Caroline is a BIG GIRL!

Caroline's transition from her crib started when we were at the beach in May. Catherine needed the Pack n Play and Caroline is really too big for it anyway, so we ended up unstacking the bunk beds and she slept on the top bed since it has rails on it. She did surprisingly well in it-- never tried to climb out, no unusual waking up problems. And then after the beach, we went to straight to a wedding and stayed in a hotel for 4 nights where she also slept in a regular bed. She did fall out of the bed several times but we had put pillows on the floor just in case, and she actually never really woke up enough to know that she had fallen out. It was actually kind of funny, being woken up in the night by the thud of her hitting the wall next to the bed.

So when we got home, she did go back to her crib for a couple of nights until we could get the big bed set up. But the transition was as smooth as it could be. We had prepped her and told her all week what was coming, so she was very excited to get her big girl bed. So, now she sleeps in a full size bed that was converted from her crib. She has done wonderfully well. It has been almost a month and she hasn't climbed out once. There has been no real interruption to her sleep schedule either, excpet that it sometimes takes her longer to fall asleep.

The other big news is that we are potty training. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed her diaper was completely dry when she woke up in the morning. So I asked her if she wanted to use the potty. and she said yes and just went in and did it. Two days later, we went out and bought pull-ups, and she is wearing those during the day. Things are going pretty well. She doesn't really tell us that she needs to go yet, so we have to be vigilant about asking and taking her to the potty. But, more days than not, she has kept her pull-ups and/or diapers relatively dry. She still doesn't want to use the potty at school with her teachers, but they tell me it takes some time for most kids to get the hang of that. It will probably be a while before we are ready to switch to big girl underwear, but we are taking some steps in that direction.

Next step-- no more paci. But we'll conquer that after potty training.

Catherine's First Steps

Catherine took her first steps last week, on 6/15 to be exact. Tuesday and Wednesday, she was taking one step and then by Friday she was taking 3 steps. This week, she has taken 5 or 6 steps a few times.
Mostly, though, she wants to walk around holding my hands with me behind her. She walks laps around the house and even leads me to the front door and points at the doorknob asking to go outside. I do open the door and carry her out sometimes, but I have tried not to get in the habit of walking around with her outside too much. Caroline was in the same stage of walking two summers ago, and I learned that the 95 degree heat is not the most fun place to walk with them .

Catherine 12 month check-up

Catherine had her 12 month doctor's appointment yesterday. She weighs 22 lbs and is 30 inches long. I think the length measurement might have been a little generous, given that the paper covering the table was all wrinkled and the nurse straightened it before she measured where she had marked Cattherine's head and feet.
She is healthy and in the 75th %-ile for both height and weight.

Two Toofers

Catherine finally cut her first tooth! It came through on June 5th-- exactly a week after her first birthday. Then the second popped through yesterday. They are both bottom teeth-- the two in the middle. First the right and then the left. She has seemed a bit more fussy than usual and had a runny nose all last week, but I think she might have just had a cold. Plus, we have been in the process of weaning from nursing, which I know is somewhat responsible for the fussiness. It did work out nicely for me, that she waited until we were pretty much done nursing to get teeth!