Months 9 and 10 - She did not get the nickname "SASSY" for nothing.

Chileshe is growing up so fast! I do not have a lot of time to blog these days because she is keeping me on my toes. There are so many new things she is doing I will try to make a clear list so I can remember later.

* Let's explain this SASSY thing, We call Malaika "sissy" and Chileshe "sassy". The name rings true for my little sassy-pants. She has a mind of her own and at only 9 and 10 months she will let YOU know if she is not please. She does not throw a tantrum the way Malaika did with just some crying and throwing herself back. Oh no, Chileshe hits you square in the face if she can! She will pinch and pull and scratch and hit and SCREAM. Most of the time this happens when you take a toy away from her of remove her from and area she wanted to play in. Lately it is happening when we take food away that she has found on the floor. MY goodness this child is STRONG! I have many scratch marks to prove it. It is a little embarrassing when we are in public. I honestly had no idea how to discipline her at first. She is so young and didn't really understand the word "NO" at this point. So i would remove her from the situation and try to keep her at arms length so she could not reach me. We are working it out now and she seems to be doing much better, but WOW, this will be excellent blackmail to tell her kids later in life.

*She is talking a lot more. She can say; mama, (addy) for Daddy, (mamaw) for Grandma), up, puppy, baby, she just started saying thank you when we give her things, and she is starting to say Laika.

* She is eating anything and EVERYTHING. We actually have to control how much she eats because she doesn't seem to know when her stopping point is. She will eat until she throws up. She is having fewer bottles now and more grown-up food. She is not a big fan of baby food, but who can blame her. Her favorites so far are strawberries and grapes and chicken

* She is crawling all over the place! She can stand up from a sitting position and walk her way down the couch and through the hallway. As long as she has something to hold onto she is fine. I think she is strong enough to walk on her own, she just has not realized it yet. I think she will be walking by the end of next month for sure.

* Sleeping habits have been ever changing. We keep talking about training her to sleep on her own BUT we are WEAK! It seems like every time we try she is cutting a new tooth or not feeling well. Then I just feel guilty. The past three nights we have been working on breaking the "three bottle a night" habit. So far so good! She has a 2 oz. bottle before we go to sleep and then she has been waking up around 7:30 for an 8oz. and then she will sleep for another hour or so. She is a fantastic sleeper.

* At her 9 month check-up she weighed 27 lb and was 31 inches long

* She is giving LOTS and LOTS of hugs and kisses! I love the hugs she gives because she will snuggle up really close and then I will feel a tiny little pat on my back. THOSE are the moments I want to remember forever!

I will go ahead an post this already before she turns ONE! Can you believe it???

Months 6, 7, 8 - growing and giggling

OH Chileshe, My sweet little dolly!

She is such a joy to have around. From the time she wakes up she is smiling from ear to ear.

I tried to break down this post into 6 months then 7 months then 8 months but I just could not remember what she was doing exactly in that month. SO here is what she is up to now-a-days;

*She is CRAWLING everywhere - in the 6th month she started pulling herself in an "army crawl". She was slow and steady and tired out really quickly. By 7 months, if the incentive was right (the remote, or iPhone on the floor) she would pick up the pace but always in an army crawl stance. This last month she has been popping up on her knees. I think she is starting to notice that she can move quicker if she is on her knees. She can catch up to Malaika in no time. Malaika likes to play chase with her now and runs away squealing and giggling until Chile catches her.

*Standing up (this has happened in the 8th month) - She can pull herself up from a sitting position to a standing position and then walk down the couch. I am thinking she is going to walk a little earlier than Malaika did. She has a little more incentive though, with her big sister running around all the time. The only problem she has is the ability to sit back down. She will stand until her little legs are shaking. poor baby!

* She says mama and sometimes she will say dada

* at her last appointment (6 months) she was 21 lbs

*she is wearing size 4 diapers and 12-24 month clothing - she is my little chunky monkey!

* She has SO much personality it is ridiculous. Whenever she hears music playing she will immediately stop whatever she is doing and start to dance and clap. If she is on her knees she will start bouncing and swaying her head back and forth. She loves to listen to Malaika sing and is such an attentive audience!

* She will wave goodbye and try to blow kisses

* I have been more nervous about introducing her to solid food BUT I know I need to be more diligent. She is VERY ready. Her favorite baby foods so far are squash and sweet potatoes. She also LOVES applesauce.

These past couple of months have been very busy, we announced that we are having another baby (gotta get started on that blog). We are VERY excited about that. We have also been battling sickness like CRAZY! Luckily we are on the mend and slowly getting back to our happy selves. Stay tuned for more Mwango updates!

Months 4 and 5 - Feisty little thing!

So here we are at 6 months! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! Time is whirling by and I barely have time to brush my teeth! Chileshe is growing so fast, I try not to blink because I feel like I am missing out!

At her four month check-up she weighed 17.9 lbs (I am terrible at remembering her length so I will update that later). At this stage Malaika weighed about 15 lbs so Chileshe has already outgrown all the clothes Malaika was wearing at this time. That is not a huge problem EXCEPT all of the clothes I have that fit her now are sun dresses. Where are you sun!? Come on' work with me here!

Oh well, my friends at Gap have been having some nice sales so she is definitely not going without.

Chileshe is still a gentle spirit, but some of that personality is shining through and I have observed some feisty-ness! (I have NO idea where she gets it from) She WILL let you know if she is not happy about something. And she WILL let you know if she would like to have a bottle or a diaper change. No, miss Chile is not a shy one. Unless, you are a stranger and you say hello to her, she will bury her head into my shoulder and then peak out to see if you are still looking. She is still one amazing little girl!

Here are some of the things she is doing

• Smiling - She is such a happy baby. She wakes up with a smile. I think this is one of my top ten moments with her. When I wake her up in the morning she will have a fussy face with her eyes closed, but the moment she opens her eyes and see's you this HUGE grin breaks out and she is all smiles from that moment on.
• Sisterly bond- Am I allowed to say that I am jealous of my own daughters? The bond that they have is so strong! I have a feeling they are going to team-up against me in the future so I will soak up all the sweet giggles and the ticket into the club Malaika calls "The GIRLS" Chileshe is smitten with her sister. When she walks into the room her face lights up and she starts smiling and kicking. MAlaika can make her laugh by blowing in her face or saying a funny word. I try for hours to get a giggle and it takes malaika 5 seconds. LOL What an amazing friendship they have ahead of them.
• Rolling Rolling rolling... In the 4th month she had just figured out how to tip herself from belly to back. By the end of the fifth month she can roll from the living room to the kitchen and back. If she see's a toy she can roll to it and turn to get it. She did pop up onto her knee's one time but her face implanted into the carpet and her but wiggled in the air. It was hilarious! I have the house semi-baby proofed.
• She is eating rice cereal and so far we have tried carrots, peas, green beans, mango's, and watermelon puree.
• Her favorite snack is a rice rusk and an ice cube in the little net holder thingy-ma-jig
• She grunts
• She is wearing 6-12 and 9 month clothing . There are a few funny memories to remember with her clothing. We had to cut her out of one dress. It was a little tough to get on and I could not imagine what it would be like to get her out of it so we snipped it down the middle. Ha! And another night I was zipping up a sleeper and the zipper broke. Poor baby!
• She is sleeping fairly well. She likes to take little nibbles on her bottle throughout the night. I need to find a way to break this. If you do not give her a nibble when she wants it she YELLS. (it is a yell, not a scream or a whine, a YELL!)
• She is still sleeping with me. This is one thing I can say that I am HORRIBLE at. Edwin is currently sleeping on the floor in Malaika's room. She still gets up at least once a night so he finds it easier to stay in there and direct her back into her bed to sleep. Chileshe and I sleep in the "big bed" together. She was doing okay sleeping in her bassinet until she started rolling over. I was getting less sleep because I was constantly finding her on her belly and was too scared. In the bed she does not roll over completely. One difference for her is she does not really like to be snuggled. She liked her binky and her giraffe and her blanket and she is good.
• She rolled to her binky on the floor the other day and fell asleep right there! AMAZING! Edwin and I laughed and said she will probably be the quiet one who we will find asleep underneath the bed or right by the toy box with toys in her hand. Malaika was NEVER like that so that is a fun difference to notice between them.
• SHE SAID MAMA! And I have the video to prove it!

She is an amazing and beautiful little girl. Can't wait to see what God has in store for her feisty personality!

Funny things Malaika says...

• "Mommy, I wish I could walk on water with me SUPER feet!"
• Laika: "Mommy , I am getting married tomorrow." Me: "Oh yeah? To who? Laika: I don't know his name. Me: Hmmmm.... Laika: Maybe it is JUSTIN BEIBER!!!! (followed by uncontrolable laughter)
• Mommy, Can I have a sucker? Me: No honey it is almost time for lunch. Laika (blinking her eyes with a sweet smile, "But mommy, I am blinking!

2011-04-09

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Months 2 & 3 - Oh that smile!

Month 2 and 3

Month 2 was a bit of a blur, I was finishing up my degree (and graduated!! Whoo hoo!) My brother came for a week to visit and see the girls and then it was Christmas and new years. WHIRLWIND!

Chileshe’s first Christmas was nice! She was so quiet Christmas eve when everyone was over that at times I forgot she was there! I kept saying, Oh yeah I have a new baby. LOL She is so calm and happy. She loved all the snuggles and her big sister liked opening double the presents!!

Chileshe looks SOOOO much like her sister. It is ridiculous! I think that is what we had the most fun comparing in these last few months. She is so much like her big sister but also SO unique and beautiful in her own way. Her features are much daintier than Malaika’s.

Malaika always had big lips and eyes and per her doctor a big head. Haha! Chileshe has the same features but smaller. Her lips are perfect and tiny, and I love how little her hands are. She also has a TON of hair. I can put the hair on the back of her head into a pony tail already.

I will make a quick list of things she is doing and things I want to remember;

Tummy time… I have NEVER seen a baby that loves tummy time like she does. She could lay there for an hour and still coo and watch her big sis. She is also very active on the floor. She has her head realing and moving from side to side. By the end of the third month she rolled over one time, just as quick as she rolled over she rolled right back on her tummy and has not done it since! (I was on the phone with my mom when she did it)

Drooling – She is a DROOL MONSTER! She doesn’t like to wear bibs so I just change her clothes at least twice a day. But that is not a huge problem since she has enough for 4 babies! I think she might teeth early because she is biting on everything.

Smiling – Yes the dimples are amazing, and YES she gets it from me! Haha! I love to see my babies smile. Chile has two big dimples on her cheeks and then two tiny ones on the corners of her mouth. She is JUST the cutest thing when she smiles.

Laughing – Edwin can get her to laugh so easily. I have to work really hard. He is definitely the “Play” parents while I am the “nurturing” one. They go to him for fun and to me when they need some snuggles

Sleeping – She is an amazing sleeper. If I sleep on the couch with her she can sleep for 8 to 10 hours. I was worried at first and would try to wake her up to feed her but I decided to just let it happen and try to sleep too. Edwin and I have decided that we are horrible at training our kids to sleep on their own. I just cannot do it yet! If I sleep without them I have so much anxiety that every noise I hear I wake up and check on them. We ALL sleep better if I sleep with her on my chest. But she is starting to move a little too much so I need to get over it soon. (stay tuned, for the fourth month, we are finally making progress) .

Eating – She loves her bottle. She is eating 4 oz bottles right now and about half and half formula and breast milk.

She is starting to reach out and grab things . She gets so determined and makes funny faces when she is focused.

Such an easy baby, I think we are ready for just one more!

Chile- 1 month - gentle spirit

Well, here we are at 16 weeks (4 months by my calculations but Edwin says we have to wait until February 2nd. Chileshe is growing and developing so fast I can hardly keep track.Here are the month break downs. I hope I can remember everything!

1 month -
This time was spent getting to now her and basically just watching her while she slept. It is amazing how much time you can kill just staring at a newborns face. They make so many cute faces and little grunts and coo's that you just want to remember every minute.
Adjusting to two kids was not as difficult as I thought it would be. My main concern before having Chileshe was that I would not know how to love her like I LOVE Malaika. I new that I would love Chileshe but I had such a connection with Malaika, she has been my sidekick for three years!!
As soon as Chileshe arrived though, there is this little compartment in your heart that grows and contains all the love you need! It is amazing and such a cool experience to love two little people as much as I love my girls!


Chileshe is such an easy baby. As a very new newborn she just needed snuggles and food and diaper changes. If she

cried you knew that one of those things were needed. The rest of the time she was sleeping and could even sleep in

her cradle during the day! (WHAT!?) I was dedicated to

breastfeeding this time around and really wanted to give it

a try. For the first 2 weeks I did breast milk only. She had weekly check-ups at the doctor and by the first check-up she had already lost to much weight. We had to continue to go to appointments twice a week until she gained back to her birth weight. They said I had to give her formula as well as breast milk. I was sad but not overwhelmed like I was with Malaika. I just decided to do my best and after two weeks she was back to her birth weight. Thank you Similac!
Her sleep schedule was fairly easy.
sleep from 5-9 - wake up eat and changesleep from 10-2 - wake up eat and change
sleep from 3-7 - wake up eat and change
sleep 8-10 - usually sister would wake up and

start making noise =0)

This was the first 4 weeks and she was also fairly easy to get back to sleep. The one thing I really noticed about her is her gentle spirit. She is SOOOO happy and easy. She did not have long drawn out cries and basically just calm all the time. We even took her to Red Robin for Malaika's family birthday dinner and papa's pizza for her friend party and she never cried once. Just slept... it was weird LOL

She was sooo tiny and dainty and BEAUTIFUL!

Malaika has adjusted so well and LOVES being mommy's helper. She is even willing to help with diaper changes. She gives Chile lots of kisses and loves to touch her face. She is such a good big sister!
The biggest adjustment for us has been WHERE to sleep. Malaika still sleeps in our "big" bed sometimes and we had tried to adjust her to her toddler bed before Chile came.

The first night home she was NOT okay sleeping in her toddler bed. She wanted in on all the action and baby "fun". SO I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room with Chile and Malaika and Edwin sleep in the bed. (uh hmm... she is 4 weeks old and I am still sleeping on the couch.... We are sooo not good at the independent sleep thing)

I dream of a day when Edwin and I can sleep in our gigantic bed all to ourselves and dream sweet un-interrupted dreams... HA!

Stay tuned for month two, hopefully before she is a year old.