4 Month Check-Up

Josette had her 4 month check up today and it was no surprise to us that she was deemed absolutely perfect! She went through quite a growth spurt and has jumped into the 95th percentile for height at 26 1/2 inches while remaining steady in the 75th percentile for weight at 15lbs 5oz. She did so much better with her vaccinations this time around. All in all, a good trip with very little to report.

Just enjoy the adorableness:

Sleepless in NH

One of the first questions I get from a lot of people concerning Josette is, "How is she sleeping?" or "Does she sleep through the night?" I can't really blame them because, frankly, I am always curious as to the state of any baby's sleeping as well, particularly now that I realize how varied sleeping patterns can be for little ones. On occasion I go back and read blog posts around the time that Finn was Josette's age and it is amusing because many of them are frantic posts about our lack of sleep. Well, almost three years later, I can say that none of my worrying and research amounted to much and we are still sleep deprived! Only now, my expectations are more realistic thus Josette's wakeups don't bother me as much. And, she does sleep a bit better than her big brother ever did at this age. Now, as for Finn, he is still struggling in the sleep department. We have improved by leaps and bounds and we did have a few magical months of him sleeping through the night, but we are now on to new challenges with him.

First, Finn is a very early riser, like 4:30-5am early! And while Josette would most often sleep in, she is typically up around that time to nurse. So, if I can't get her back to sleep before Finn wakes up with the boundless energy of a 2-year-old, then we are all up. Here we are cuddled up on one such morning:Finn is incredibly resistant to naps these days too, choosing to skip them unless he just can't keep his eyes open on a walk or in the car. He tells us, "the sun is up, so I can't sleep." Additionally, he is often up several times in the middle of the night these days saying he just can't sleep and he is scared. His imagination is in overdrive these days and he is often scared of monsters and other things in the dark. This has been problematic in that none of us are getting the quality rest that our bodies and minds crave. Finn is often overtired and manic until he finally drops.
Here he is a few weeks ago. He was having a hard time around 4 pm. He threw himself to the ground in protest over something. I let him have a minute to calm and when I went to pick him up, I discovered he had fallen asleep.Again, around 4pm after several days of no napping, he just fell asleep exhaused on the couch:And, here he is on a morning stroller ride after a particularly restless night:
Oh, why do kiddos not understand the wonderful restorative value of sleep? Alas, I know we will get through these phases too and eventually sleep (maybe in the teenage years?).

My Crib

Josette is growing quickly and surpassed the weight limit on her bassinet. Eventually, she and Finn will share a room, but we are not quite at the point where that will work so we had to figure out new sleeping arrangements. We decided to put the crib into our room. She is doing quite well with the new bed, although she has figured out rolling from back to belly and when she wakes up, she often rolls right over:

Rucksack

A while back, I tried to get Josette into back carries but she protested quite a bit, preferring chest-to-chest holds. I got used to that and had forgotten to periodically try back wraps to see if she would be interested. Last night, Sean was out running and the kiddos were in that pre-dinner crazy and I was desperate to get a meal on the table. Josette would not be put down and front carries are just not safe when it comes to chopping veggies. So, I decided to try a quick rucksack with her high on my back. She was happy to watch the world from my shoulders while using my hair as a handle and I made a delicious Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage soup with Finn helping to mix stuff up. Success!

Art

Finn has just recently started to sit and color (maybe for only 5 minutes, but I will take it!)

A few days ago he did this picture and I was most impressed. Up to this point he has done a lot of lines and circles, but this was his first picture drawn all on his own. He said it is a shark inside a whale and then the scribbles on the side are where he wrote "shark" and "whale." Do you see it?

Fionnbharr

One of my dearest friends, Chiara, is postdoc-ing in Dublin and sent us this fantastic postcard. Check out the description, I think it fits our Finnbar perfectly!

4 Months

Can you believe Josette is 4 months old? It is amazing how fast she is growing and changing. We love seeing her personality more and more each day. She is a pretty chill little girl and always good for a big smile. She loves to watch everything that is going on around her. She laughs a lot and enjoys the antics of her little brother (so long as he isn't too loud and crazy). She particularly likes dance party time. She is also getting quite active on her own. She regularly rolls from her belly to her back, and she is working hard on getting from her back to her belly. She has done it a couple of times, but can't quite seem to get her arm freed and then gets angry. She is showing interest in her toys and working on grabbing objects. We are struggling with napping. She doesn't sleep through one sleep cycle when in her bassinet and I am finding it difficult to help her work through that with the demands of Finn. I hope she will naturally learn to consolidate her sleep as she gets older. She sleeps well when I wear her, but that limits what I can do with Finn. This two kiddo thing is tough! I have been working up a more elaborate post on that topic, but for now, Happy 4 months, Josette!

Tomato Sauce

This has been a bountiful tomato season. We planted romas, sungolds and several heirloom varieties. The heirlooms made great sandwiches, and aside from fresh eating, I have been putting the sungolds and romas in my dehydrator for "sun-dried" tomatoes. We have almost three quarts of sundried tomatoes! I was sort of avoiding canning this year because it is a time-consuming and with Finn and Josette, it is hard to gauge when I will have two free hands. Well, one of our neighbors was going on vacation and offered us some tomatoes from her garden that she wasn't going to use....30 lbs of tomatoes! Thus, I just had to get to some canning. I am very excited we did. It was a really fun activity with Finn and now we have organic tomato sauce to use through the winter!

Finn likes to line up the tomatoes and tell me the order in which to cut them: Tomato purree plus all the seasonings:Josette and Sean are skeptical:We canned 9 quarts of tomato sauce and I put and 3/4 quart in the the fridge to try this week. Yum!

Strong Legs

Josette has been really active lately and wants to practice standing often. She can bear weight on her legs for quite a while and when I am holding her she likes to go up and down to practice standing on her legs. Here we are just hanging in the yard (I think the lens on the camera was a bit dirty).

Slip n' Slide

Baboo sent us a slip n' slide to enjoy the last bit of summer in our yard. As we approach Labor Day, Fall is very much in the air here in New England. And with this weekend forecast to have some rain, I suspect this may be one of the last days of water play. It has been a most wonderful summer and we are looking forward to the beauty and the activities of Autumn. Here's Finn saying goodbye to summer with a splash!

Getting Organized

I suppose it isn't news to any of you that I like to be organized. I like everything to have its place and be neat and orderly. Needless to say, having children has definitely challenged this need in me, but I am still always on the quest for organization. The other day, I felt the deep need to organize the pantry and get all my canning supplies washed and in order for some tomato canning in the near future. Finn was psyched to help and here were the results of his work. He very meticulously took a lot of things out of the pantry and balanced my canning jars on top of various items. I can't argue that they are readily available and in a specific sizing system.