10 Months!

As of today, Island Girl is now 10 months old.

At lunch a few days ago. Handling the straw like a semi-pro.

She has changed so very much in the last 10 months. At birth, she was 9 lbs. 5.5 oz., and 20.34 inches. Now, she is pushing 20 lbs. and 28 inches She has a well baby check tomorrow, so we'll get an official weight and length then. 

She's been hitting milestones one after the other lately. She pulls herself up to standing very consistently now (she's been doing this for a few weeks), and is starting to cruise along whatever surface she is holding onto at the time.

She still army crawls, except for when she is going a short distance between two things she wants to stand up on. Then she crawls on all fours. And when she army crawls, we refer to her as [Island Girl] The Alligator. She's so fast with the army crawl that she does, in fact, resemble a reptile.

She's starting to pick up words, too. She can say something that sounds (to us) like Island Boy's name while looking at her brother, something that resembles "bye-bye" while waving, and something that sounds like "stinky" while waving her hand in front of her nose. Oh! And she can play the "so big" game like she's been doing it her whole life. And she applauds herself when she's done it right, haha.

It's so hard to believe that a year ago I was feeling hugely pregnant, though still had 2 months to go. Harder still to believe is that a year ago, we had no idea who this little person we were waiting to meet would turn out to be. She fits so totally perfectly in with our family, and is, in some way, a perfect balance for each of the other three of us (just as Island Boy is, just as Island Dad and I  both are). She is fun, bubbly, and willing to jump into just about anything (except anyone other than her mommy or daddy's arms for now). And she hate, hate, HATES being told "no." She listens and stops, but oh, is she unhappy about it!

Teething Bites

Island Girl has been working on teeth lately. Working HARD. As of Christmas, she had just her two bottom teeth fully through, and a third bottom one that had poked through shortly before. Two weeks later, she now also has two top teeth through the gum, and a couple of other tooth-y looking bumps on her bottom gum.

Normally a happy baby who is excellent advertisement to have more babies, Island Girl has been outright GRUMPY lately. She wants to be held, but not be still while being held. That's not a lot of fun for the person holding her (i.e. me). She also was wanting to nurse significantly more frequently. That part wasn't a huge deal, except that that's in addition to wanting to be held nearly constantly. And, oh! the constant whining and/or crying.

And we can forget about her going to bed as easily as she used to. Lately, it's a screamfest even if she's completely fed, dry, and tired. There's been a fair amount of rocking and back patting lately. I refuse to fall into the same traps we did with Island Boy when he was a baby, so she always always always falls asleep in her bed. No nursing to sleep, no rocking to sleep (she won't sit long enough for the latter, anyway).

One other super fun thing she's started along with the teething is biting. Her favorite thing to bite is.....me. When she's done nursing, she clamps down, grins, and pulls back (teeth still clamped). Believe me, she's the only one smiling when she does it!

Hopefully, she will get several teeth out of the way now, and then we can all have a bit of a break. I'm sure she's ready to stop hurting, and I'm ready to have my sunshine-y baby back. Just in time for her to turn into a toddler!

Through a Tourist's Eyes

We are all healthy here again, thankfully! My turn arrived on Friday, and I spent all of Friday, and a good part of Saturday feeling pretty crummy. But, I'm back to full steam now. Yay!

My parents (Island Nanny and Island Grandpa) and brother (Island Uncle 1) arrived on Friday. Island Grandpa has, unfortunately, already picked up the stomach bug. Thankfully, we know it passes quickly.

Before he got sick, though, we were keeping pretty busy, seeing our island through the eyes of tourists. Saturday, Island Dad and Island Uncle 1 went out geocaching and explored Pagat Cave.

Island Dad inside the cave
(photo credit: Island Dad)

Island Uncle 1 checking things out

Island Uncle 1 going cliff-jumping 

They had a great time, and I was truly sad to have missed the experience. Island Girl has been clingy lately, so I was definitely needed at home.

The following day, we took them to Ritidian Beach. This is one of our very favorite spots on The Island.

Because of changing trade winds and currents, the waves were absolutely HUGE while we were there. They break very far from shore, so it's still swimmable. The waves were supremely awesome, though. Island Boy tolerated them quite well, and even squealed with delight when they would "tickle" his toes. Island Girl, being all about mimicking lately, also started squealing along with her brother. Island Nanny and Island Grandpa had a great time playing with the kids, and Island Grandpa in particular had a grand time showing Island Boy how to use a turtle-shaped sand mold. 

Today, Island Girl and I ran some errands in the morning. Island Boy has wanted no one's company besides Island Nanny these past few days, so he stayed home with her. After our errands were done, we picked up Island Boy and Island Nanny and visited K-Mart and Home Depot. It's noteworthy that this was only my second trip to K-Mart (here), but that we frequent Home Depot.

Otherwise, it was an easy, relaxing day. The rest of the week will hold other adventures, as well, while Island Uncle 1 is here, and we'll find other ways to occupy ourselves during the remaining week-plus that Island Nanny and Island Grandpa are here.

It all started so innocently....

Yesterday, we had a great day. We went to the beach. Island Dad and I did a dive while the kids stayed back with a friend of ours.

We went out to lunch with our friends, and the kids all had a great time. Towards the end of lunch, though, Island Boy started whimpering and making that noise that, when you hear it, you think "Ok, I really should know what that noise means. What does it mean, what does it mean?!" And then as soon as you figure it out, BAM! 

And thus, the beginning of what I've been calling Pukefest 2010. Island Boy is, thankfully, better today. But not before taking down Island Dad and Island Girl with him. Thankfully, Island Dad is not wanting to really be around anyone (including me) today, so has been good about staying in the bedroom (I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight!). Island Girl, though, has been so sick! She couldn't keep anything down this morning. We did, thankfully, finally get some Pedialyte into her, and now she's been napping for over 2 hours. Hopefully this will all help. Amazingly, through it all, she's been her normal happy self (except for right before she's going to throw up). Even more amazing in light of the fact that tooth #4 popped through the gum last night.

Here's hoping that all three of them are back to normal tomorrow, and hoping even more that I don't get sick in between (knock on wood). Island Dad has to go in to the office tomorrow, and I'd really like to not be feeling like crap when he has to leave me with two active kids again!

Getting Back on Track

Alright, we're past the holidays now.

I've been slacking on the blog lately. I am going to plan a blog for every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 2011.

So, as briefly as possible, here is what the Island Family has been doing the last month!

Island Boy: Has been picking up new words left and right. He is currently into fire trucks, crayons and coloring, and playing with his friends.

Island Girl: Can now stand up. She is so preoccupied with whatever she wants to reach by standing up, that she has occasionally let go of whatever she's holding onto. She then promptly gets a look on her face that says "Oh, crap! What did I just do?! I have NO idea how to do this!" then sits down and starts to fuss, because she scared herself.

Island Dad: Is busy busy at work. He also got to take a short trip to Korea at the beginning of December, part of which the rest of the family went along for. More on that in a bit.

Island Mom: Got SCUBA certified shortly before the Korea trip, and has been keeping quite busy with the Island Kids (especially Island Girl's increasing mobility).

As a family: We took the previously mentioned trip to Korea. We spent 5 nights in Seoul. It was absolutely fantastic! Even in cold weather, with two kids who are used to warm-weather in tow, it was hands down the most fun thing we've done since arriving in this hemisphere. And we've done some pretty fun things on island. It was so great to see a big city again. And do big city things. And then throw in all the history in Seoul, and it just was an amazing trip. There are so many places we want to see while we're stationed on the island, but given the opportunity, I certainly would go back to Seoul in a heartbeat. Especially at Christmas time. The snow and cold weather were exactly what I needed to get into the Christmas spirit our first year on this tropical island.