10 Months Old

Victoria was 10 months old a week ago!  She has reached several milestones:

She got her first tooth (bottom left)
She is crawling (really fast)
She says "Uh-Oh" when she drops a toy
I've heard her say both "mama and baba" although not with any regularity
She can inform you when she is upset (through a very loud scream!)
She can wave bye bye
She can do "high-fives"

She has certainly developed a personality.

9 months old

Victoria is 9 months old (well she was a couple of weeks ago).  Here are her accomplishments.

She is doing the army crawl --she is really fast!  I think gates are in our future.
She can move from creeping to sitting.
Eating cheerios and puffs like a champ despite the lack of teeth.
She is 18 lbs, 12 ounces, and 29.5 inches long--she needs a new car seat.

8 months old...

Okay, here is the post for 8 months .. Victoria's milestones for this month are:

Claps her hands
When you say "how big is Victoria...sooooo big" she will open her hands
She is sitting up really well, almost never falls over
Continues to eat more and more...the other day she had ground beef!
She is mobile...sort of. She will roll several times across the floor, spin a 360 and inch backwards.
She doesn't like to be alone...she is very social!
Had her first Easter
Was Baptized
Can pick up cheerios, but doesn't like to eat them

7 months old...late again

So I know I am late with this post...again.  I don't know where the months go.  But 8 months will be different I promise.

Okay, here are Victoria's 7 month milestones.

Laughing hysterically at her sister, as though she might hyperventilate
"Talking" with sounds that sound more like words
Can "spin" in a 360 to get to her toys
Starting to sit up
And eats a lot!

6 months old...albeit late

Okay, so this post is long overdue...so much in fact that Victoria is actually almost 7 months old.

But before she is...here are her major accomplishments at 6 months of age:

She is eating a lot more food...basically food at every meal

She took her first airplane trip to Florida

She beat getting all of the stomach bugs that the rest of us got this winter!

She is also starting to develop stranger anxiety a bit

And she gives the biggest smiles ever! Love you Victoria Ann!

5 Months Old

Victoria has a lot to brag about this month. First, she just rolled over today for the first time. She had been really close for weeks, but this afternoon she finally made it all the way over. Since that time, she's rolled over probably 6 or 7 times! Here are some of her other accomplishments:

She is eating cereal! And starting to enjoy it after about a week of practice.

She has found her feet. She loves to hold onto them...sometimes even when she is sleeping.

She is starting to become much more aware of her surroundings, sometimes when I leave the room she'll cry. Miss Sue says she does the same thing to her!

4 Months Old

Victoria is 4 months old now. At her doctor's appointment she was 14lbs, 3 oz and 25 inches long. Here are some of her milestones:

She now plays contently on the floor, surrounded by her toys (vs needing the floor gym)

She is getting really strong...when she moves her legs in the bouncy seat she can really make it move!

She is close to rolling over...she will get all the way up on her side, but then falls back again.

She laughs a lot, especially at Katerina

She will grab and hold onto toys, putting them in her mouth and shaking them

First Christmas

The holidays were wonderful, but admittedly a bit tiring. We did quite a bit of traveling in the month of December ...but it was great everyone got to see Victoria.

The girls had a great Christmas. Katerina really understood Santa Claus this year and was thrilled with all the gifts he gave her. Victoria was also content with a couple of the toys that she received, including this giraffe that squeaks. Unfortunately, Victoria got a cold over the holidays which made it difficult for her to sleep. Luckily she was in a great mood though...she seemed to really get into the holiday spirit.

3 months old

Victoria is 3 months old! Milestones include:

She laughs and giggles

She "coos" a lot, almost like she is telling a story

She enjoys tummy time

She has started daycare

She got her first cold

And I think she recognizes her Baba, Mommy and big sister Katerina. In fact she will follow Katerina with her eyes and will smile when she sees her. It is so adorable.

Back to work--starting school

And so it began...I went back to work on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Mike watched Victoria for those two days and then she started "school" the Monday after Thanksgiving.

It was difficult going back, but I am slowly getting back into "work mode" and bottle washing mode. The mornings in the Christakis household are a bit crazy trying to get us all up and ready to go. And dropping off and picking up two kids from school is a bit of a challenge, especially on Monday mornings when you need to bring in washed sheets and blankets and Friday afternoons when you take sheets and blankets home...it's a lot to carry!

Victoria seems to be adjusting well, albeit the cold she got on day 3 of school. She is also very fortunate because she often gets visits from her big sister Katerina during the day. Here is a picture of Victoria on her first day of school:

hand, hand, fingers, thumb...binky or none?

Katerina was a binky girl as a baby...still is, although binkies are only for bedtime. It was great when she was teething, or tired or cranky. Granted we still need to take it away (a project for after the holidays), but I'm glad she has had it.

Victoria on the other hand doesn't seem to be very interested in the binky. She loves to suck on her nuckles, or her thumb. Every once in awhile she will take the binky, but not like Katerina did.

So what is better? I know there are some kids that manage without either, but both girls as babies have had a strong sucking reflex, so I think Victoria needs something. Ultimately I guess it is not up to me what Victoria chooses...even at 9 weeks she has a mind of her own.

Parent/Teacher Conference

We had our annual parent/teacher conference with Katerina's teacher today. Here are the highlights:

She is outgoing

She is empathetic toward other kids

She loves doing art projects (hint hint...for those looking for x-mass gift ideas)

She loves reading stories and will often recite stories to her friends

She is considered the other "teacher" in the class, helping her friends

She understands the concept of taking turns

She knows her colors, counting, shapes etc.

Way to go Katerina! We are so proud of you.

Leaves

We spent Sunday morning raking/mowing the leaves in our yard. Katerina loved jumping in the leaves and having me "hide" her legs as I raked piles. Victoria enjoyed the fresh air as well and took a nice little nap.

Vacation in Western New York

The Christakis family took a mini-vacation in Western New York this past week. It began with me going to Alfred for a board meeting, Mike going to a Bill's game and Aunt Aileen and Uncle Bill watching the girls.

Then the next day, Katerina, Mike and I went to the Strong Museum of Play...she loved it. It is such a great place, with so much to do for kids of all ages. The only things she didn't like were the train ride and the ride on the carousel. She cried half way through both rides...oh well...roller coasters may not be in her future any time soon.

Then on Wednesday, Yiayia and Papou came back from Greece and we spent the net few days visiting with them. It was a fun relaxing week.

Victoria is 2 Months Old!

Victoria is two months old now. Here are some of her recent accomplishments:

She smiles often and almost giggles.

She can grab or swat at some toys.

She has been practically sleeping through the night for about a week.

She has decided that she doesn't like her binky (we think) and instead loves her thumb.

She does great tummy time...can stay there with her head up for 5 or more minutes.

She has a doctor's appointment in a couple of days where we will find out how much she has grown!

Sleeping Through the Night!

On Victoria's 2 month birthday she decided that she was all grown up and could sleep through the night! She went to bed at about 8:30pm and woke up at 5:15am! What a big girl. After she ate, she gave me a bunch of smiles, as if to show how proud of herself she was. Mommy's proud of her too!

The Real Halloween Story

What an adventure Halloween was this year. If you were to read Katerina's blog you would think it was all "treat" but believe me there was some "trick" as well, which makes for a more memorable experience!

At the school parade and party on Friday, Katerina was very shy--and if you know my daughter that is not typical for her. She spent the parade looking down at her feet as if by doing so no one would see her. Then it took her a good 10 minutes to warm up at the party in her classroom. I think she is just the kind of kid that is cautious in new situations and it is not until the experience is familiar that she becomes herself. After she was more comfortable, however, she wouldn't stop talking and eating the yummy treats they made (fingers, eye balls, and witches brooms).

Then the official Halloween day arrived! I picked her up from school and asked if she was excited to go trick or treating. She said she was. I told her that we were going to have an early dinner before going out. We got home, I took her out of the van, got Victoria out and then when it was time to go inside she gave me a hard time...wanting to go back into the van. I wouldn't let her. She spent a good 5 minutes on the kitchen floor crying. Then I made dinner, and by this time Mike was home. Katerina wanted no part of dinner, crying or sobbing about one thing or another. Her dinner ended up consisting of about 4 bites of peas and a half of string cheese. Oh well...

She got dressed in her costume without tears and was so adorable. She enjoyed trick or treating after she got the hang of it ...usually never saying a word just holding out her bowl and then saying "I want to go to another house." It was pretty cute.

When she got home, she delved right into the candy (apparently having already snacked on some along the way). We let her...she had a Reeses peanut butter cup, another candy bar, a tootsie roll, and a lolly-pop. She tried the sour patch kids but said they were "spicy." After all of that, Mike and I figured she had had enough candy, so he had her pick her "last" piece and then took the candy away. Well the tears came rolling down. I just had to laugh. She eventually calmed down because I let her look in the her candy bowl to see that her candy was still there and I gave in to letting her have a bag of halloween pretzels (what a great idea--just regular pretzels shaped like bats).

Victoria also was a bit fussy in the evening before bed, not wanting to be put down. But both girls ended up sleeping soundly (in fact Victoria went to bed at 8:30pm, woke up at 2:30am for a half hour, and slept again until 6:20am--that a girl!).

It was certainly a Halloween to remember!

Playdough Monster

Katerina made a playdough monster yesterday. I had given her the toddler knife we have and at first she just spent a lot of time cutting the playdough. Then when using the green playdough and her knife, she decided to make a “mouth” and “eyes.” I didn't know she knew how to do that! You'll also notice the monster has feet! :)

Victoria's 40 Day Blessing

Last Sunday was Victoria's 40 day blessing. She was a very good girl--she slept right through it! Strat and Meghan joined us and we all rode to church together in our new mini-van. Katerina seemed to know that it was Victoria's special day because she was "bouncing off the walls"...lots of energy! Here are a few pictures from the event.

Working for Smiles

It is amazing the effort you put in as a parent to get a certain response from your child, such as a smile... it is soo worth it!