Toddlerhood has not treated Kelsey so well thus far. Between teething (2 new top teeth and 2 new bottom teeth and the start of bottom molars) and persistent fluid in her ears causing repeat infections, she hasn't felt well since her first birthday. She also caught her sister's cold in mid February and battled that out for nearly 10 days. Despite all this, she has been a trooper. Its amazing what a dose of Motrin can do for her! And boy oh boy has she had a dose (or two - or two hundred) in the past month! Thankfully she has returned to being a very good medicine taker and she continues to love the taste of Amoxicillin; that makes taking care of a sick peanut that much easier on Mommy and Daddy! With all the sickness, Kelsey has turned into such a snuggly, 'blankie baby'. She spent the better part of the last month with her paci in her mouth and her blankie by her ear. She tries her best to swipe her sister's blankie when it is in reach as well and then she walks over to me with blankies in both hands. Her favorite game is to put the blankie right in my face and then snuggle up behind it. Its so precious. Sometimes she actually puts the blankie in front of her face and then tries to walk toward me ... that game has gotten a bit dangerous as she can't see where she is going - silly girl! When she is really grumpy, we have two 'last resorts' to keeping her happy: letting her play in the water in the sink, or turning on a Dora movie. There is just something about Dora that completely entertains her! Sadly, she will now just stand in front of the tv and point at the characters for an entire Dora episode. She even trys to say Dora - 'rah-rah'. Kelsey's vocabulary is increasing. She now says 'bah-bah' for Baby and for her bottle. She very clearly says "Who is it?", "Where is it?", "Dare (there) it is". She is also understanding so much more like walking to the bathroom when I ask her if she wants to take a bath, walking to the front door when I ask if she wants to go outside, walking to the counter when I ask if she wants her bottle, opening the cupboard when I ask if she wants a snack, saying "Where?" when I ask her where her paci is. I feel like she is just a sponge, soaking up so many new things each day! Today we actually figured out that she has learned how to cough into her elbow by watching Kaitlyn over the last two weeks. Here I thought she was just enjoying chewing on her wrist but actually, when she coughs she now brings her arm up as if to cough in her elbow. Incredible! Despite being sick, Kelsey is cruising around the house with speed these days. I wouldn't call it a run yet, but definitely faster than a walk. She learned how to stand up on her own without using an object to pull up on and has figured out how to step on to our step stool and then back down off of it on her own. She continues to LOVE to climb on everything and remarkably (knock on wood) hasn't gotten any significant 'owies' as a result. She has also figured out how to make her riding toy go backwards and has fun 'crashing' it into the couch. Kelsey is also getting very proficient using silverware when she eats. She loves to poke things with her fork and trys hard but has less success scooping things with her spoon. She has also 'graduated' to the handle-less sippy cup. She continues to drink 2-3 bottles a day; with all the illness and fussiness, we haven't even considered starting the transition off of bottles. Maybe next month! The most exciting skill that Kelsey picked up in the past month is her first baby sign - "open". It is beyond adorable to watch her walk to the fridge and make the sign for "open" over and over. And it amazes me how she knows how to use the sign in so many different circumstances. She'll sign open when standing by the baby gate, or to get a tote of toys open, while holding her toothpaste container when she wants it open so she can have more on her toothbrush ... and in so many more circumstances. What fun it is that she can communicate with us! Kelsey has also learned the baby sign for "more" and she uses that as well - especially at meal and snacktime. Kaitlyn is thrilled that she was able to teach her baby Sissy how to play Ring Around the Rosey too. The lesson took place in the bathtub of all places and we have yet to get Kelsey to play it outside the tub but it is an adorable scene to watch. She will also do the motions to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star when she feels like it.... sigh. Kelsey's appetite has been much decreased with all the teething and illness. No matter how sick she is though, she will ALWAYS gobble up Velvetta Shells 'n Cheese - which remarkably doesn't seem to give her too bad of a tummy ache (yeah!) and mini m&ms. . . healthy, I know. When she is feeling good she likes her fruits and veggies too thank goodness.
We got invited to a very tasty and fun playdate at Molly and Weston's. Miss Jenn helped the kids make homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and homemade pizza. And then of course we stayed for a magnificent lunch!!! 
Kelsey's favorite part of the day was climbing Miss Jenn's stairs with Weston. 
The girls (and Weston) had fun dressing up and putting on a dance routine. They used the landing of the stairs as a stage. So precious! 
Ahhhh yes ... it is getting hard to entertain the baby while Mommy 'makes' milk these days! 
Look who got Kaitlyn's open bag of Pop Tart Minis! 
Suckers! 
Sampling the entire bag .... 
Loving my pasta! 
"I like those buttons, Sissy!" 
Playing Pollys with Big Sissy. Remarkably, she never puts the clothes or shoes in her mouth! 
"Take your places, Everyone. Let the show begin!" 
Playing in the sink is one of the ONLY things that appeases her when she is in pain. Watching Dora is a close runner up. 
Parachute fun with Mommy and Sis. 
Going backwards! 
Kaitlyn playing a silly game where she pushes her tube on the icy lake across the street and then races to catch it. 
... crawling on her hands and knees... like I said ... silly! 
Kaitlyn and Daddy clearing out the playhouse. 
Kelsey's first time in the snow! 
"What is that cold stuff that you want me to touch?" 
My silly snowy girl! 
