Cora at Two and a Half

Somewhere between the Celebrations of Christmas and the Miniature Heroes of the New Year, Cora celebrated her 'half birthday' and turned two and a half.  It may not be the most major of milestones but I love stopping sometimes to just appreciate how my children are right now.  To jot down a few of their quirks, the funny things they do and say and record them to look back at when she is twenty five and a half.  

Cora may be small but never underestimate her.  She is the boss and she knows it.  She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it.  She is a typical two year old in that she is more than capable of throwing a good tantrum and she practices regularly.  She throws herself to the floor with some tears that magically disappear as soon as something like a biscuit is mentioned.  She is pushing all the boundaries and finding her own way through rather than following in the paths of her brothers.

At two and a half Cora is around 85cm tall and still wearing mostly age 12-18 month clothes alongside some 18-24 months now.  Her feet are a size 22 (around a 5.5) and she is far smaller than her brothers were at this age. She is all grown up in the day in big girl pants and dresses which she absolutely does not need any help putting on, but at night time in a nappy and zip up romper she seems so much smaller.  Unlike her brothers she is fiercely independent when it comes to self dressing and if I try and help with a tricky zip she is more likely to take everything off and start again than let me help.  

She loves her scooter and can race her brothers well, one legging sticking out in the air like a little daredevil.  She loves to be carried everywhere too though, preferably in my arms but a sling will do.  She loves playing with her babies and I love listening to her  'I will push you in your buggy darling, here is your milk darling' (not quite sure where the darling came from!). Her favourite game is hide and seek and she will always, always choose Blaze and the Monster Machines on tv.  Everything should be pink, or purple at a push and pasta is her meal of choice.  

At two and a half her speech has snowballed and she communicates well telling me stories and thoughts and often making up lies that really confuse me! She still breastfeeds before bed and first thing in the morning but rarely feeds during the day anymore, but she does have 'giraffe milk' (Soya milk) during the day sometimes.  She adores all three of her brothers and has lots of friends that she loves to play with.  

At two and a half Cora is turning into a proper little girl and I am enjoying watching her grow and thrive.  She is my little pocket baby and my feisty little girl.

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One and a Quarter

15 months, one and a quarter.  That is Cora's age today and it is such a fun (and difficult) age.  I am reluctantly giving in to the fact she is now a toddler and 75% of the day she really is.  She walks around the house, usually with a shoe in one hand.  She walks out and about sometimes.  She climbs, she attempts to run and jump and she stands on things she shouldn't.  The other 25% of the day she is still very much a baby still.  She snuggles up close, she likes to be carried everywhere in my arms, she wants to fall asleep safely tucked up on my lap and she wants milk on tap throughout the day (and night).

At 15 months she still doesn't really talk, or rather she is efficient with her language and uses 'uh' to communicate a multitude of words.  She can say mama, dada, hiya and bumbumbum though - all very important! She understands so much though, is learning where her body parts are and she tries to keep up with the actions of her favourite nursery rhymes.

Cora loves playing with anything with wheels, telephones (real and pretend), her wooden bobbins and the ice cream truck.  She plays in the pretend kitchen and she will follow Finn around joining in his games and experiencing life as a two year old.  She prefers throwing food to actually eating it but broccoli, biscuits and berries are all favourites.

At 15 months Cora still breastfeeds on demand although I try and encourage her not to feed so much when we are out and about now. She still wakes multiple times a night and although we did move her into her cot in Finn's room this month she still ends up in our bed for most of the night.  She loves being carried in a sling and is usually on my front still.

I took her to the health visitor last week out of curiosity and my little girl is now 75cm tall and weighs 21lb.  Her feet are a size 3E and she loves shoes (all shoes).  She wears 9-12 month clothing although we have found that the wonderful thing about girl clothing is that it fits much longer as her dresses can be worn as tunics (and she still has lots of 6-9 month clothes for this reason). Her hair is just about long enough for pigtails but it is mostly worn down with a knotty mess sticking out the back of her head.

My baby girl (and she will always be my baby) is growing up so much at the moment and I love watching the little changes as she becomes more communicative, more confident and more determined (and she is a very determined little girl!)

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When does Toddlerhood start?

This week Cora has started walking.  It has been six weeks since she took those first unsteady steps between two adults she trusts, but only six days since she started really walking.  There were weeks of nervous steps between people or furniture but this week she has decided she is happier on foot and has barely crawled since she made the decision.  She still looks a little wobbly, still falls over a lot, especially on uneven surfaces and she still looks immensely proud of every step she takes.

With eleven little white teeth filling Cora's mouth, her smile looks much older than her brothers at the same age.  Her hair is just about long enough to make little pigtails and she loves playing peekaboo.  From the outside Cora looks very much like a toddler.

When she curls up in my lap for milk, her eyelashes fluttering as she slowly falls into a land of dreams, her chubby little hands resting delicately on my top, her legs tucked up so that she is fully encased in my arms, her chest rising and falling next to mine, she seems so small still, a baby.

At 13 months Cora isn't talking yet but she is definitely understanding more and more.  She is trying to master a spoon and fork with varying success and she is getting pretty good at climbing.  Sleep is still a challenge and she is far from sleeping 'through the night'. She eats food on her terms and breastfeeds regularly.  It feels like she swaps between being a baby and a toddler several times a day and I think we are now in that transitional phase.

Each of my babies have been so different at this same age, some definitely entering the world of toddlerhood, others were definitely still babies.  I think the baby / toddler divide is determined more by milestones than age, and I am sad that my last baby is leaving behind another stage, that I will never have a little baby of my own again.  I love this little toddler that she is becoming though, so determined, so funny, so inquisitive.  

Where do you think the divide between baby and toddler lies?

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21 Months Old

My littlest guy has hit the milestone of 21 months, meaning that his second birthday is coming around fast.  The benefit of a February baby means I don't really need to think about this until after Christmas though which is comforting.  Archie is a crazy, cuddly and cheeky toddler with a fearless streak that is so different from his brother

From the moment he wakes up until he finally drifts off, Archie knows what he wants, and he thinks he knows how to get it.  We are definitely at the beginning of the terrible twos and I expect it to be much worse than it was with his brother.  He has a little temper which we see when he doesn't get his way, and whilst he is lovely around other people, he does like to play up for his Mummy sometimes.

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Archie at 18 Months

A year and a half has passed since my littlest one entered the world and it is amazing how far the little dude has come.  From a helpless newborn to a walking talking toddler in what feels like the blink of an eye.  Archie has the cheekiest personality, and every single day he shows a little more.

From the smile that screws up his nose, to the way he tells you off right back if you say no to him, this boy is challenging and cute in equal measure.  He pushes every imaginable boundary, but does so with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step. When we take him to the park, he no longer heads for the slide, but straight for the borders, where he searches for everything he shouldn't and brings me his finds.  Half empty cans of cider, cigarette butts and apple cores amongst other things.  He sees himself as either a litter picker or treasure hunter, I am not sure which.

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Archie at 17 Months

Suddenly Archie looks so big, I don't know if it is the fact he is walking so much more, the clothes he wears or the fact that I have been thinking of him as a baby until I was forced to face the toddler he has become.  

Archie is a boy who knows what he wants, is determined to get it, and will let you know how displeased he is if anything stands in the way.  No obstacle is too big, no mountain too high that he won't attempt to go over, under or through it in the pursuit of something he probably isn't allowed.  If I tactfully block his way, I am met with a mini meltdown, and I catch a glimpse of the terrible twos which we seem to have skipped with Dylan but are inevitable with this little dude.  He is by no means bad, but he is testing the waters.

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