The day the girl moved into our house

I'm surprised I haven't made this point yet.  But, a strange thing happens when you have your second baby... your baby at home turns into a grown child, or in my case a miniature teenage size girl.  A very important fact, but a hard thing to remember mid-tantrum, is that she is not really a 5 year old.  She is only (not quite) 2, and we have to keep our cool when reacting to the standard irrational 2-year-old fit.  But SIZE alone, I could not believe how big Carlyle was when I brought Ben home.  The difference in their size difference really becomes evident when changing their diapers.  In fact, my brother said that after seeing me with a newborn, "it looked like I was wrestling a grown woman on the changing table" when I was changing Carlyle's diaper, ha!

Newborn vs. Size 4

Carlyle-isms

Some Carlyle-isms:

Das Nice to share or Carlyle share Azza, Dats nice = She loves to brag about how nice it is to share, even when she doesn't always do it correctly

Trinkerbell = Tinkerbell is one of her new favorites and also her Halloween costume this year!

Baby Ben is sweeping, cose his eyes 

Mommy, mommy = unfortunately also means "I want" or "I'm hurt" or any kind of whining

Za loud noise = any noise or sound

I hear someping

Bairnair = the word Carlyle uses for things she doesn't have a word for. I am trying to capture her pronunciation in my spelling, but its really funny!

Way de go? Day is!!! 

I hear Daddy in the shower = Justin usually tries to shower, dress, and leave for work before Carlyle can hear him.  But she busted him one morning when she heard the distant sound of water running in the shower. 

Zuzu weck her car, da loud noise = I'll let Zuzu explain this one

Shoes on! = She is getting very particular about her shoe choices

No baseball, watch music = Her request to her Daddy to not watch football and watch Little Einsteins

Two Ones = When she sees two of the same thing
Whoa, Whats Dat = saying this a lot lately when pointing out new things or noises, and she expects an answer from me
Dare, Das Better = Her new response to everything that requires fixing or moving or if we kiss a bobo

The Carlyle Mash-up (ref. Glee):  Carlyle's singing has really picked up the pace this past month.  She sings all the time, making up songs or singing the classics.  She has a knack for combining the songs with the same tune, like Twinkle, Twinkle, the ABC's, and Baa Baa Black Sheep... with the occasional change of lyrics to be about Mommy, Daddy, Buzz Lightyear, etc.  She is amazingly pitch-perfect most of the time with the tune of a song, so we can usually easily guess what she is singing.  Like the other day, we guessed the Hokey Pokey and Frere Jaques correctly, and she was so pleased that we picked up on it.

This is another list that is mostly for me, in my attempt to record some of her funnier moments.  These are some of my highlights of her speech, but she will repeat pretty much anything at this point and form her own multiple word sentances.  Its remarkable to see how her brain works. 

Tummy Time with Baby Ben

I promise I did not prompt this moment, but of course, I encouraged it.  It was all Carlyle's idea to snuggle with baby brother.

She likes to point out his nose, ears, hands, toes, and eyes (with us reminding her not to stick her fingers directly in them)

I got it!

I came in from running errands with the both of them, and I put Ben (in his carrier) on the floor by the door.  And since I never leave the two of them alone, I had an eye on them from two rooms away.  Carlyle was going about her business, singing a song about Buzz Lightyear (that she made up I assume) and gathering some odds and ends (a book, a pen, a sqeeze toy, etc) with what seemed like great purpose.  But Ben started crying, and I hear Carlyle from the other room, "I got it!".... her footsteps make their way over to his carrier, and she leans down to pat him, rock him, and try to give him is paci.  What a funny, but sweet big sister moment!

I was trying to capture how excited Carlyle is to see "Baby Ben" as she leans over to clasp her hands together smiling.

Pat "soft"

The Cousins

We managed to get all three of the cousins in the same room for the first time at Zuzu's house yesterday.  My attempt at a group photo was a little more difficult than I expected, but we captured a few classic moments!

Carlyle was thrilled to play with Emmet!

But Carlyle may have been a little TOO much high energy for Emmet.

The laid back boys.  Emmet looked angelic in every photo I took.  Carlyle looked like a pink tornado in most every photo I took.  And Ben... well, he's only 3 weeks old.

And finally, a photo of the three of them together!

(Can you see the reflection of Dora on the TV in Carlyle's eyes?)

Zuzu Turn!

If I could only count how many times I have heard, "Zuzu turn" or "Zuzu do it" in the past two weeks!  Carlyle has put Zuzu to the test while she has been here helping out.  She makes sure to include her in every activity. . . I captured a few of the many moments here. 

2 Week Checkup

Ben is a healthy growing boy:

weight = 8lb 12.5oz (73%)

height = 21.5" (90%)

head c = 36cm (25%)

Sleeping a lot . . .

Fortunately for Mom and Dad, he has had a few nights where he has gone 4 hours between feedings!

First bath.

He had a hard time waking up for this one.