Dagny At Her Best

It was picture day this week so we made sure to bathe and dress up both kids in either their favorite clothing choice (Finley) or ours (Dagny).  Dagny even allowed me to put a clip in her hair so we could actually see her face, success! However, when I picked them up at school, I got the news that Dagny had refused to pose/smile for her individual photo and her sibling photo with Finley.  She just cried.  Aw.  She was happy in the class photo, but they just couldn't get one of her on her own.  ARG! Luckily, I take photos of her and Finley ALL the time so I was only mildly disappointed and managed to snap this gem of her that afternoon at home.

Love that hair clip and cardigan! Yes, she's in a rubbermaid storage tote...but look past that, alright?

Dagny has been becoming girlier right in front of our eyes and most recently, she has been tucking in her monkey with her loveys.  She lays the monkey down on her pink dog blanket, puts one lovey on top and then the other.  She'll say "Night Night" and lay down on top of it all!

It's very sweet and rather domestic :)

The Next Billy Elliot?

Just a typical afternoon in the playroom :) 

Don't mind the crying in the background, Dagny was just upset that she couldn't push the buttons on the guitar while it was providing Finley's musical inspiration.

At nearly 4, Finley continues to make us laugh and show off his sparkling personality (not to mention his awesome dance moves).

It's Fall!

For the past couple of weeks, Finley and Dagny have been impossible to get into the house after we pull into the garage.  They both head straight for the yard tools and make their way to the driveway and yard to "do landscaping," as Finley says.

 

This afternoon, Finley was crushed that nearly all the leaves were off the driveway ("Mommy, there's only a few pine needles there.")  Sigh.  But he found his way to where all the leaves had blown and began working on a pile.  

Dagny "helped."

 It's finished!

Free entertainment...well, unless you count the mortgage that allows us to live on such a deciduous tree covered plot :) The weather has taken a chilly turn so who knows how many more afternoons we'll be able to play like this outside, so I'm glad we can enjoy these leaves in all their autumnal glory.

More Sibling Adventures

Last weekm we went to the Maynard Outdoor Store after school to get Finley a new winter hat.  That morning, he tried on the one he wore last year and he said, "My head feels too small, I think I need a new hat."  Ha, well said, little man.

After finding the hat successfully and exploring the store a bit, we paid and headed out.  Finley was excited to see all the sports' goals/nets out and he was so sweet inviting Dagny into each net with him, "Come on, Dags, come in with me. Daaaaagny..."

 She played along just as he planned!

 This one's my favorite!

In other big sibling news, Dagny started at Finley's preschool at the temple last week.  I brought her over for a visit after school early in the week and she made herself right at home looking at books and bonding with Doobim the bear.  Finley was so excited to have her there and showed her all around, it was hard to get them to leave!

A few days later, Dagny had her first day and she did great! Her teachers said she was a "pro" and did everything like all her (older) peers - sat at circle time, looked at books, ate her lunch, played outside, and took a great nap.  Finley was a doting big brother who showed Dagny where to sit at breakfast, saved her a seat at Shabbat ("She sat on one side and Joshua sat on my other side," Finley explained) and asked if he could have snack with her in the morning after outside time, which his teachers agreed to.  Also, they napped right next to each other and when I asked if they talked before sleeping, Finley reported, "We were talking and laughing until Rachel rubbed Dagny's back and she fell fast asleep." Awww.  

We are so thrilled that she had a great transition from her other school, but even more proud that Finley made it possible.  

Fire Truck Playground

One of our favorite after school spots, the West Acton "Fire Truck" Playground.

In they went...

 Peekaboo, out she came!

 Ride 'em, Cowgirl!

And for the first time, Finley took over swing-pushing-duty for Dagny.

 He got the hang of it after finding the best place to stand.

Boy are we going to miss this come winter time!

Together and Loving It

Our kids love each other (most of the time) and seeing them interact has been totally worth the craziness of having two.    Recently, Dagny has taken up Finley's love of playing football in the basement.  Here they are about the start the game.

Dagny will do lots of things just because Finley is doing them and sometimes she will do what he says after Dan or I has failed.  At a playground last week, she wanted to walk to the car (across the playground, the baseball field, and past the basketball court) and got sidetracked.  I called to her and we waved, but she was fine with staying there inside the fence.  Finley ran over, took her hand and she went right along.

 It was adorable.

 She looked pleased as punch.

 He walked her over to me and then tried to hand her off saying, "Mommy, can you take her now? She walks too slow for me."

 Ha! We are pretty lucky :)

Our "Baby" is 15 months

Yes, Dagny's 15 months! On October 3rd, she turned 15 months and we went to the doctor to get her checked up.  The big waiting room is always more fun than the little one, isn't it?

 But soon we did get called in and Dagny was stripped down for her weight and height measurements.  She tipped the scale at 24 lbs 6 oz (she gained less than a pound from 3 months ago, it must have been my imagination that he was becoming a sack of potatoes) and is 32" tall.  This puts her near the 70th percentile for weight and 92nd for height!

Then we had to wait a while for the doctor, but Dagny busied herself with a book and didn't seem to mind the wait.

 She cried from the moment the doctor walked in to the moment she finished her exam, it was fairly pathetic and mildly ridiculous but we managed to make it through.  Then it was time to talk "shots."  Dagny was scheduled for two plus the flu shot, but the doctor asked me if I wanted to get Finley's flu shot as well and then things got ugly.  I didn't even think the mild mannered big brother in the corner was listening, but he heard me say "yes" and began crying hysterically.  However, we calmed him down and the doctor asked him if he wanted the shot or the "nose spray" (flumist vaccine).  He promptly said, "No shot!" so we opted for the spray.  He took it like a champ and Dagny took hers less so, but soon we were done and on our way home.

At 15 months, Dagny is doing awesome.  She's super social, eats pretty well, walks, nearly runs, climbs, waves, kind of sings, makes animal sounds on command, and is really starting to build an amazing vocabulary.  At 15 months, Finley was making lots of sounds but no understandable words, so   it's been nice to know what Dagny wants, needs, or thinks at an earlier age.  Some useful words she uses: mommy/mama, Daddy/Dada, lovey (wovey), num-num (food/snack), up, cheese, book (usually followed by "read it"), outside, shoe, bup (means open, for some reason), no, ya (yes), sit, poop (i bet you can figure that one out), and the list goes on.  She can also say Finley, which sounds like "winnee" right now and her own name sounds like "Nagny" which is adorable.  She can repeat almost anything you ask her to say and will often surprise you with a word you didn't know she knew like when we went to a playground and she some some pebbles that she wanted to dig in, so she pointed to my bag and asked, "shovel"?  Or when we were bounding around the basement and she asked, "tunnel?" and looked around and then we took our tunnel out and she was thrilled!

Other Dagny-isms of the moment:
-asking to "sit" up on the couch (she needs a boost) to look at a book (up and down and over and over)
-if you say "outside" you better be prepared to take her out within five minutes, or she'll wait by the door until you do
-loves drawing with sidewalk chalk outside and crayons and a pencil inside
-wearing too many necklaces and then nearly choking herself with them
-continues to adore "lovey" time with Finley and all their loveys (Rocky, Hops, and Owly)
-opening the cabinet when she's hungry to help herself
-putting hats on and off and on and off
-waving and blowing kisses to all
-eating mini-popsicles on a stick like a pro
-riding in her big red car around the neighborhood
-loves Twinkle, Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, and Row Row Row your Boat

Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks that capture Dagny in her 15 month old glory.

Always stylish :)

And some videos, too.

When she had just started talking:

Goofing in the basement:

Exploring at our local kids' museum:

Love you, girl!