Check-Up and Catch-Up

Aspen went in for her 6 month well-baby visit last Friday, August 22.



It went well, she's on track, according to the pediatrician. Here are the official stats:

Heigh: 25/8" (43 percentile)
Weight 14 lbs 8.5 oz (16 percentile)
Head circumference: 43.25 cm (77 percentile)

And for anyone who's interested, HERE is the post with Sabine's stats from HER 6 month appointment. (The girls are quite similarly proportioned!)

Aspen doesn't seem to get a fever with vaccines, thank goodness, but they do seem to give her terrible gas. So we went ahead and had her tested for various food allergies. I am a little suspicious she might at least be sensitive to eggs. (As well as dairy and soy, which we already know.) The blood draw for that was not fun, but hopefully it will give us some good information.

We also celebrated Grandmom's birthday together that day. Sabine helped make the frosting again this year, it was pink!





Then, last week, daddy was away on business and preschool was closed for a break before the regular year begins again, so Grandmom and Grandpa invited Sabine up for two nights for a change of scenery. Thank you, Grandmom and Grandpa! Sabine had a blast, while Aspen and I stayed home and kept her on a nice nap and eating routine. The prevacid is really kicking in, Aspen seems a lot more comfortable these days.

Here are a few pictures Grandpa sent me.

Sabine, helping squeeze orange juice:



Riding the zip line all by herself at the playground:



And most excitingly, for her, the introduction to my old American Girl doll. Sabine has recently discovered the American Girl Doll catalogs that come in the mail, and she adores them. We have said she needs to wait until she's six, which can feel like an eternity when you are only four years old!











All in all, it was a great week for everyone. Next adventure: air travel with the whole family and a beach vacation!

Six Months Old

Somehow, being halfway through Aspen's first year seems very official. And surreal!





(We wanted to get some pictures with the blanket our friend Leila made for Aspen.)



Sabine continues to be a doting big sister, and a huge help to mommy!





Sabine is still able to get the best laughs from Aspen, and they "talk" to each other in the car now. Often in squeals.

Aspen has become proficient in rolling over, both from front to back and back to front. She's also able to sit unassisted now.



We still try to be nearby because she does sometimes still tip over, but she's getting more stable daily. She also sleeps through the night regularly; her last feeding is around 8:00 or 8:30, then she's off to bed and sleeps until around 6:00 AM. Usually she wakes up with gas in the early morning, but we can often massage her tummy and she'll go back to sleep, or, worst come to worst, I can still carry her down to the swing and she'll sleep there for the last hour or two. She's got a little more hair coming in, and she takes about four naps a day. Three of the naps are usually pretty short, but at least one is often an hour and a half to two hours long.

Aspen still has an incredibly sweet and calm disposition, and loves being around people. (And cats!)

In Sabine news, I got to take her paddle boating on a nearby lake yesterday with some of our friends, and we had a great time!





It was sunny and hot, but we decided it was good practice for our upcoming beach trip. Sabine is currently going to preschool "camp" on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and has swim class on Mondays and Fridays. When we get back from our trip, the regular school year will have started, and we will be on a whole new schedule. She'll be going to preschool on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays this year, and she's also headed back to farm on Thursdays. We're hoping to keep our Friday swim class, but dropping Monday for now, and probably adding kid yoga on Tuesday nights. Whew!

No rest for the weary. Next up, we're trying to get Aspen out into the world a little more before our trip. We've kept her pretty sheltered at home, but at some point, you have to start exploring the bigger world out there!

Visitors

We've had a fun summer with several play dates



Although mostly we stay at home to cater to Aspen's nap needs, but as it turns out, lots of people have been able to come see us, so we are staying pretty social.

First, Aunt Betsy and Uncle Butch came to see us, which was pretty wonderful, since we will miss them when we go back east in the fall.



We all watched a TLC episode of Buddy's Bakery Rescue, which featured Bing's Bakery, just down the street from Aunt Betsy and Uncle Butch's house. Sabine was mesmerized--guess what our first order of business shall be in Delaware.



Thank you for coming all this way!



The next visit was our good friend from college Melissa, and her daughter.




The girls had a good time getting to know each other while the grown-ups caught up, and we even had another college friend + daughter come up for one afternoon. The next generation of CC-ers?





Then another good college friend (and also high school friend, for daddy!) stopped by with her family, including their new baby K, who is about two months younger than Aspen, but almost as big!





Their daughter A, and Sabine got along really well, but were too busy playing to have their picture taken.

And last, but certainly not least, my good friend Deb from high school stopped by on her way up to the mountains from Boston! It was really neat to see her again, and we hope to meet her twins (!) before another five years go by.




Whew. All in all, lots of fun!



And for a quick update on the girls: Sabine is evolving into quite the fashionista. The more patterns the better, and ONLY dresses these days. Aspen has just moved up to Prevacid for her reflux, as it seems to be getting worse. She's still a wonderful sleeper, so we would like to do anything we can to keep her comfortable! She is still a sweet baby, very calm and happy, even when spitting up. She is sitting by herself now, although someone still needs to be close by if she accidentally leans too far. Fortunately, big sister is a good catcher. Aspen also "talks" a lot, and she and Sabine love to squeal at each other; it's fun to see, if a little loud!

Photo Shoots

I took some pictures of the girls' cousins and Nana and Aunt Dani the other weekend, and while Sabine was more than happy to jump into a few of their pictures:





She announced she wanted her own photo shoot when we got home. Who am I to turn down this face??



















And not to forget our other, quieter members of the family!

Five Months!

I meant to get this post up over the weekend, but between internet connectivity issues and house guests, we've just fallen behind! Anyway, last Thursday, Aspen turned five months old.



And last Friday, she tried her first solid food: avocado!







It went over pretty well! Aspen ate everything we gave her and got pretty excited about it. She's also had a taste of banana, nectarine, and apple, when we've been eating them and shared a taste. She's probably ready for more, but we're reluctant to dive into that mess, so for now it's still a novelty.

Still, everyone seems healthy and happy, and growing!

ROLLING!

Aaaaaaand:

We're mobile!

20 Weeks and Happy 4th of July!

Aspen is 20 weeks old!

The girls continue to get along famously. Aspen is sleeping through the night fairly regularly, her last feeding is at 9:30 PM and she usually goes until about 6:00 AM, with an occasional wake-up where she just needs to get her pacifier or needs to be re-swaddled. I don't think rolling over is far off, so the swaddle's days are limited, anyway. Her reflux is still an issue, we are suspicious she is also sensitive to potatoes, as well as dairy and soy. It can be tricky to cut back our diet, on the other hand, if it makes her more comfortable, it's more than worth it!

Sabine has been busy with preschool and a gymnastics camp. We've had lots of play dates, and she has been developing her own sense of fashion. She still LOVES to play in my jewelry box. I was told to wear a certain necklace yesterday, and when I said the blue didn't match my shirt, Sabine told me, "It doesn't matter if it matches, mom. It just matters if you looooove it."I thought that was good advice, so I wore the necklace all day, until Aspen started banging her head on it.

We had a great fourth of July, we celebrated cousin E's birthday:





And also went to a neighborhood BBQ, and then Sabine and Daddy and some friends went over to Nana and Aunt Dani's to watch the fireworks show. (It was almost literally in their backyard!) I stayed home with Aspen, but it turns out I could see four separate shows out of Aspen's window, including the local one that was very impressive, so it was a fun night for all of us.