I'd rather have a spork

Robbie is a sponge right now.  He is up for trying anything, whether it's talking and saying new words ('cupcake!', 'trash can', 'cookie'), helping me around the house by picking up his toys or throwing diapers away in the garbage, or venturing into the land of big boy activities.

Recently we introduced the concept of the potty (via a fun kids book, teaching him to be aware of when he's peeing / pooping, and practicing sitting on his little potty fully dressed).  He loves the discovery of it all, and I love the idea of attempting early potty training when the short window presents itself, in order to avoid spending another $80 per month on diapers.

Another area we are working on is meal time - manners and the use of plates, bowls, and utensils.  We kicked off the idea of eating like a big boy a little while ago by getting Robbie a booster seat that allows him to sit at the table with us instead of in his high chair.  He loves it!

He's getting pretty good at using his fork and spoon, and actually begs for them at meals if I forget to set them out.  I have found that we have the most success with the fork and spoon if Robbie is not ravenous.  When the boy is hungry he just grabs fistfuls of food and jams it all in his mouth; the spoon and fork are dead to him.

A particularly good day of progress...

Fork in one hand, spoon in the other!  The more utensils you hold, the faster you can shovel food into your mouth... apparently.

Righty or lefty?  ...hard to tell.

Reverting at the end of the meal and grabbing the applesauce with his hands.  

You can see from his face that he knows he should be using the spoon.

Hand in the cookie jar, anyone?

Apparently I didn't feed him enough... a toe-snack was in order.

I'm hilarious!

Ellie has been doing a bit of her own growing up lately as well. 

After a week of particularly awful sleeping (meaning very little), and lots of crying, I decided to shake things up.  No more sleeping in her car seat or swing... I laid her down Sunday evening in her bassinet and sat next to her, patting and shushing, praying for progress or a sleep miracle.  I used my other free hand to page through the sleep books I had used when Robbie was little, and came across the suggested sleep pattern for infants Ellie's age. 

It all came rushing back!...

I couldn't believe I had forgotten that around this age, babies can't just be schlepped around with you all day, wherever you go, and be expected to feel well-rested.  They need more structure to their schedules, and they still need a lot of sleep.

So I immediately decided to be more intentional about Ellie's schedule and sleeping habits.  The only place I lay her down now is her bassinet (which, it turns out, she loves!).  She is always swaddled tightly for bed, and I use a soft sound machine.  She cried it out a few times, and now she puts herself to sleep all day and night long!  She has consistently slept through the night several times for me (anywhere from 6 to 10.5 hours in a row!), and I feel so much better because of it.  Ellie is so content when she is awake, too.  She continues to be such a great baby overall.

Looking older, and a lot like daddy!  (Don't you think?)

Favorite activity: gazing at whomever is holding her, cooing and smiling!  

And generally being cute.

Hanging out with Dad at the end of the day.