Eloise is THREE!

LOVES:
 - Bike rides (with us, or on her Strider)

 - All things Disney, but especially the princesses and Frozen characters the most

 - Watching animated movies

 - Fruit, ice cream, and breakfast foods
 - Playground
 - Back tickles

 - Reading books

 - Looking at "I Spy" books

 - Trampolines

 - Helping cook and clean

 - Wearing dresses every single day

 - Coloring and painting

 - Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon

 - Running around outside

 - All things water: pool, bath, water table, dishes, etc.

 - Hiking

 - Imaginary play, especially with her princess and animal figurines

 - Anna and Elsa braids in her hair

 - Putting on makeup with me

 - The color pink

 - Dancing AKA running in circles 

 - Wearing princess clothes

DISLIKES:
 - Vegetables and most meat
 - Loud, sudden  and unknown noises

 - Engine noises
 - Boogers in her nose

 - Being sick or hurting in any way

NEW SKILLS:
 - Counting to 20 (usually correctly? haha)

 - Pee trained on the potty!

 - Gliding on her Strider for 10+ feet

 - Hiking for over a mile at a time

 - Knowing all her basic shapes and colors

 - Knows most letters and numbers 0-9

 - Drawing recognizable things/shapes

 - Climb nearly everything at most parks

RANDOM NOTES:
 - Still takes a nap nearly every day, though I'm not sure how much longer that will last. If the nap is longer than an hour, it usually takes Eloise a while to fall asleep that night. She still goes to bed at 7:30 pm sleeps until about 7:30 am.

 - Never had a haircut in her life, and her pretty hair is now down to her waist. She dislikes it tucked behind her ears, and constantly holds it out of her face with her right hand when she doesn't have a clip in or have it out of her face.

 - Breakfast is her best (and favorite) meal, and she tends to eat a little less for lunch, and less for dinner.

 - Does a wonderful job peeing on the potty, but refuses to go number two and still wears a pull-up when sleeping.

 - Loves to talk and with chatter at you all day long. She also loves to narrate what she is doing, and also will say what she wants you to say to her.

 - Lou is still sooo ticklish, and loves to be tickled! She laughs especially hard when you tickle her while giving her a hug or while wrestling.

I have to include just a few of my favorite photos of Eloise from the last few months ish :)

Eloise's Favorite Books:

 - Your Personal Penguin

 - Pout Pout Fish

 - Little Blue Truck

 - I Spy books

 - Princess books (with electronic reader)

 - Puck's Peculiar Pet Shop

Eloise's Favorite Music:

 - Anything from the Frozen movies, but especially "Into the Unknown"

 - "This is Berk" and "Coming Back Around" from How to Train Your Dragon

 - Anything by Phil Collins in the Tarzan movie, but especially "Two Worlds"

 - Anything from The Lion King, bust especially "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

 - "Imperial March" from Star Wars (this was a short phase, but hilarious)

 - "Axel F" by Crazy Frog

 - "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled (mainly because Dustan plays this song whenever he brushes her hair)

Eloise's Favorite Movies/Shows:

 - Frozen I and Frozen II

 - Tangled

 - The Magic School Bus

 - How to Train Your Dragon

 - Llama Llama

I desperately wanted to record more of Eloise, but it is hard to remember exactly what she was like a few months ago. I guess that is the problem when I fall behind on my blogs! But I still can't believe we have a three year old! She is feisty and beautiful and tough and absolutely hilarious. We love you, Eloise!!

Finley at Eleven Months

LIKES: 

 - Chasing/crawling after Eloise

 - Fruit, especially berries

 - Hugs and kisses from Eloise

 - Drinking water

 - Bath and pool time

 - Playing in dirt and sand

 - Seeing me or Dustan after a time apart

 - Playing with hair

 - Toast and pancakes and cheerios and oatmeal

 - Dancing and music

DISLIKES:

 - Being hungry

 - Being laid on her back (clothes and diaper changes)

 - Most vegetables and meat and eggs

FIRSTS/SKILLS:

 - Responding/turning when we say her name

 - Riding in a shopping cart (poor, Covid baby haha)

 - Saying "uh oh" and "mama" and "dada" 

 - Getting up on hands a feet/bear crawling

 - Tantrum

RANDOM NOTES:

 - Clothes: 6-9 months

 - Diaper Size: 3 (though I honestly think she would still fit 2s fine haha)

 - We are still exclusively nursing! I do feel like I am producing less milk, but we tried to give Finley some of my freezer stash a couple times this month and she wasn't interested.

 - Still just has four cute teeth, but her gums have seemed a little more swollen and red at the end of this month.

 - Dustan and I were kinda lame parents and didn't dress Finn up for Halloween at all...

Finley is still on the same schedule as last month, and her naps and early mornings have improved, yay! She is sleeping longer for her naps, and she is usually sleeping until 7:00 am or later most mornings. She has started to have some trouble falling asleep for her naps, especially the morning nap. So I'm wondering if it is getting time to push back the time of her naps to a little later or cut them shorter. We'll see. I just hope she keeps her two naps for at least another few months! I'm not ready for her to be on one nap just yet!

7:30 am - Wake up and nurse

8:30 am - Breakfast

10:00 am - Nap
11:30 am - Nurse

12:30 pm - Lunch
2:30 pm - Nap
4:00 pm - Nurse and snack 
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:15 pm - Nurse, bedtime routine
7:30 pm - Bed

Finley has started to be a little sneaky/naughty this month and loves to get into everything. And she knows she's not supposed to, which is the funny part. She is constantly trying to climb into the fireplace and is sticking her hands in the dirt of my plants. She will look at me, give me her sweetest and crinkliest grin, then crawl as fast as possible to my plants or into the bathroom. I'm just thankful she hasn't realized she is totally capable of opening cupboards and drawers yet! I'm sure Eloise will teach her how soon enough. Finley often thinks it's so funny when I drag her away, but she also likes to throw mini tantrums and clench her fists and scream at me. I don't remember this starting to early with Lou, haha.

A pretty cool place to nurse

Finn is getting a lot faster at crawling, and is really improving at crawling over objects. She will pull/push to stand on low objects like legs or pillows, but hasn't really figured out how to do it on higher things like the couch or chairs. She doesn't love to stand, though can sometimes do it independently for a few seconds when placed in the position, and does some balance correcting. She won't take steps with balance support. Overall, she is hitting her milestones just on time. I find it so interesting how different our girls are, and developing wonderfully in their own timeline :)

This month, we took a fall break trip to southeast Utah and stayed in a cabin south of Moab. We were a little worried beforehand about how the girls would do with our whole family sleeping together in one room and being out of the house from breakfast to dinner time every day, but they did amazing! Both girls slept well overnight, even when we put them to bed late every night. They both took naps in the car and in the hiking backpacks every day. And they were both still happy girls :)

We can't believe our girls turn one and three next month!! We're so lucky to have them <3

Finley at Ten Months

LIKES: 

 - Crawling! 

 - Playing the drums and xylophone

 - Fruit, especially blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and peaches

 - Toast and pancakes and cheerios

 - Dancing

 - "Chasing" Lou around while we hold her

 - Pool and bath

 - Music

 - Playing with and pulling hair

 - Jumping in your lap

 - Trying to eat every speck she finds on the floor

 - Having yelling matches with Lou

 - Peek-a-boo

DISLIKES:

 - Being hungry

 - Falling over from sitting

 - When mama leaves the room

 - Having toys taken away

FIRSTS/SKILLS:

 - Dancing (shaking her head back and forth)

 - Going from belly to sitting

 - Bike ride

 - Crawling

 - Gives kisses (very open mouthed haha)

 - Pulling to stand (only done it once on the side of the bathtub)

RANDOM NOTES:

 - Clothes: 6 months

 - Diaper Size: 2 (but should be in size 3, I'm just trying to finish up this box haha)

 - Now has four cute teeth! Her teeth on top are sooo spread apart, it kills me! I love it.

 - She has been so snuggly this month, and will just rest her head on my shoulder regularly when I'm holding her. 

 - Still has the most crinkly smile, which is now made even better with front teeth!

 - Plays with her hair/scratches her head while nursing and going to sleep.

I can't believe how close our girl is to turning one!! Her fun loving, energetic, and goofy personality is starting to shine through and it just makes me love her more!

Her schedule is about the same as it has been, just with a little more inconsistencies.

7:30 am - Wake up (ideally), nurse

9:00 am - Breakfast
10:00 am - Nap
11:30 am - Nurse

1:00 pm - Lunch
2:30 pm - Nap
4:00 pm - Nurse, snack if needed
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:15 pm - Nurse, bedtime routine
7:30 pm - Bed

This schedule has mostly been working well for the most part. 7:30 am is the ideal wake up time I would like for Finley (and Eloise), but for some reason she has been waking up by 6:30 or even earlier ever since we got back from our trip to Washington. There was no time change, so I'm not sure what the reason is for suddenly waking up so much earlier. In addition to that, Finley has really been struggling with her afternoon nap and only sleeping for about 30 minutes before waking up upset and refusing to go back to sleep. Overall, she is very suddenly getting hours less sleep than before! Hopefully her sleep will improve, but I'm not sure yet what has happened.

Sadly, Finn has started to get more picky with what she eats. She still eats a shocking amount of food most meals, but is less willing to eat everything. She still eats better than Lou, but she doesn't just eat everything in front of her like she used to haha. 

Finley learned to crawl this month! We looked up some exercises to help her out and learn how, since she was obviously starting to get frustrated when trying to move around. We had her regularly play on her knees, and situated her on knees and hands with toys. Eventually, she started walking her hands forward and we would move the opposite knee up simultaneously. Once we were doing these activities regularly for a few weeks, Finn figured it out! Just a few days before she turned 10 months old. She's still super slow, but she is already so much happier being independent and playing. 

We can't believe our silly Finn is almost one!! We sure do love this girl and having her in our family :)

Finley at Nine Months

LIKES:

 - Watching Lou dance and run around

 - Eating

 - Peek-aboo

 - Playing in water (pool, bath, etc.)

 - Grass

 - Putting literally everything in her mouth

 - Drinking water

 - Sand

 - Sitting up

 - Swings

 - Fruit, especially blackberries, raspberries, and peaches

 - Most carbs

 - Nursing

 - "Chasing" Eloise and dancing with her

 - Playing with hair

 - Being outdoors

DISLIKES:

 - Long car rides

 - When I leave the room/her sight

 - Falling over from sitting

 - Salmon (one of the few foods she spit out and refused)

FIRSTS/SKILLS:
 - Road trip (over 50 hours in just a few weeks!)

 - Visit to states other than Arizona (Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California)

 - Going to the ocean/beach

 - Giving bonks

 - Purposefully going from sitting to belly

 - Clapping

 - Top tooth

RANDOM NOTES:

 - Weight: 16 pounds 8 ounces (20th percentile)

 - Height: 27 inches (32nd percentile)

 - Clothes: 6 months

 - Diaper Size: 2

 - Now has three cute little teeth! I think the other top tooth will be in very soon. I can't wait until those top teeth grow in more.

 - Definitely a bit of a mama's girl

 - Will occasionally give me some cuddles, especially right before and after sleeping and nursing. I love them!

 - She will often say "mama" while looking at me, but I'm not convinced she actually knows what she is saying haha

SCHEDULE

7:30 am - Wake up, nurse

9:00 am - Breakfast
10:00 am - Nap
11:30 am - Nurse

1:00 pm - Lunch
2:30 pm - Nap
4:00 pm - Nurse, snack if needed
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:15 pm - Nurse, bedtime routine
7:30 pm - Bed

Finley's schedule at the end of this month is pretty much identical to last months. It is working so well for us! We've only had a couple night wakings this month that were easily solved with some nursing or snuggles, though we have had a lot more trouble with getting down for the night and for naps. I rarely have to nurse again, but Dustan and I have often needed to hold Finn and rock her to sleep and gently lay her down. I think she might be having some trouble with her teeth and with separation anxiety (which I know gets more prevalent at this age).

Finn loves to eat! She really enjoys nursing still, though she is very easily distracted. She nurses best first thing in the morning and right before bed. I always nurse her right after she wakes in the morning, after each nap, and before bed. I'll often do a super short nurse before one of both naps if she seems like she needs a little snack. Finley is also a rockstar at eating solids. She never eats any purees and will often eat better and just as much or even more than Eloise. She eats three meals a day and sometimes a snack. Carbs and fruit are her favorites, though she eats almost all foods well. Some of her favorite foods this month (foods that she ate more than I thought would be possible for her in one sitting) were blackberries and blueberries, Panera macaroni and cheese, german pancakes, sweet and sour meatballs, and cheese quesadilla. 

Overall, Finley has been a little more fussy and needy this month, I think mostly due to the fact that her top teeth have been trying to poke through for so long. She doesn't like when I leave the room, but is sometimes okay with it if Lou entertains her a bit. She also seems to be anxious to get moving around more, but hasn't figured it out yet. 

She is a pro at sitting this days and has figured out how to intentionally get from sitting onto her belly, and sometimes she'll even hang out on her hands and knees for a couple seconds. She is sooo wiggly when you are holding her. Finn will spin around so quick on her belly, and can even scoot herself backwards by pushing off on her arms. She just can't seem to figure out that forward movement though, and it is getting frustrating for her. Hopefully she can figure it out in the next month! She also started clapping though and it is just so cute!

We went on our first family road trip this month, and we survived! We drove from Arizona to Washington, which is about a 24 hours drive one way. Beforehand, Dustan and I figured that Eloise would do well during any daylight/wake times on the drive, but would struggle to sleep in the car. And Finley would sleep all right, but would need lots of help to stay happy during her wake time. And we turned out to be right, haha. So, we drove about half the drive overnight and the other half during the day. Finn needed a lot of snacks and entertainment and there was definitely some crying, but that's okay!

We had such a fun time in Washington. This trip will get its own blog post, but just some Finley highlights: she loved being outside so much in the cooler weather and going on hikes, she really enjoyed the sand at her first time at the beach/ocean, and she loved all the extra attention from her grandparents and aunts and uncles.

It's been a busy month and we're just starting to get back in our routine at home. Both girls did so well on our trip and it was a blast! We are so happy to have gotten out and had some fun as a family!