April

Victoria is four months old today. Nothing much has changed since last week, so nothing new to report. Lots of photos though.

Holding something while sleeping:

 

She sometimes holds things with both hands, sometimes brings objects to her mouth, but her favorite object to suck on is her thumb. It’s so cute, but I’m sure I can hear the cash register at the orthodontist’s office ringing every time she does it. Oh well. Nothing that can be done right now anyway.

Fiona climbing the guava tree:

She is a great climber, helped no doubt by attending Climbing Club. We are getting the yard ready for spring planting, so we are spending a lot of time outside.

Victoria fell asleep on the mat:

She seems to be one of those babies who can fall asleep anywhere (so far, knock on wood). We are really hoping she keeps it up. She is also sleeping pretty well at night. She had many 7-9 hour nights. The worst night she slept five hours and then three hours. I really really really want her to continue her good sleeping. Fiona is a great sleeper now, but it took a long time and little bit of work to get there. I hope Victoria continues her trend and becomes a great sleeper also.

Fiona putting away her laundry:

    

First she sorts the laundry based on the type of clothing (pants, dresses, shorts, skirts, underwear, tank tops, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts), then she puts each item away. I really hope Victoria picks up this habit, or at least puts her own laundry away when she is old enough. Speaking of Victoria again, this is what she did while Fiona was sorting and putting away:

 

See? She’ll sleep anywhere.

We went to Passover dinner at my cousin David’s house:

 

He is an excellent cook and it was really fun. Normally I do not like Passover. It’s my least favorite holiday due not only to the food restrictions but also to the memories of long boring Passover seders at my grandparents’ house when I was younger. They were always so serious and stuffy, I was always hungry, it was not a pleasant situation. Passover is supposed to be a celebration of freedom. Dinner at David’s definitely feels more like a celebration. Fiona enjoyed the seder and had a blast running around and playing with Lindsey. Lindsey and Kaitlyn took turns holding and playing with Victoria. David chased the girls around and there was much shrieking and laughing. It was a great night. I wish they lived closer. I hate that our closest family is an hour away. Here is a photo of the four girls together:

I’ll end with a photo of my two little loves:

Ah, sisters!

Stuff

Things have been going well here. Victoria slept really well the last few nights. Five ours, eight hours, ten hours, eight hours! Cross your fingers she keeps it up. It comes on the back of a week of waking every two to three hours and being really fussy. Fiona has been a delight lately, and is getting even more involved with Victoria. She helps dress her sometimes and tries to play with her. Victoria looks at Fiona with such love. It’s heartwarming to see. I really hope they get along when they are older and can be friends.

Here is Fiona trying to hypnotize Victoria:

Not really. I put Victoria on the mat and asked Fiona to keep an eye out while I went to the bathroom. I returned to find Fiona moving the penguin around for Victoria’s amusement.

Some things never change:

We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and had a fantastic day. First, it was Teacher Appreciation Month, so our tickets were significantly discounted. Second, Fiona had a blast watching a puppet show and petting all the baby sharks. Third, traffic down and back wasn’t bad at all. It was a long and wonderful day. Who could ask for anything more?

The underside of a penguin:

 

  

Here is Victoria, smiling as usual:

She is starting to suck her thumb:

 

 

Seriously?

 

 

In the BoB:

I really want to start running, but the BoB website says not to run with kids until they are at least eight months old. The bike trailer company recommends waiting until a year, when the child can sit upright and wear a helmet. I probably won’t wait to run until eight months, but it will probably pretty close. Victoria has pretty good head control, but not good enough to run with.

John reading to Victoria:

Fiona putting Victoria’s sleeper on her:

She needed a little help with the feet because Victoria kicks and curls her legs a lot, but otherwise got the arms in and buttoned the whole thing up herself. It wasn’t the first time.

Victoria’s milestones for this month have been to reach for things and now playing with the Whosit and the penguin, making them swing back and forth, and spinning things on a toy she has in the carseat. She holds on to stuff and is just starting to try to roll, rocking her body a little. I think she’ll be rolling by 6 months. It’s really hard not to compare Victoria to Fiona. It’s even harder given Fiona was so early and she did some things on time and others according to her adjusted age, so there is not really a one-to-one age correspondence. Anyway, one thing they both have in common is how CUTE they are! How can anyone resist these faces?

 

My friend Eliza took these photos in beautiful Ojai:

  

Happy Spring Everyone!