Roxy is 3!

Roxy on her third birthday.

Our sweet Roxy is 3! She is just delightful! Really. This is the adjective I use most to describe her. I feel like she's been delightful since a few months before she turned two. She definitely has her moments (especially if you wake her from a nap), but really she is so agreeable and funny and happy and sweet. 

Here are some things that she's up to / likes these days:

• Roxy uses her eyebrows a lot when she's talking. It's adorable and really fun to watch. But if I ask her to move her eyebrows she has no idea how to and intentionally blinks.
• Can pump herslef on the swing and is going slightly higher on the swing (still pretty low) which is fine. You do you. I think it's great that she knows what she wants and won't be swayed. Gonna be great for teen peer pressure.
• Says "I'm just little!" as an excuse for anything - when she can't do something or wants help or does something I told her not to.
• Loves "The Sound of Music"
• Can write her own name. 
• Likes to color (can be pretty detailed about it when she wants to). Still hasn't ever drawn people.
• Still prefers to ride in the stroller
• Likes to ride her giraffe bike and scooter over the strider bike
• Her favorite piece of clothing is the "pink Ella dress." It's a dress that is torn but still wearable and Roxy calls it the pink Ella dress because it is pink and torn, just like Ella's dress after the stepmother tells her she can't go to the ball.
• Favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, cheddar cheese, Hawaiian haystacks, olives, and scrambled eggs.
• Pippa is her best friend. Roxy also thinks that all of Pippa's friends are her friends. Which is mostly true.
• Loves going to nursery at church
• Once or twice a day (outside of quiet time) Roxy likes be alone and just chill on her bed with her snuggle blanket.
• Would probably still nap everyday if we let her, but we recently decided that it's easier to deal with the 30 minute crankiness before bedtime than the one hour screaming after waking her from a nap. 

The outtakes:

Gemma at ONE year!

Gemma on her one year birthday!

Our Gemma love is ONE! Here's what she was up to between her 11 and 12 month birthdays:

• Intentionally puts on necklaces. All the time.
• SO wiggly during diaper changes
• Pulls herself up on things
• Starting to sign - "more" and "food / eat"
• Is a voracious eater
• Has a rug burn on her left forearm from army crawling
• Likes being upside down. Especially after nursing before bed. Not really upside down - she lies back and hangs her head upside down off the nursing pillow.
• Nursing only first thing in the morning and right before bed
• Definitely knows her name and has for a while now
• Splashes and lunges in the bath - she'll get on all fours and lunge forward then slide back on her belly then get up on all fours and do it again and again.
• Points at things with one finger
• Frequently gets her leg stuck in the crib slats even though we have crib bumpers - she'll get her leg stuck way up high above the bumpers. Even though it's hot, we've started putting her in the light sleepsack for naps again to prevent this. Even with the sleep sack she can get a leg stuck.
• Likes playing with the old gift cards
• We still wake her in the morning and from every nap - she doesn't wake on her own. I still wonder how long she would go if we let her. A few times we've let her sleep in until 9:30 then we wake her...
• Still loves playing "Where is Gemma?" under any blanket or piece of clothing she can find. She's been doing this since around 7 months.
• Started crawling August 3rd. She was naked outside on the grass before bedtime and just started crawling like it was nothing. Maybe she didn't like the feel of grass on her chest? She never got up on all fours and rocked back and forth - just went right to actual crawling.
• Upon waking Gemma immediately starts scootching around in bed with no idea what she's doing / where she's going. She's been doing this for a while now and it's adorable.
• Hugs from Gemma makes the other girls cheer up. (I hold Gemma and put her arms around the girls and pat them. Gemma doesn't seem to mind and the big girls LOVE it and it almost always makes them cheer up.)
• Like to close the Mickey Mouse pop up toy thing and can open the turn one and the push button one.
• Nods yes and shakes head no. Gemma knows they mean something she just doesn't know what. It's still pretty cute to see her nod or shake in response to a question.
• Gets red forehead, temples, and eyebrows when crying (even when it's not a lot of crying).
• Does gutteral growlies. I'll try to record this sometime.
• Says "ba" then waves (like goodbye). First word?
• Always wants to get into the Polly pockets which is basically tiny small everything.
• Likes the tactile experience of books (chewing on them and turning pages) but not actually reading them.
• Likes putting clothes on her head. Especially Pippa and Roxy's underwear.
• We (me or T) take Gemma on a stroller walk almost every night to combat the last fussy hour before bed.
• After nursing at night she loves doing "upside down Gemma" - she'll hang her head over the side of the nursing pillow. I'll pull her up and she'll push to go back down. She's not so snuggly after nursing anymore.

This girl had so many great outtakes from her photoshoot. I think I'll do another post of all of them.

Gemma at 11 months

Gemma on her 11 month birthday

Here is what Gemma was up to between her 10 and 11 month birthdays:

• Very mobile with scootching around (army crawling)
• Her cheeks are finally clear of excema - this actually happened last month. I thought we were done with it two months ago, but then T rubbed his beard on her cheeks to make her laugh and it came back. So now she's really been free of it since last month.
• Gemma had a fever for three days on the hottest days of the year so far. She was also pretty lethargic and just wanted to snuggle me all day. Pippa had just started swimming lessons and she wasn't sick so... I took all the girls, made sure Pippa got in the water with her teachers, then went back out to the car. I gave Roxy the iPad to watch a movie and snuggled and nursed Gemma in the front seat while the car ran on full AC for 30 minutes. Then we went in and got Pippa and came home. (We did that Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday - no swimming on Wednesdays.) I was pretty sure it was roseola (this is exactly how it was for Pippa - fever and lethargic during the hottest days of the year) but because Gemma had that UTI in December I had to take her to the doctor. We had to do another urine bag and she actually fell asleep on the table while we were waiting (she was so hot and tired, it was sad). She came back positive for a UTI that I was pretty sure was a false positive (the quick dip was free of blood and white blood cells) but we gave her the meds anyway (because she's too little to risk it). Anyway, the fever did turn out to be roseola. On the fourth day she got the roseola rash. Here Gemma is being snuggly and hot and lethargic, then falling asleep on the doctor's table waiting to fill the urine bag.

• Gemma intentionally helps get dressed by putting her arms into her shirt or onesie.
• Pulling up on things to a standing position. 
• Pushing to sitting from lying on her tummy.
• Points with one finger.
• Still fussy the last 1.5 hours before bedtime.
• Learned to navigate the one step in our house all by herself. She can go up and down it by herself. 
• Nods yes as a response if you nod.
• Sort of signs "more"
• Has tan lines in her arm rolls and has for a while
• Waves
• Doesn't mind sitting or crawling on grass, even when her legs aren't covered.
• Has the same scar looking birth mark on her lower right back like Roxy does
• Sucks both thumbs, sucks the left a bit more I think.

Gemma at 10 months

Gemma on her 10 month birthday

Here's what our sweet Gemma was up to between her nine and 10 month birthdays:

• Has the start of curlies? When Pippa got curlies, it was a surprise. When our second baby, Roxy, was born I thought it was unlikely that she would get curlies (she did). I thought having a third baby (Gemma) with curlies would be a statistical anomaly, but here she is with the start of curlies! We will see if they turn out to be lasting curlies or baby curlies that eventually grow out. 
• Rolling all over and scootching forward a tiny bit.
• Makes lots of b and d sounds and lip smacks.
• Likes to put her bottom lip on top of her top lip.
• Interlocks / laces her toes together.
• Loves playing "Where is Gemma?" and will move the blanket on and off her face by herself. She's been doing this for a while now. 
• Her army crawl is adorable. Gemma tilts ALL the way to one side then the other to push forward.
• Is less yell-y during her last feeding before bed.
• Prefers her right hand to eat with.
• So yell-y when she wants more food.
• Pippa and Gemma like to say, "We're going to cut cut cut you off" when Gemma is done eating. She always wants more food - she's never stopped on her own I am always the one to stop giving her food (and I say, "Ok Gemma, we're going to cut you off here." which is why the big girls say it). With my other two I definitely believed that a baby would stop eating when they were full. I don't know if Gemma does that. She wants more, more, more and then she'll spit up / puke. 
• Likes patting her mouth while saying "ahhhhh."
• Still loves the doorway jumper

Outtakes:

Gemma at 9 months

A progression of Gemma on her 9 month birthday

Here's what our sweet Gemma was up to between 8 and 9 months:

• Lets you know (loudly) if you're not getting her more food fast enough.
• Sometimes sucks her thumb during the day.
• Sleeps on her side
• Upon waking up she immediately leg thrashes (both legs up and down, slamming on the carpet).
• Can pincher grasp peas and such. It's such a gentle grasp though. She doesn't crush or squish the peas (or whatever small food) at all.
• LOVES jumping and swinging in the bouncer (and has for a while now). We call her jumping bean.
• Ticklish on her feet. (Pippa playing with a paintbrush discovered this.) Also ticklish on her neck and armpits.
• Has long eyelashes but they are so blonde.
• Is excited to nurse - she does little pants and has all four limbs flapping.
• Likes to swing outside with big pushes.
• Sucks her thumb and puts her head on my shoulder when I sing to her before sleep. I love this so much.
• Gags more often than I expected with baby led weaning (basically, she eats what we eat from the get go instead of starting with purees). But has never choked.
• Blows raspberries a lot and on me, too. It tickles!
• Is a happy, calm, long nurser first thing in the morning. Is a very unhappy, screaming, short nurser before bed.
• We let her sleep in (we woke her at 9 - I still wonder how long she would go if we let her) and then only had two naps for the first time on May 6.
• Pats her mouth with her hand while saying ahhhhhh.
• Sucks her thumb a lot while awake. Gemma loves sucking our fingers, too.
• Gemma is an ambi-turner! (Instead of just rolling to the left.) This happened at the end of the month.
• Occasionally Gemma will stop nursing to suck her thumb for a bit then she'll go back to nursing.
• Puts her bottom lip up over the top lip often.
• Claps when I walk in and have been gone for a while.

Sister photo shoot

Sometimes I try to take Gemma's monthly photos while the "big girls" (Roxy and Pippa) are asleep or having quiet time. It's faster that way. But if they are around, they always want in on the action:

 Why are they looking down?...


Because Gemma is sitting on the foot stool reaching for their feet!

They really do love each other

Gemma at 8 months

Gemma on her eight month birthday

Here's what Gemma was up to between her seven and eight month birthdays:

• Likes to pull her lips in and bite them.
• Likes to blow air out through her lips after she's done nursing.
• Smacks lips.
• Loves eating solid food.
• Likes to suck left thumb.
• Still not an ambi-turner (she only likes to roll over her from her tummy to her back over her left side).
• Legit sleeps through the night 8:30 p.m. to 7:45 a.m.
• Not a happy nurser, she's a yell-y nurser. Especially before bedtime.
• Sometimes looks like a strawberry blondie.
• Has little tan lines in her arm and leg rolls (you can see it in the first photo on this post).
• Does a run then jump thing while in the doorway jumper.
• Flails with all four limbs when she's excited and being held.
• April 3 started clapping.
• Likes tickles under armpits. 

She's the best! We can't get enough!