Sofi now

It's amazing how different the growth and development of one child is from an older sibling's. It's not that long ago that we went through some of these changes and milestones with Nico, and yet they have been so different with Sofi. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how different they are from each other.

I know it has a lot to do with personality, but I think it also stems from the fact that she's a second child - constantly motivated by an older brother that gets to run around and do things, and she wants to participate and get to do all those things too!

Samurai ponytail

She is a talker. While Nico has always been pretty content sitting back and observing things, Sofi wants to participate and tell you what she thinks. She "talks" in her crib, in the car, while she plays, in the bath, while she eats... all the time! It's a constant chatter, with different intonations, and I can't wait for her first words so I can hear what she has to say. For now, there's a lot of "mamamama" and "dadadadada."

Her curiosity for Lola seems to come and go, but when she's interested she really wants to be able to touch her -- especially her soft ears. Lola doesn't seem to mind.

Cuddling with Lola

She's a pretty good sleeper for the the most part, but she's not the easiest baby to put down. Of course my only point of comparison is Nico, who was super easy, having learned to put himself to sleep from a very young age. Sofi is all over the place - sometimes she wants to be swaddled, other times she gets pissed if you swaddle her; sometimes she wants to nurse before you put her down, other times she wants to fall completely asleep in your arms before you put her in the crib; sometimes she wants her mobile turned on, other times the mobile is the worst thing in the world. It's hard to keep up with her.

Fortunately, once she goes down, she sleeps pretty well at night. She'll sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, but after a quick diaper change and a quick nursing session, she falls right back asleep and transfers to the crib easily (no fuss then!). Sometimes when she wakes up later at night/close to our wake up time, she gets to stay in bed and cuddle with us -- something that I absolutely love, even if I don't get to rest as well.

Sleeping with daddy

She is fearless - I think when she grows up she'll be my roller coaster riding buddy. She loves to the bounced around, thrown up in the air, dipped backwards... you name it. And she loves the swings!

Like I said, having an older brother makes her want to move - and so she started crawling around 7 months. The first couple of weeks were kinda slow and there was a lot of flopping around, but now she is very secure in her movements. And she is fast - especially if she's trying to race me to the dog water bowl.

Crawling monster

Two weeks ago we had to lower her crib when I came downstairs to find this happy greeter.

I'm awake!

She is now pulling up on EVERYTHING and loves the fact that she can get to things and play standing up just like brother.

Standing!

And, not surprisingly, she is cruising all over. It really amazes me. I expected the cruising on coffee tables & couches -- it's what Nico did; but she pulls up on walls and just goes, kinda holding on the wall. She is so determined - if she wants to get to something she'll figure out a way to get to it. And she is so eager to walk, getting braver and braver as she lets go of something (like a table) and reaches for something else (like the wall!).

and cruising

Still no teeth, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to eat stuff with texture. She is not at all impressed with any kind of puree - she tolerates yogurt and applesauce, but loves to feed herself any little chunks of food from mama's plate. So without really planning it, we're doing more of a baby led weaning thing with her, which I have to admit is kinda nice cause it means that she feeds herself while I get other stuff done (even if it's messier).

Hard to believe that she's almost 9 months old!

Nico now

Life lately has been hectic... Between kids, work, Lola (surprise! we have a new (crazy!) dog), and school work (which I'm barely getting done right now) I haven't had time for much else.

Last month, Nico turned three -- how crazy is that? My little peanut is growing up so fast, and I love him more and more every day (even when he's driving me bonkers).

He was so thrilled and proud of his flower blooming.

He loves spending time with Grandma and looks forward to his "Grandma days" when he gets second breakfast, they go on scooter rides to the park, have late lunches, and naps on Grandma's bed.

His love for cars and trucks hasn't gone away, but he also loves to explore other toys and games. He's really into puzzles right now and building (usually trucks) with his duplos or garages (for his cars) with his magna-blocks.

Silly face

After we got Lola (and with the whole turning three thing), he went through a bit of a rebellious face of not listening, but it's gotten better. He definitely continues to push boundaries and is always trying to figure out how close to the line, he can get, but he is such a good kid. 

He enjoys listening to music (usually the same song over and over again) and is getting more comfortable singing by himself. He loves listening to Baby Beluga (by Raffi) and Trencito del Oeste (by Piero), and sings Twinkle Twinkle and ABC's all the time.

He can be a little bit shy when he first meets people, but once he gets comfortable he loves to chat. He understands everything in Spanish, but only talks in English (unless I ask him to specifically repeat a word or phrase in Spanish). I worry that I don't speak enough Spanish to him (I try to stick to it, but when everyone around us is talking in English I sometimes have a hard time with it), but the fact that he understands everything is reassuring. And he has stopped saying "I don't speak Spanish" any time I talk to him in Spanish (something that he learned from Grandma when he would ask her to read any of our Spanish books).

His vocabulary really amazes - not that I think he's more advanced than most three-year olds, it's just that it's crazy to think that just two years ago he was barely blabbing a couple of syllables. His "l"s sound like "y"s right now... so our dog's name is actually Yoya :)  but  he's very easy to understand.

Three-year-old boy

His love for Sofi continues to amaze me. It's not the fact that he loves her that amazes me, but the fact that not once have I heard him be negative about her. I kept thinking that things would change when she started moving and grabbing his things, but he just tells her no and then re-directs her. Even when she's pulling his hair (because, you know, you need to hold on to something when you're standing), he screams for help, but then turns around and gives her a hug.

He wants to cuddle with her and is always eager to help when it's time to get her dressed or change her diaper. He brings her toys and makes sure that she doesn't crawl into the dog water bowl (one of her favorite places to play). He feeds her at the table (being careful that it's only soft mushy stuff that she can have), and sings to her when she's crying.

Cuddle beans

He has his moments, but for the most part, he continues to be a great sleeper. He's been a little resistant of going to bed at night, but it's just that rebellious attempt at pushing the boundaries. We do our usual bedtime routine and (fortunately!) he still asks to cuddle with mama every night - one of my favorite parts of the day. And then after I leave, he inevitable comes out of his room a minute or two later. "I'm not tired." Well, you still need to stay in your room. Two minutes later, it's "you forgot to take all the monsters and bears out of my room." "I'm thirsty." "I need to go potty." The list of excuses is unending... eventually we end up confiscating enough toys that he decides he's not getting his way and he goes to sleep, but it's a struggle. And some nights I'm more patient than others.

Peaceful sleeper

He still smells his sleeve for comfort, loves touching fabrics (he often helps me decide what to wear based on the texture of my shirts), and always sleeps with a soft animal friend. When he was little he loves either his bunny or his monkey, but now he likes to rotate his options.

He loves taking showers and baths and playing in the water, but hates washing his hair and getting water in his face. It's been a while since we've done swim lessons, so we'll see what happens when we return (planning on re-starting later this month). He can spend hours playing with Aba on Facetime, and loves calling her so that she can show him all her cars (that she's saving for him, of course).

Loving anything with wheels that goes vroom-vroom.

Lately he doesn't like Kids' Place, but only because it means that he's not with mama and daddy. He loves his friends and teachers there, but drop-off is sometimes hard (when it's me, not Matt), because he wants me to stay. He always has to put his lunchbox next to his best friends' Malcolm's lunchbox, and then he makes sure to run to the window where he can wave and blow kisses as I leave - sometimes with a smile, sometimes with tears.

He tells me that he can't wait til Sofi goes to Kids' Place with him, and he also can't wait til they get to share a room. I'm eager for that change too, but nervous about how the transition will go.

Silly goose

He is still enjoying his balance bike, and has also started pedaling his tricycle, which is pretty exciting. He loves going on the bike trailer with Matt (especially because they try to go by some construction sites), and he still loves going in Bob, especially when we go to "the Benning Lake" (aka Bennington Lake).

He is turning into a goofball, and loves telling jokes. When he hears us laughing, he likes to join in and fake laugh, so he can be part of the group. 

Even with all his changes and growing up, he continues to be a loving, sweet boy. I love him to pieces.