Welcome Fall

Esme had some hesitation following her first poo in the toilet last week but after this weekend I think she's really got it down.  At first I had to spend some time with her in the bathroom while coaching her to "give me a good push" when she had to go and I felt like I was her labor coach.  It was funny cause I'm not used to being on that end of things.  Ha ha!

Chan continues to love his bouncer and has recently been bouncing himself to sleep in it.  We'll put him in there while we're in the kitchen or something and usually hear him bouncing side to side.  Then all of a sudden it'll get quiet and we'll look over and he's completely asleep in it.

Now Esme's getting ready for our next trip to Austin, TX this week Thursday.  It comes at a perfect time as it's getting cold and rainy here in WA so we can go there to warm up a little.  Apparently Esme's been telling everyone at school about her upcoming adventures too.  She's excited to see Aunty Carrie, Uncle Nate, and Seth.  Just FYI, it might be a little while till the next post since we'll be out of town.  

  

SHE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was a lot of celebrating in the Shih household tonight because ESME POOPED IN THE POTTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's amazing at what we get excited for these days.  Ha ha!  She's been out of diapers for the past 2 months but would revert to them for pooping until now.  We tried every trick possible but in the end it was a recommendation from a patient of mines that worked - the "Poop Song" on YouTube.  It's an instructional song/video that Esme watched over and over for 3 days and then she did the deed.  So exciting!  Now if only we could get Chan to sleep through the night then we'd really be golden!

Allen and I had Curriculum Day at Esme's school last weekend and we got to meet some of the other parents.  When we mentioned who's parents we were all the parents would say "Ooooohhhhh so you're Esme's mom/dad!"  Apparently they all know her pretty well because she always greets the parents by their names when they come in and she makes sure that their kid has their jacket and shoes when they leave.
 

Esme's first piece of homework for the new school year

Four Months Old

Chan Chan turned 4 months old today!  He actually had his check up last week and passed with flying colors.  He's tracking, laughing, cooing, babbling, holding his head up, rolling over, and briefly sitting up like he should be at this age.  He measured in at 16# 10.5oz and 25.5 inches which is 75% for both weight and height.  Esme was a proud big sister and wanted to be as involved with his check up as she could be.  She was also very concerned about his shots.  I was also worried too since he didn't handle the first set at 2 months so well.  And true to form, he was super fussy after these ones too.  Chan only got 2 shots this time but he was still fussy for the rest of the afternoon and didn't want to be put down or he'd start crying a sort of pain cry.  It was sad.  He did sleep well that night and no issues after that so I was glad it was short lived.

So Chan has been in his own room since last weekend but he's still waking up at night.  I put Allen in charge of going in to soothe him or put the pacifier in and Chan usually goes right back to sleep.  However usually around 4:30am he's wide awake and has a hard time falling back asleep so Allen usually brings him in bed with us so I can feed him and then we all go back to sleep.  We're hoping that he stretches out this early morning feed and starts sleeping through the night completely soon.

And Esme is still loving her big girl bed.  She's always asking for us to come and lay with her now that there's so much room.  It was also her idea to "let" Chan sleep in her crib last weekend so it was neat to see her put all that together.  Esme's been having night terrors every so often for the past few months and she had one in her new bed too last week. She just starts screaming out in the middle of the night for about a minute and then goes back to sleep. It never lasts long enough for us to go in and see what's going on and they usually resolve on their own.

Esme trying to take baby Chan's blood pressure at the doctors office

The proud big sister

Chan enjoying his jumper

Musical Beds

Esme made a huge leap this week from her crib to the queen sized bed in the next room over.  She wasn't showing any signs of wanting to crawl out of her crib but we wanted to get Chan in his own room sooner rather than later so now seemed like a good time.  Esme was very excited about sleeping in the big girl bed and had no issues from the start, even though the first two nights there were really big thunderstorms and lightening.  We pushed the bed against the wall and put a bed rail on the other side but we've noticed that she sleeps mostly curled up next to the wall and nowhere near the edge.  Now she likes how mommy or daddy can climb in bed with her at anytime and cuddle up before bed or when she wakes up.

Chan still wakes at night so we're just waiting for the right opportunity to switch him to his own room.  Possibly this weekend but it all depends on how I feel since that means going down the hall to feed him now.  In the past week he's started drooling a ton and tugging at both ears a lot too so I think he's starting the teething process.  He's also putting everything he can in his mouth.  Chan's still not a devoted thumb sucker so he likes his pacifier too.  He's also learned how to grab his feet and pull them up to his chest.  Pretty soon they'll be in his mouth too.

Chan's showing off his skills on the activity mat

Esme put her baby doll in her "Ergo" in her shirt, just like mommy

Reading in the big girl bed