Ian turned two last week. We went in for his two year check-up. It went fantastic. Sort of. Ian sat perfectly still, and followed all of the doctor's/nurse's instructions. The doctor kept making comments like "wow, if only all the children were this good for their check-ups", "what an easy-going kid", etc. Then he asked Ian a question. Ian stared at him blankly and gave no response.
doc: how is his talking?
me: oh, he talks really well. he was talking in sentences at 18 months.
doc: so, how many words can he say...at least 50?
me: oh, yeah. hundreds. he says everything. he talks almost as well as my three-year-old.
The doctor proceeded to ask Ian a slew of questions. He stared blankly. No answer. I prodded him to say something. And nothing. Not a peep. The doctor looked at me with a skeptic smile. I assured him again that he really does talk and we moved on with the exam. After he left the room Ian exploded into conversation--"that's a nice doctor mommy...he sat on that stool mommy...did he listen to my heart mommy?...are we at the doctor's mommy?..."
While he is a very talented talker, coordination is not his strong suit. Yet. He is pretty klutzy. And spills a lot. Yesterday he grabbed my piping hot cup of pero and spilled it all over himself. He came and found me, calmly pointed out the saturated spot on his pajamas and said "uh, I just got burned mommy." Today we had chicken soup for dinner. He made such a mess that I took his shirt off. But then he wanted seconds. He dripped everywhere. When he noticed a drop of soup sliding down his stomach, he looked at me confused and said "uh, mommy...my tummy is crying!"
Ian is hilarious. He is a peacemaker. He is easygoing. He is very affectionate. He eats everything I make and always asks for more. He sleeps great. In many ways he is the perfect child. In other ways he is very much a terrible two. He keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh. We are so glad he is part of our fam.
I have the strongest baby on the planet. Yesterday I propped her up on my bed to take some pictures and she did this. No lie.before
after
Not bad for two weeks.
I abhor mustaches. I think facial hair in any form is gross, but the mustache is probably my least favorite. Perhaps that's why J-P didn't ask me if he could grow one. Normally I would pitch a HUGE fit (don't worry, i pitched a small one), but this appendage to his face has a purpose: raising cancer awareness. Sigh.
Luckily for me, all I ever see is his forehead anyway because he is always looking down at his iPhone. Here's to hoping November goes by quickly. Read about Movember HERE.
Week one was WILD. We had our bags packed so we could check out of the hospital as soon as possible. The baby is required to stay 24 hours, and we didn't stay a second longer. J-P basically dropped us off at home and then drove to the airport to catch his red-eye for North Carolina.
It was a long week.
I got to do things that I have never done before, like change meconium diapers. The day or so after I got home from the hospital (it's all a blur), I got stung by a scorpion. On my birthday. I can officially say it was the WORST birthday ever. After spending time on the phone with poison control, I decided not to go to the ER (against my mother's wishes to rush me there). Instead, I laid on the couch in tears as the pain intensified for six hours. The pain/numbness SLOWLY subsided over the next 3-4 days. Between the scorpion fiasco (which left me unable to walk), 48 hours of no sleep, and toddler meltdowns, my mother and I were totally and completely frazzled. My dad flew in to rescue us, and arrived just in time.
Ava weathered week one like a champ. She is SO sweet. She rarely cries, nurses with gusto, and gives the sweetest hugs. She had a rough first few days coughing, gagging, and gurgling up the gulp of amniotic fluid that she inhaled on her way out, but is doing much better. She is growing FAST. Her cheeks are growing exponentially. I'm curious to see how much she has gained...we'll find out tomorrow at her two week appointment.
My sweet little ava-lu is a month old. In the past month I have: 
Ava is a much different baby now. She rarely sleeps for more than 5-10 minutes at a time during the day, unless she is being held. She also prefers to be held while awake. Which makes it almost impossible to get anything done. She is very much a GIRL. So much more sensitive and dramatic than the boys. It's amazing to see the distinct gender differences that are present even from birth. She is starting to smile a little, and is very alert and curious. 
