Even though she has grown into her eyes, I still think they are big and have so much expression in them. She is very easygoing and has little to no stranger danger. If someone wants to hold her she pretty much goes to anyone. She just has a way of making everyone feel good and happy. She is also very observant and a fast learner. She definitely observes to learn and not just for entertainment. She picks things up so quickly. She still has a bubble and doesn't love when people get in that bubble without permission. (Especially Jacob) But has also started to enjoy playing with Jacob more and more.

Ida has some funny quirks. Something she really enjoys doing is picking the lint and toe jam out from between her toes. As soon as her socks come off or she is laying down or in bed she is picking between her toes. She is also the cutest when she is going to bed because she gets so happy and when you put the blanket on her she grabs it and pulls it close to her laughing and smiling the whole time. She also likes to stick her finger in the hole of her pacifier when he is going to sleep. She likes to have multiple pacifiers when she is going to bed so she can have one to rub her eye or stick in her ear but I'm trying not to let her have more than just one. If she is having a rough night or we are staying somewhere new then I will usually let her have two. When you are holding Ida she likes to absentmindedly dig at your nail bed with her finger nail. Which does not feel very comfortable as well as rub her nail under your finger nail between the nail and the skin. She doesn't do it on purpose. Just does it when she's not really thinking about it.

I feel like it's hard to pick out favorites for Ida because I feel like she likes mostly anything. But she does really seem to like animals. Especially cats and horses. When she is upset or gets hurt all we have to say is "Where's the kitty" and she will immediately stop and start looking for the cat. She also likes dogs and loves when we visit my parents and she gets to see Cricket. Although I'm sure the feelings are not mutual.

When it comes to food I feel like it is also hard to pick out a favorite. She just eats and doesn't seem to like one thing more than the other. But if I had to pick right now it would probably be watermelon. She eats so much better then Jacob and it is really nice. I do think she has a sniffer built into her for food. She can find any snack bag of food anyone has. Also if she wants something you are eating she will come up to you with huge doe eyes and sign please and you pretty much can't resist her. :)

She also really likes soft blankets or pillows and anytime she comes across one she lays on it. When she gets really excited about something her whole body shakes with excitement! And when she is laying on the pillow or blanket she will almost bounce her legs with enjoyment. She is kind of going through a phase where she doesn't like the vacuum but up till this point has never had a probably with it. She also doesn't like being tackled by Jacob.

Ida is a pretty good sleeper except when she is teething or sick. Then she becomes the worst sleeper! If she is teething or sick and she wakes up in the middle of the night she does not go back to sleep for hours! Usually 3 hours. Probably because she doesn't feel well but it is so exhausting! When she is feeling fine though she sleeps really well. She is now down to one nap a day and takes naps really well as well. She loves her lion wub and I don't think will be ready to give it up for awhile. We love this little girl and her contagiously happy personality! She makes life so fun!

And more pics just because she is cute. :)

3 Months

Austin did not by-pass Jacob but has caught up to him. He is now 23 inches tall and 13 pounds 2 ounces and Jacob was 13 pounds 3 ounces. I haven't had time to move him up to 3 month clothes yet but I'm going to as soon as I find some time. He is still wearing size 2 diapers and probably will for a bit longer unless those fat rolls on his thighs get too big! Austin seems to have more hair then my other babies did. Or maybe it's just darker. I find myself looking down and doing a double take because I'm just not used to seeing so much hair. Not like he even has a lot of it... It's just more then I'm used to seeing on my babies. It also seemed to grow back really fast after falling out. He does have some Alfalfa hair on top that never fell out so it's longer and darker than the rest of his hair. :) He also had a birth mark show up on his right cheek that I love! At first I just thought it was dirt, but when I went to rub it off it didn't come off!

I feel like this boy is so intelligent... And aware. He just seems to know what's going on. It's kind of hard to explain. There has just been so many times where I'm like, for his age... He shouldn't be doing things yet. Or so aware of his surrounds. Maybe it's just been because life has been so crazy that he's just growing up too fast! I feel like he is going to be a fast learner. He is for sure a smiler! You can get him to smile at you just by looking at him! As soon as his eyes focus on you he is smiling at you. He is also becoming quite the giggler. He laughs way more than Jacob or Ida did at this age and it is so much fun! He is also SO ticklish! It's the greatest! And I feel like I torture him so much more than I should because when I tickle him he laughs and it's so cute! He has also started to talk and coo but doesn't do it very often. It's pretty cute when he does though!

Austin still doesn't like the car seat much. It makes car rides not super enjoyable sometimes. Especially when he gets mad and nothing will make him better. He also doesn't like things being over his head. The other day I was getting him dressing and his shirt didn't go over his head as quickly as it usually does and he kind of started panicking. He also really hates getting out of the tub and getting washed. So before that whole process starts he seems to enjoy getting baths.

Austin started grabbing onto his toys about a week ago. I feel like he is pretty good as well. You can see him working his fingers to make them work and it takes so much concentrations. It was just over two weeks ago that he started reaching and hitting his toys. He is starting to really like the play mat. He also seems to enjoy being in the jumper but mainly because it sits him up. He hasn't figured out how to use it at all yet. And, I wouldn't say Austin likes the swing but I have pretty much forced him to put up with being in the swing. I can get him to take naps in it but he doesn't really like being in it any longer than is necessary. He has also discovered his hands. That is one of my favorites when they figure out they have hands and they just stare at them. It's the best!

I also love them figuring out how to work their hands. It's like they can concentrate on them for like 15 seconds at a time and then they lose the concentration and their hands go crazy again. And then they are able to focus back and try to work them again. I just think it's so fun to watch! He doesn't really seem to suck on his hands much but will occasionally get them up there. So far as well he doesn't bring the toys up to his month at all. Just grabs onto them.

Life has still been pretty rough with Austin. I felt like me cutting out diary and other stuff from my diet seemed to work for a while but then it just got bad again. I just can't help but feel like there is something more bothering him then him just being a fussy baby. I just don't really have any idea what it might be. Sleeping has been so horrible lately. He only takes half hour naps at a time during the day but he always wakes up crying like he wants more sleep but doesn't sleep longer. Then at night he's been getting up every 1 to 2 hours when he used to be doing a good 6 hour stretch of sleep. He seems to get really gasy at night and I have to always un-swaddle him and work his legs to get all the gas out then he seems to sleep a little better after that. But I just feel like I'm not getting any sleep and it's exhausting. I just don't really know what to do anymore. I feel like I spend the majority of the day just walking around with him with Ida following behind crying because she wants me to hold her. Or trying to put him to sleep.

He still wont go to sleep on his own at all and I just don't have the time with the other kids to work on it with him. So even though he is pretty good at breaking out of his swaddle, I feel like I have to keep swaddling him so that he will stay asleep while I transition holding him to laying him down. He's really good at just working his one arm out and I think it's really cute. He also doesn't really take the pacifier as well as my other kids did and spits it out most of the time you try to give it to him. Especially if he is hungry. But that is something else that I kind of force on him... If I hold it in there long enough he will usually decide to take it :) He doesn't really use it at night which I think is just fine. It usually just sits next to him in the crib all night.

But he does eat well! He has always seemed to gulp his food down. He is still eating every 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours but we getting more so that he will go 2 hours between feedings. I think I feed him more than I did the others because he is so fussy I just don't really know what else to do so I feed him again. Haha might be why he is becoming so chunky. :) But when he is happy he seems to be really happy. Even when he is fussy you can usually get a smile out of him so that is nice. :) I'm hoping now that he is 3 months old some of his fussiness will start to work itself out.

Austin's first time swimming... Not so much a fan

Austin with his cousin Cooper. They are going to be best buds!

2 Months

2 Months old! Austin still looks a lot like Jacob but definitely has his own features as well! He had his well child visit today and got his first round of vaccinations. The office I go to have switched from 2 nurses giving the vaccinations at a time to just 1 now. I'm not as much of a fan. Now he has to go through 2 sessions of pain vs just getting it all done at once. :( But Austin is definialy turning out to be our fastest growing kid. He is currently 12 lbs 2 oz and 22 1/2" long. He is only 5 oz behind Jacob's 2 month weight and started a pound lighter. So I have a feeling he is going to be closing the gap within the next month or so. He is wearing size 1 diapers but I think 2's would def fit him better so I'm just waiting for the size 1's to be out so I can buy him size 2's. He is still wearing 0-3 month clothes although I'm sure we will be switching him to the next size pretty soon!

Austin is a very smiley kid when he doesn't have any other things bothering him. (Which seems to be a lot more often than not) But you can usually get a smile out of him even if he is feeling a little cranky. It's funny though because he loves to look up at whatever is above your head so when he "smiles at you" he's not actually smiling at you. He's smiling at you while looking above your head. I still think he is smiling because of your presence. Just not looking at you while he does it. :) I think Jacob is one of his favorites though. Jacob can almost always get Austin to smile. And Jacob loves being around Austin so it's very cute.

Austin reminds me of Jacob a lot. He has the same desire to always be up a looking around. He doesn't much like to by laying flat on the ground and prefers to be at somewhat of an incline when he is self entertaining. So when I am able and he allows I will either put him in the chair sitting up, on the bean bag, in the bumbo or the walker so he can be sitting up looking around. He also loves to stand. I can hardly get him to sit anymore when I am burping him. He is usually standing and can fully support himself on his legs. He has very very good head control and doesn't mind tummy time most of the time. Something that always makes Austin smile is when I am "running" his legs. He loves it for some reason. I think he is a pretty strong kid and the predication was also impressed with how well he stood and held his head up. If you are holding him he doesn't want to rest against you he likes to be sitting fully supporting his head on his own. He has started cooing a little but doesn't really talk much as of now. And just yesterday he started sucking on his hands! Austin seems to be getting better with the car seat as well. We don't have to swaddle him anymore when he is in it and as long as you are moving he seems to do pretty well. Although I would say it still isn't his most favorite... And Austin really seems to like bath time but it pretty much ends when I have to wash his hair and get him out because he hates both of those.

This is Austin's signature look :)

Austin has the best pouty lip. I think it is the cutest! I unfortunately haven't been able to get a picture of it. :( He also does this really cute whimper cry that I love. I'm not sure what it means yet... But while I'm figuring it out I'll just enjoy it. :) This video doesn't do it justice. But It's the best I could get.

He either has a very low pain tolerance or is just a little sensitive. If he gets bumped in anyway he starts screaming. And although it usually is very short lasting. He goes from 0 to 60 in like 3 seconds. Because it doesn't last very long I'm leaning more towards he is just a little sensitive. :) Austin has definitely been our most challenging kid thus far. He is very needy and wants to be held all the time which is really hard with two other very small children to take care of. He also wont put himself to sleep so I either have to bounce, rock, walk, pat his bum or all of it to get him to go to sleep. Then it's hard because I feel like if I lay him down he just wakes up.
He is so squirmy all the time I feel there are times when he has to be in pain but I have no idea what kind of pain he is in. We have tried all the gas medicine and that doesn't seem to help much. At his doctor appointment we got him some acid reflex medicine to see if that helps. We'll have to see. I have really tried to start focusing on something I am eating that may be upsetting his stomach and have cut out all the foods that seemed to bother my other kids. So right now I'm not eating dairy, peanuts or beans. If things get better I will introduce them one at a time to see if I can figure out if that is it. He seems so have a few good days and then a few really bad days where he doesn't sleep much all day and he is just really fussy. I just feel so emotionally drained all the time. I don't get a break from being a mom ever and it has been really hard. I constantly feel overwhelmed and when the other kids are fussy on top of Austin my stress levels sky rocket. I know this too shall pass but some days I just don't know how I'm going to make it through. I've been spending a lot of time in Driggs getting extra help from my family. But I feel like as soon as I'm back in Idaho Falls I just can't handle it anymore. I know postpartum depression is playing into my emotions and that is not helping. I do feel like he is getting a little better and will self entertain sometimes. Usually the evenings are the worst. He currently hasn't really liked the swing but I'm trying to force it on him so that I can put him down. The vibrator broke in our bouncy chair so he doesn't seem to be as content with that as he used to be. On a positive note. When Austin gets really angry his lip quivers really bad and it is really cute. ;)

Austin is a good eater! But he eats all the time! I usually feed him every 1 1/2 hrs. Which is why he may be gaining so much weight... If he is napping he will go 2 hours but usually wakes up to eat in the middle of his nap. If I'm not doing anything then the 1 1/2 isn't that noticeable. But if I'm doing something I feel like I'm feeding him all the time! He is a great eater though!

Austin is sleeping great at night! Although he's a night owl and usually doesn't go to sleep until 11 pm. Which pretty much means I'm on mom duty every moment of my waking day. But after he goes to sleep he usually does a 6 hour stretch before wanting to eat and then goes every 2-3 hours after that till he wakes up for the day around 10 am. Naps are still all over the place and sometimes it seems like he doesn't really nap at all. But I know over time that his nap schedule will get more consistent. Now if only I could get him to figure out how to fall asleep on his own.... That is a work in progress.