Big Bed for my Little Girl

At 2 years and 1 day old, Tenley got her first big girl bed!  We moved the crib out and brought in a twin bed, covered in Dora and pink.  She loves it.  Night time has been a very easy transition for her.  We are on a successful 3-night run.  It has only been two nap times though, and one of those was a Sunday, when she naps at Grandma and Grandpa Roehr's house.  So she's only had one nap time in the big girl bed and it was ROUGH.  She did not sleep at all, but had to stay in there for 2 hours.  That is always our rule.  I tried many things to get her to stay in bed, but I bet I had to put her back 25 times.  By the end, I was able to get her to stay in bed for the last 30 minutes and praised her when I came to get her.  I think it might take a few days to get used to, but I know she can do it.  I expected naps to be more difficult.  It is not as dark in her room and she is not quite as tired, even though she definitely still needs the nap.  She is used to a 3 hour nap!  Anyway, it's just another fun part of growing up.  I just LOVE this girl!!!!!

Tenley is TWO!!

Tenley Grace is two years old!  So far, "twos" aren't terrible at all.  Our most difficult time was probably around 18 months when we had to spend more time figuring out discipline and obedience.  Of course she has her moments of testing boundaries or just getting crazy tired, but overall, she is very obedient and teachable.  She is such a joy.  She is a great helper and loves to learn and do whatever I am doing.   She has a great personality, full of laughter and kindness.  She is so friendly and outgoing and has so much love for life.  Even though I try to teach her, I have a lot to learn from her too.



God blessed me with a sleeper.  He knew I needed it; I am a sleeper too.  Tenley still sleeps at least 12 hours each night (8pm-8am).  If she's exceptionally worn out, she can easily sleep 14.  She also takes one nap each day that is about 3 hours long (2-5pm).

She is saying 2-word phrases now.  Some of her favorites are Papa's house, all done, socks shoes, and Bubba's seat.  She talks all day in her own little language, though.  She understands just about everything I say to her and she loves to learn new words.  Some of her favorites to ask about are body parts.  Of course,  she has a brother, and they bathe together.  Awesome.  I am still claiming that I can avoid those questions.  I'd rather not teach her words that I don't want her to repeat all day!

I am not hard core potty training and don't have a plan to for now.  She has a potty sticker chart.  She has come to me a couple times asking to go and has success.  She tells me every time after she poops, but never before.  She even sometimes tells me after she pees, but not often.  I ask her every day a few times if she wants to go, and usually even if she wants to sit, she doesn't go.  We're moving slowly in the right direction and surprisingly, I'm totally okay with that.

homemade "paint" in ziploc bag, taped to table

she loves water play!

learning time - eating apples, "A" apple coloring page, using red crayon

We had 2 birthday parties for Tenley.  One was a combined birthday party for all 6 of the September and October Roehr family birthdays.  The other was for the Helm side.  Both were a lot of fun!

Tenley loves her new car

Helm party was "You Are My Sunshine" + rainbow theme

Hayden 7, 8, 9 months

Whoops, I am behind on blog posts.  So here I'm going to quickly catch up on Hayden.  He's 9 months old now!  Wow!  Time flies.  He's such a joy.  Hayden is such a happy baby.  He is so content.  He is so patient with Tenley (her intentions are good, she's just a little rough sometimes!) and he just thinks she is hilarious.  

Sleeping:
For months 7-9, his night time sleeping habits haven't changed.  He normally sleeps 10 hours at night (8-6), wakes to nurse at 6, and then sleeps from 6-8am.  I know, I know, he should be sleeping the full 12 hours by now.  Sometimes he does, so I know he can.  Tenley did this for awhile too and just naturally transitioned herself to 12 hours.  I'm just waiting on him to do that too, but if it lasts another couple months, I will get more structured with it.  I don't mind much for now.

Eating:
He is still only nursing; no solid foods.  I tried cereal with him at 8 months and he hated it.  I'm fine with that.  I really just wanted to give him the option, but since he doesn't care for it, I'd rather wait anyway.  For the last 3 months and up to now, he is still eating every 3 hours during the day (8, 11, 2, 5, 8).  Occasionally I will add in a feeding at 7 if he is staying up a little later or needs a little help staying up until bedtime, but that doesn't happen often.

Naps:
At 7 months he was napping 3-4 times a day for 1-2 hours.  At 8 months he took 3 naps, about 2 hours each.  And now at 9 months he is down to 2 naps: 1 in the morning for 1 hour, and 1 in the afternoon for 3 hours.  Occasionally he will break up the afternoon nap into 2 shorter naps, but not often.  I am all for Babywise, but I am definitely one of the less strict Moms.  I love flexibility.  I do Babywise for the sake and sanity of both us and our kiddos, and for us that includes lots of sleep and a general schedule, but also a good amount of flexibility when needed.

Development:
During the last 3 months, Hayden has mastered rolling from belly to back, rolling back to belly, sitting up without support, and putting weight on his legs to stand while being held.  The last one was not even a milestone I paid attention to for Tenley because she always did that.  I think most babies do.  But Hayden never cared to until almost 9 months old.  He kicks more than Tenley ever did, and obviously has had the strength but just didn't care to stand.  He still doesn't do it unless he has a good reason, like to play with a toy that is at a level he has to stand for.  He does not say any real words, but babbles with sounds like ma, da, and ba, and of course fun screams, random babbles, and laughing.  He also got his 1st two teeth at 8 months old - the two front bottom teeth.  That's still all he has.

1st tooth

Other:
Hayden has been going through some separation anxiety for probably a couple months.  He is in the nursery every Sunday morning, and that is usually with the same ladies, but he cries every week.  I can tell because his face gets ALL blotchy very quickly when he cries.  It makes me sad, but I know it is good for him and us.  He also goes to the play center at the Life Center a few times each month while I am teaching Truth Talk classes.  If we are there for a few days in a row, it seems he remembers the girl in charge and is fine by the end of the week.  But if we haven't been there in awhile, he cries again.
One fun thing is that Hayden loves to throw EVERYTHING.  He has a good arm for a baby!!  It's really cute to watch him.  It's like he tries to throw his toys as far across the room as he can.  And he does it over and over and over....

7 months: 27 3/4", 18lbs
8 months: 27 3/4", 19lbs
9 months: 28 1/2", 19.5lbs