We had a wonderful Christmas holiday together, between a baby delivery, a week of Kauffmans around Christmas, and a week of Josephs around New Years. It was great to see so much family come to us this year for the holidays since we were largely immobile. While Elia was missing Mom and Dad terribly over the weekend of So's birth, she has adjusted quite nicely to the additional family member. She often asks to hold her, attempts to reunite her with the pacifier, and tells her "Dohn cry Bay So" in moments of anguish. Baby So, from what we recall is a much easier baby than her older sister--better at sleeping at night, faster at eating, and more accepting of random loud noises and prodding from a curious toddler (not that we tested Elia with that, but probably).
Oh, and Daddy had an awesome birthday with an awesome cake. He makes a tradition out of hiding newborns in his shirt.
We spent the weeks around December trying to figure out the "Nugget" equivalent for Baby So--what would we call her (since we certainly weren't going to all the trouble of calling her by her real name)? And then we realized, we had already informed Elia about Baby So, and there wasn't much going back. Very catchy--perhaps it won't last quite as far into childhood (or adulthood?) as Nugget, but unbearably cute and fitting.
She's been about the same size (exactly the same at birth) as Elia month for month since the beginning, and despite her extreme baldness, looks nearly indistinguishable.
Also it was great to see Courtney over the holiday, and Nugget loves her shirt. She also really loves it when Dad dresses her in casual jeans and T-shirt since everything else in her wardrobe screams "I'm a girly princess baby!" Time to go do work in my work jeans (notably, she has learned to use a hammer, play with a drill and paint brush, and hang out with dad in the basement, as long as he doesn't use the power tools).
Despite a blessedly warm winter, we got just enough snow for some Nugget-sized sled riding on the "hill" behind our garage, aboard a Grove City College Gedunk cafeteria tray. She was unsure of how to feel about it, preferring snow angels and snow balls and icicles. But overall, she is completely obsessed with being outside as much as possible no matter the weather. She's way more hardcore than her dad even.
Elia has not been too keen on napping lately. It's about once in a blue moon, and perhaps is somehow tied to her level of social activity in the morning (the science is still out on that one)...but when she naps, she NAPS. This is her napping in one of her favorite places, right in front of the door to her room. Because beds are really just a holding place for a library of books and a menagerie of stuffed animals.
Nevertheless, Nugget can somehow eat nothing but cheese and goldfish all the day long and still have the mental capacity of a kid twice her age (she's getting better with the eating thing, just working on veggies). She knows all of her letters and the ABC song, numbers 1-10 (maybe even 11-20), several other songs, and every color, animal, household object, and character from Dora and Elmo that ever was.
She can also climb a ladder (and anything else for that matter), take on any slide, do toddler gymnastics involving daring heights, run fairly well, and enjoy an evening campfire with her Dad. Hashtag fearless.
We're getting along quite well here as a family, and are soon diving into potty training boot camp for Nuggs, solid food season for So, and a wonderful spring.
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