The Hill Family Saga: Our July flew by and 17 month update

I have waited far too long to write July’s update and in large part that is because we went on vacation for the first week or so of August and so I haven’t really had the time or motivation to write until now. As a result I am not so sure this update is going to be as detailed because I have had too much time to forget.

ALOT changes in 15 months! (0-3 month size then, 2T size now)

First when it comes to family stuff we had my parents in town for the first few days of July and then celebrated the fourth of July both by heading to downtown Charleston for the day. On the fourth, Alethea had been running a fever, but she wasn’t really showing any symptoms otherwise by that day so we figured we would go for it. (I enjoyed many good snuggles the previous two days because she wasn’t feeling well, but thankfully she had more energy for the fourth.) We joined the Smiths downtown in Battery Park for some good playtime in the parks, a walk, and some yummy food before heading home and getting Alethea to bed. Unfortunately we will have to wait another year for her to experience fireworks because I didn’t want to run her down anymore after her running a fever for a few days.

At the harbor with the family

ready to get out

and dance!

love this...despite the humid frizz

the fountain!

sheer joy!

fourth of July dress

posing with Mommy

fountain fun on the fourth!

Other than the fourth of July, I can’t think of any other big family things. We have been spending many weekends with at least one trip downtown and trying to do a lot of family things. Life just gets busy so often that we are taking advantage of the fact that we have the time to spend together for now. And we are very thankful for that time!

There really isn’t much going on for Ben and I specifically this month either. Ben is continuing to enjoy his new leadership position at work. I am enjoying spending time with Alethea and cooking. I have been doing a lot of reading lately about healthy eating and cooking so that has been fun to experiment with different dishes. Ben is actually enjoying meatless meals a lot more than either of us ever thought he would and we are both eating a ton more veggies. It has been great to see the energy and health benefits of transitioning to eating more whole/real foods and less processed junk!

As always, there is a ton changing every day with Alethea. I feel like if I blink I will miss something. She is growing up so fast and getting smarter and smarter every day it seems. This month she turned 17 months and weighed in at 25lbs and just over 33.5 inches. Even the doctor we saw when I took her in to make sure the fever wasn’t anything to be worried about commented about the fact she must have a tall daddy. She has been in a ton of 2T clothes for a while now and I am starting to wonder if getting 2T clothes on sale at the end of last winter might have been a mistake, lol! She also gained all of her molars this month by July 8th and they cut through within the span of a week. We think that must be the cause of the fever and congestion, but she took it like a champ and just kept on playing.

Her new headband...still doesn't really stay on that long

Her verbal skills still seem to be a bit on the slower side (probably because she is too busy moving all the time), but she doesn’t lack understanding of language and communication skills at all. Even though I am sure I will be just as annoyed when she is using words all the time and won’t stop talking, right now she just using the same sound for most everything mixed with a few words and signs and that is getting to be a bit like nails on a chalkboard at times (especially when she is frustrated that I am not understanding and just gets louder). All in due time I guess. She loves to say “hi” to anyone she sees and she especially loves to wave. Often she will wave and then walk away a little, turn around and wave again and then continue the process until she gets distracted by something new.

This month was a big step for weaning. We dropped the morning feeding. I was really concerned about not offering it and thinking that it would really throw off her day and she would be mad she didn’t have it. However she really surprised me and didn’t skip a beat. We just did breakfast first instead and I have incorporated a morning snack so she doesn’t get too hungry before lunch. She still wants nothing to do with any milk other than mommy’s milk, but I have given up on worrying about that. She drinks a ton of water and eats her calcium, vitamin D, and fatty foods like a champ so I think she is doing just fine. I am really enjoying the freedom in the mornings to run and let Ben take care of Alethea so I can have morning time to myself. It was weird at first, but it has been a huge blessing for our whole family dynamic. She still nurses at bedtime and I don’t know when we will stop that, but right now it works for us so no changes in sight. J And it seems that as she has weaned to fewer feedings her obsession with playing with my hair has intensified. Pretty much every time I hold her she is playing with it, even if it is up in a messy bun! Maybe she is just dreaming of when she actually has hair, lol!

conked out after a mid day run with Mommy

(this is a big reason I am thankful we can now run earlier...that and the heat)

We went through more ups and downs that usual this month with her eating habits. I think part of that was due to teething and probably a bit due to just being a busy kiddo. She is still not a fan of veggies, except peas and corn, so we still puree veggies for her to be offered at lunch and dinner. She homemade banana pancakes and bagels, sometimes cheese, hotdogs, pasta with red sauce (not mac n’ cheese), blueberries, Annie’s bunny crackers, freeze dried fruit, pizza, bananas and basically any fruit we offer her. A new favorite this month is chicken nuggets. I had never offered her them before, but I made some homemade this month and she devoured them, especially if I gave her ketchup to dip them in. J

She is a hot mess when she eats pasta!

Cherries!

"picking out dinner" after we got our Healthy Home Foods delivery...love these days!

This month we finally took out the crib bumpers. I was waiting until I felt like I had to because she loved to nuzzle up into them so much. So as soon as the leg started coming up to try and climb out this month they had to go. Thankfully she is still a great sleeper, especially at night, even without the bumpers. We still only get about an hour and fifteen minutes of a nap out of her most days, but I have learned to accept that since she has been that way for about 6 months now.

One fun thing she enjoyed this month was going to story time at the library for the first time. She doesn’t really get a ton out of it yet, but we were mainly working on getting her to sit still for extended periods of time. She also loves to go downtown and play in the fountain they have, except for the random times she seems to want nothing to do with it, lol. Her new routine with our dogs is to give them their treat when we put them in their cage and then she waves to them the whole way to the door. They are her buddies for sure! Our popup tent is a huge hit as well, especially when Daddy or Mommy lay down inside with her. She gets the biggest kick out of playing with it. Big people chairs are a new discovery. She now sits in a real chair for her snacks every day and she loves it! We started glow baths and bath tub finger painting this month too and she is a big fan. We usually bust these out once a week each and they are always a hit.