TerraDactyl had her first day of school. It went super smoothly. She had zero problems with us dropping her off with a bunch of strangers. Once the teacher said she could play with the toys in the room, she had no more interest in her parents. And DH and I suddenly had 3 child-free hours!
Here's one of the last photos of me pregnant. Do you think these vertical lines are slimming? I know I look huge. There's a good reason for that...
This little grumpy troll (aka SaraTops) was born on July 14 at 2:42pm, weighing 9 lbs, 10 oz! She was a big one! More than a pound heavier than TerraDactyl was, but an inch shorter (20.5" vs 21.5")!
SaraTops is actually much more attractive than that last picture indicates. We refered to her as Norm throughout the pregnancy because Norm MacDonald is DH's favorite comedian and DH suggested we name her after him. I did not agree to that plan, but I did allow Norm as a nickname while we chose an actual name. And true to form, we did not finalize our name choice until after the birth, while we were in the hospital.
TerraDactyl was excited to meet her little sister. She couldn't wait for a video chat with Norm and even after we brought Norm home, TerraDactyl has remained positive. I'm optimistic for a loving and harmonious relationship between the two sisters.
Unfortunately, TerraDactyl got sick the day we brought SaraTops home from the hospital. She was all excited to go on a trip with Daddy to the grocery store and then immediately conked out in the grocery cart. TerraDactyl stopped napping when she was 2, but when she gets sick, we can always tell because she starts napping.
And then there are TerraDactyl's pretend naps... She'll use just about anything as a blanket. Rugs, bathroom floor mats, grippy bathtub mats...
TerraDactyl is VERY interested in hugging and holding her little sister. She's requested to hold SaraTops at least once a day. TerraDactyl does pretty well at it. But she often hugs people and dogs quite firmly, so we're constantly reminding her to hug SaraTops gently, just in case.
TerraDactyl has been putting on an invisible cowboy costume for months. It's pretty adorable. She'll mime putting each piece of clothing on, one at a time. Now that I'm no longer pregnant, I finally climbed up into the attic and got her an actual cowboy costume to wear. She seems to really like it. And it's pretty adorable.
We can see just how much TerraDactyl likes SaraTops here. She's introducing SaraTops to Mickey Mouse, which is a pretty big deal if we're honest. TerraDactyl loves Mickey.
DH took TerraDactyl to the fair the other day and she loved it. They were gone for almost 6 hours! It was a super hot day so I figured DH would be back after like an hour (he does not do heat well). But he kept texting me adorable pictures of TerraDactyl playing with all the fun stuff. TerraDactyl obviously doesn't mind the heat, based on the fact that she's wearing a stocking cap while at the fair.
TerraDactyl took over the giant Connect 4 game and started sorting all the colored pieces. And when other kids wanted to put a piece in, she'd try to instruct them on where to put the piece so it wouldn't mess up her sorting scheme. Take a look at the boots TerraDactyl insisted on wearing on this 100+ degree day. That's right, she's got her faux fur lined snow boots on. She really, really, really likes those boots.
TerraDactyl also started a little impromtu drum circle with a random friend she made. It could be a coincidence, but I've never seen TerraDactyl interact with an unknown child like this before she started going to summer camp. So I think it's likely that pre-school seems to have a positive impact on her sociability.
Hear what?!?! DH asked me that question yesterday while I was downstairs eating lunch. Of course, I had not heard anything, so he took me up to SEE the firecrackers... That's a lot of tree Yup, that's right. A giant chunk of our maple tree just up and fell over. It looks like maybe there was some damage inside the branch. Or something. I'm not exactly an expert. Doesn't exactly look like healthy wood to me We were going to mow the lawn that evening, but first we had to get that giant mess off the grass. DH started off with the chain saw chopping off branches. He didn't make it very far before the chainsaw got messed up. So while he tried to fix it, I used the pruners and loppers to get off what I could. Turns out, the chainsaw was broke. So we had to use a hand saw to chop up the big parts. It was super awkward sawing through 12 inches of wood at head height. But we did it! Too ...
Sleep training is continuing. Nights are going pretty smoothly. TerraDactyl usually fusses for a few minutes after we lay her down, but not for long. And if I'm careful, I can usually sneak into bed without waking her up. Unfortunately, she wants to wake up at 5am. It's 6am if I'm lucky. I've never been a morning person, so this is hard for me. But I'm trying to make the transition gracefully and with love (you know, rather than bitterness and annoyance 😉). The cutest dragon ever Naps however, are not going quite as smoothly. She's pretty ticked off when we lay her down. She tries to sneak in snuggle naps, but she's got very little interest in sleeping alone in her bassinet. We're trying to find the sweet spot between "not quite tired enough" and "over tired and angry". It's a bit like Goldilocks. I've been tracking when TerraDactyl eats, plays, and sleeps, and trying to find a schedule that works for us....
TerraDactyl's bangs have been a bit unruly of late. I've been sweeping them off to the side with the intention of using a clip or barrette to hold them there. But I've been having some difficulty finding a satisfactory toddler barrette. Her hair is so fine and delicate and I don't want to damage it. When I was in high school, I did gymnastics with a girl used to use a metal clip to hold her bangs back while she practiced. One day she landed on the clip and it basically turned the metal clip into scissors. Every hair got cut. So she stopped using clips and just used gel. But it's hard to find a gel strong enough to withstand gymnastics. So she ended up looking like Sonic the Hedgehog by the end of every practice. Obviously, this is not exactly a likely scenario, but it does make me a bit cautious. Not to mention that TerraDactyl doesn't like anything on her head. She removes hats, headbands, hoods......
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