Flannery turned eight months on the 30th of December.
[Read more…]six months (flannery simone)
Flannery turns six months today, October 30th.
She is still a wiry little peanut with hardly any hair. What hair is there is still coming in slowly, slowly, just like Big Sister Elvie, who made it all the way to eighteen months or so before it really started to grow. Why does hair do that sometimes? What has grown in still looks very reddish, red enough that new acquaintances see the red tinge, too, and not just a Mama who gets carried away with wishful thinking. What she lacks in hair she makes up for in big, big blue eyes.
Those big eyes only ever seem to shut in sleep or smiling, when she crinkles up her nose and squints her eyes at you as she grins her gummiest grin. She likes to smile, and can really get cackling if you tickle her or play peek-a-boo with her. She even likes to be tossed up in the air, something which Aurick will actually still not let me do.
Elvie is especially good at getting her to laugh. Beatrice tries very hard but with limited success. Beatrice is still Flannery Fan Number One, always wanting to sit with Flannery or talk to Flannery or play with Flannery, but sometimes her three-year-old enthusiasm (and underdeveloped balance) causes more problems than playing. Then there is a great amount of tears on the part of both of the girls, which thankfully they both seem to recover from quickly.
On the subject of sleep: we’ve been through a very long Wonder Week this month, and naps suffered, though not as badly as some of the children have experienced at this age. Flannery has always been very good at putting herself to sleep (if the conditions are right) but she had more trouble with that this month. One day she didn’t nap hardly at all, which for her is so very very strange. Oddly enough, though, her temperament is still fairly sunny, even as tired as she could get during these times.
She’s very particular about where she sleeps, though. I’ve learned that this month as I’ve spent a lot more time out and about with her than I usually do. Like Clive, Flannery will not sleep in the carseat hardly at all. It takes a long day of errands to wear her down enough to sleep in the car. She doesn’t exactly like to sleep in the ring sling, either, but will eventually, if I cover her eyes with a blanket. If I’m holding her, I can get her to surrender and fall asleep if I hold her arms tightly against her and, again, cover her eyes, but she will only sleep like this for maybe ten to fifteen minutes. I even had her on my bed last week while I cleaned–she had her blankie, and her pacifier, and the noise machine was on. And she fussed at me, and fussed, and fussed, until I picked her up and put her in her sleeping basket. Then she shut her eyes and rolled her head up and to the side, and fell asleep. Promptly. The girl knows what she likes!
She still nurses one to two times at night. I have decided not to wean her from night feedings until we start solids. I don’t really think she needs the night feedings–she doesn’t nurse super well during the day which is a surefire way to tell that they could be phased out–but I think perhaps subconsciously I am just afraid to night train her while she’s in such a low percentile for weight. There isn’t any concern–she is following her own growth curve, and I’ve already been through this exact thing twice with Clive and Anselm, who were small like her and still sleeping 12 hrs at night by her age–but I don’t want my sleep training her to be blamed for her being small. So I’ll just wait.
She is a busy little girly when she’s awake! She so loves to have the other children come and talk to her. She grumbles when she’s alone, sometimes. She likes to lie on the floor and see what everyone is up to. She loves to see Aurick–she thinks he’s fascinating. He, for his part, is very careful and gentle with her.
She has been working on rolling over, and though I haven’t seen it yet, the kids say they’ve seen her roll over on her own.
We all call her Flansie-Mo. Or maybe that should be written Flan-Simo? Flansimo? However you spell it, it is wonderfully fun to say; between that and just plain Flansie, she has her nicknames pretty well set for her.
other updates:
ephraim + clive + anselm + elvie + eldore + beatrice + aurick
seven months (flannery simone)
Flannery turned seven months on November 30.
This post is being written a month late, Flansie Dear, so I will try to remember what this month was like for you without mixing it up too much with the month you’ve just completed!

five months (flannery simone)
Flannery turned five months on the 30th of September.
This month was a month of discovery! So many things were found during these past few weeks.
A first discovery was these chunky blocks of flesh at the end of her legs with wiggly spuds sticking out of them. Sometimes, if they hold still long enough, you can grab on to them! And if you’re very flexible (which of course our Flannery is) you can even stick them in your mouth and chew on them! It is very exciting, and needless to say she was awfully proud of herself for finding these new toys. Of course her feet have been there all along, but we won’t spoil it for her by telling her so.
Another discovery was the amazingly full range of sounds she can make, from the highest squeaky-squeaks to the lowest growls, and even spit-filled raspberries! Crowing! Squealing! Talking! Squeaking is her very favorite, though. She reaches her voice up as high as it can possibly go, then looks sideways at you to see if you’ve noticed her dexterity in this magnificent skill.

The third discovery (which Mama has not exactly encouraged) was that fingers are as good as pacifiers in a pinch. I found her asleep several times with two fingers stuck in her mouth, just like Clive used to do. I took a few pictures as proof, then tried my best to discourage the fingers and offer a pacifier. Pacifiers can be taken away, but we’ve had a heck of a time getting our finger/thumb-suckers to stop.
She’s much stronger on her belly, now, and can spend much longer times on her tummy, up and looking around. We have a little whale toy that we’ve been hanging on to for years that is for tummy play–it’s a pouch filled with water with little fish floating in it that baby can look at and poke at, as they like to do at this age. Elvie was thrilled that Flannery was finally old enough for the toy, and badgered me until I got it set up for Flannery to play with. Then we placed Flannery on it, but everyone so crowded around her to see what she would do that she didn’t even notice the toy–she was too busy talking to her admiring fans! It took several tries over the course of a couple of weeks for her to look at the toy and bat at is, as is intended. Now she loves the toy, and Elvie is content.

Even though she’s a skinny little thing, she’s so long that I had to bump her up to the next size sleepers–and her toes still stretch to the very end of the feet of her pajamas. Her fingers and feet are so long! She is long, too, though not extremely so–just a little more than average.
She’s an expert now at the IKEA gym toy. She never misses when she grabs at it, and loves to swing her feet up to knock the toys back and forth, too. She’s working on rolling but hasn’t accomplished a back-to-belly roll on her own yet. Late rolling is kind of a Kransling speciality, with the exception of those Kranslings who were belly sleepers.
She’s a nosey little thing and likes to know what’s going on around her. Nursing her while out in a room is impossible; I have to go back to my room and shut the door. She will often tire of lying on the floor, wanting instead to be up and looking around at everything and everyone. When she complains, I put her in the bouncy seat (if I can’t hold her) at a spot where she can supervise the goings-on in the room. This pleases her enormously, and cuts the complaining immediately.

other updates:
ephraim + clive + anselm + elvie + eldore + beatrice + aurick
twenty months (aurick virgil)
Dear Aurick, you turned 20 months on the 7th of June, 2022.
This past month was something of a whirlwind. We had Flannery just before you turned 19 months, so the house was deep in the fog of those newborn days.
You never missed a beat when we brought Flannery into the family. You were fascinated with her, and loved to come and sit with her and I. You never showed any jealousy, even though you were something of a clinger with me already before she came, asking me “eeeee-UP” when you wanted me to pick you up, and fussing a little if I said I couldn’t.
We took a few trips as a family of ten–going to antique stores, a Strawberry Festival, etc. Since you weren’t walking yet, we put you and Beatrice in the fold-out wagon as we walked around these places. You hadn’t ever sat in the wagon like that, but you loved it, and you were very good at staying seated and keeping your hands to yourself.
You liked to go outside and play in the sandbox. This was helpful as generally I knew if you went outside and I lost sight of you, that’s where you would probably be. But it meant you would come back into the house looking like this:
Hrothgar, the dog, liked to dig in the sandbox and lie in the cool, wet sand he uncovered. Maybe you gravitated towards the sandbox because he was there. He, however, was not always thrilled that you came to play while he was trying to get his cool sand nap.
Since I was no longer pregnant and tired, we made it a point to go out weekly to a playground. You, however, would never go out and play, but just sit by me and Flannery on the bench and drink your water and watch everyone else. I imagine part of this was because you were still not walking, and the wood chips on the ground could not have been comfortable on your knees. I had been trying to get you to stand up, and then hopefully to take steps, but you just wouldn’t do it!

nineteen months (aurick virgil)
Aurick, you turned nineteen months on the seventh of May.
On the 30th of April, you became a big brother as Flannery officially joined us. You were very sweet with the baby and didn’t show any signs of jealousy at all.
Along with your incessant head-shaking, you started saying “no” along with the gesture. You also started saying “ball”, and I think this was the time you started this funny little word that sounded like “mahmoh”. I thought you were using it to refer to me, but maybe instead it meant “hey, you!” because you started using it for everyone to get their attention.
This month you started running a fever that wouldn’t come down with meds, so I took you back to the walk-in-clinic. They said you had another ear infection, which I thought was strange. The medicine they prescribed you was one that Ephraim is allergic to (but Clive isn’t) so I gave it, but watched you closely for any reactions. About an hour after taking it, your fever spiked to over 105. I don’t know why it did that, but I was worried it was related to the medicine somehow, so I didn’t give you any more. That was a long night, waiting for your fever to come down. It also coincided with the time we were expecting Flannery any minute, so it was an exciting couple of days. The next morning I called your real doctor and asked for a different medicine. She checked you out and said you didn’t have an ear infection at all, so any medicine would be useless anyway. That is the last time I will take a child to that walk-in clinic. Anyway, it was apparently just a virus you had. It went away in a couple of days. Thankfully we didn’t have Flannery while you were sick. You were pretty miserable.
Oh! While we were at the pediatrician you stuck your finger up my nose and made it bleed like crazy. Thanks!
As mentioned in your last update, you had decided pretty quickly that you didn’t like being in the playpen, no matter how many new toys were in there. You did love the mega blocks that we got for you, however, and you loved for a sibling to come into your room and play with them with you. So we did succeed in getting some kind of corralled play to happen after all.
eighteen months (aurick virgil)
Aurick, you turned eighteen months on the seventh of April.

We had a stomach virus go through the house this month that you, fortunately, never caught! I don’t know how we managed that, but I’m very glad you didn’t get it, because I haven’t the slightest idea how to handle a vomiting toddler, and I could imagine that the whole experience would have upset you very much. Plus I was sick myself, which only complicated things. But you, Daddy, and Beatrice never caught it. The rest of us were not so lucky.
I have a picture of you in the high chair. I had left you with Ephraim, asking him to feed you your yogurt. When I came back, he had just handed you the spoon, and you were gleefully feeding yourself huge globs of yogurt, getting half of it (or more) on the tray and your face in the process. You did certainly love to do things yourself. This was a brief period where you really loved yogurt. It didn’t last too long.
I cut your hair this month. I just used the clippers like I do for everyone else. You did great with the whole process. Having your hair cut short made you look so much older!
The weather continued to get warmer, and you continued to love being outdoors.
In preparation for the new baby, I set up our large playpen for you and bought several toys. You were okay with this setup for a little while, but after a couple of weeks, rather than acclimating to the playpen, you began to really despise it. This is the opposite of what usually happens with independent playtime, but then again, you are Mr. Contrary. We did get a little bit of time out of it, but not what I had hoped.
Your naps schedule hovered between one nap and two. Two nap days were glorious because you could be really, really difficult sometimes, and that gave us (and you) a break that we all still apparently needed!
You became the official youngest Kransling to learn to blow out candles. And that was the last time I was able to leave a candle burning on the coffee table. Because along you’d come, and–poof! Blow it right out. You were very good at it.
You did not talk at all–not at all, if I remember correctly–except for shaking your head. You would sing, though. You liked to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Old MacDonald” and “One Little Finger”, but rarely would you do it so that other people could see. Mr. Contrary, as usual.
seventeen months (aurick virgil)
Aurick, you turned seventeen months on the seventh of March.
You had a double ear infection this month. I took you in to the walk-in-clinic and you fell asleep in my arms while we waited for the doctor. You never do that, so I could tell you were really feeling very poorly.
The weather warmed up and you were able to get outside more. Big Brother Ephraim would take you out and put you on the trampoline. You loved being on the trampoline! But it did put a cramp in the style of everyone else when you were up there, though.
You enjoyed getting around and exploring the outdoors, but many times you would just sit when I took you outside. You liked to just sit and watch things, I think.
You spent a lot of time in the high chair, watching me in the kitchen.
You could also REALLY get going in the johnny-jump-up. I think you may be the one who used it the longest. But you enjoyed being in there so much, and we loved seeing you going and going in it.
You started cruising around the coffee table. That was exciting!
You continued to be extremely contrary. I suppose it is a mark of your personal style.
four months (flannery simone)
three months (flannery simone)
Flannery turned three months on July 30, the same day that Clive turned 10. (Happy Birthday, Clive!)

The household has settled into calling her Flansie or Flansie-Mo, with the occasional Flansie-Mouse, on the part of Anselm. This is how nicknames evolve, and I love it.
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