Baz and George had a nice Friday and Sat- they hung out, went in the hot tub, and Baz turned off the fighting and whining that he's been giving me lately. Unfortunately, this all ended Sun morning when he woke up covered in puke. Why can't we go a MONTH without somebody spending 2-3 days puking their guts out???? Poor little guy woke up this morning, once again covered in barf and said "Mommy, Bastian icky". Other than diarrhea, he's seemed to be OK today, but that happened yesterday and he still puked last night, so I'm not counting it over until we have 24 hours with no vomit.
To complicate matters, Baz cut his finger today. Luckily, Nana utilized some quick first aid and he's been proudly displaying the bandage she applied all day.
He barely napped today, so I'm hoping for a good night's sleep tonight- with a wake-up past 5 am please!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Meeting Miles
This past weekend, Anya and I had a girls' roadtrip to Philly to meet Miles and play with Isabella. We left George and Baz at home so I could get some rest and not chase Mr. 2-year old all weekend. That was the best idea I've ever had- Anya and Isabella played very well together and mommy got some much needed sleep!!!
Miles is just adorable- another Ben clone, although Isabella is definitely looking just like Beth did when she was little. He definitely brought back memories of the first few months of Anya's life.... he likes/needs to be held and/or rocked most of the time. At first this is nice, but having been through it, I know how exhausting it is trying to calm a fussy baby. Hopefully it passes quickly for him. On a better note, he does seem to sleep pretty well at night, which is foreign to me.
We took the girls (and Miles, too) to the Please Touch Museum and they had a blast! Isabella ran from one activity to the next, but eventually we met up and the cousins played together. I don't think it really tired them out too much, though- bedtime was a bit rough. Both girls wanted to sleep in the same room, but to my amazement, Isabella was the one who wanted to stay up. Anya kept asking Isabella to be quiet so she could go to sleep! After I picked myself up off the floor, amazed that Anya was ASKING to go to sleep, I moved her into my room and she was down in seconds. The same thing happened the next night except that we gave up pretty quickly this time.
There were a few minor scuffles over toys, but other than that, Isabella and Anya played very well together all weekend. Anya was also eager to help with Miles. She assisted Aunt Beth at bathtime and made sure his belly and bellybutton were spic and span. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold him too much, but she seemed satisfied with the opportunities she got. It looks like I've got a good mommy's helper on my hands.
Miles is just adorable- another Ben clone, although Isabella is definitely looking just like Beth did when she was little. He definitely brought back memories of the first few months of Anya's life.... he likes/needs to be held and/or rocked most of the time. At first this is nice, but having been through it, I know how exhausting it is trying to calm a fussy baby. Hopefully it passes quickly for him. On a better note, he does seem to sleep pretty well at night, which is foreign to me.
We took the girls (and Miles, too) to the Please Touch Museum and they had a blast! Isabella ran from one activity to the next, but eventually we met up and the cousins played together. I don't think it really tired them out too much, though- bedtime was a bit rough. Both girls wanted to sleep in the same room, but to my amazement, Isabella was the one who wanted to stay up. Anya kept asking Isabella to be quiet so she could go to sleep! After I picked myself up off the floor, amazed that Anya was ASKING to go to sleep, I moved her into my room and she was down in seconds. The same thing happened the next night except that we gave up pretty quickly this time.
There were a few minor scuffles over toys, but other than that, Isabella and Anya played very well together all weekend. Anya was also eager to help with Miles. She assisted Aunt Beth at bathtime and made sure his belly and bellybutton were spic and span. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold him too much, but she seemed satisfied with the opportunities she got. It looks like I've got a good mommy's helper on my hands.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Cool pregnancy tracker
I stumbled upon this website and found a cool thingy to "see" what's happening with the baby. Check it out HERE
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter
We had a very nice and quiet Easter this year. The kids eagerly checked out their baskets as soon as they woke up and were more interested in the toys they got than the candy- yay!!! Of course, they did manage to have a breakfast of cookies and sneak in plenty of jelly beans and M&M's throughout the day, but really not so much.
Anya had carefully picked out her Easter dress the night before and hung it up on her doorknob with all the accessories. This is funny because we didn't leave the house, but it was still important for her to dress up! We had a nice visit with Uncle Dimpy and Uncle Matt, too. They helped set up and participate in the egg hunt- thanks guys!!! All in all, it was a very relaxing and low-key holiday. We had 2 hot tub sessions (ahhhhh) and hung out the rest of the day. I had made cheesy potatoes on Sat, so dinner was heating up the precooked ham, baking the potatoes, and steaming some veggies- easy peasy!
The kids even went to bed without much fuss. Too bad they were both up throughout the night- Baz is killing me! Here's hoping for better tonight!
PS- there are a bunch of new pics and videos on the kids' website
Anya had carefully picked out her Easter dress the night before and hung it up on her doorknob with all the accessories. This is funny because we didn't leave the house, but it was still important for her to dress up! We had a nice visit with Uncle Dimpy and Uncle Matt, too. They helped set up and participate in the egg hunt- thanks guys!!! All in all, it was a very relaxing and low-key holiday. We had 2 hot tub sessions (ahhhhh) and hung out the rest of the day. I had made cheesy potatoes on Sat, so dinner was heating up the precooked ham, baking the potatoes, and steaming some veggies- easy peasy!
The kids even went to bed without much fuss. Too bad they were both up throughout the night- Baz is killing me! Here's hoping for better tonight!
PS- there are a bunch of new pics and videos on the kids' website
Potty Training Success?
Baz has shown a definite interest in using the potty, so we've been trying to encourage this as much as possible. Of course, I really think it's just an excuse for him to whip out his wiener and pee on things, but he's pretty good about doing it mostly in the potty. George has recently shown him how to use the stool to stand on to pee standing up, which Baz also loves.
So yesterday morning, Baz makes several requests in a row to "pee pee potty" and George gets sick of getting up and walking him to the bathroom and back. As a result, he (G) comes out and tells me that he's just going to let Baz run around naked for a while so he can pee whenever he wants. This is a fine idea, except that he hadn't yet pooped, which has been happening early in the day lately. Uh-oh.....
As I mention this to George and he realizes what's going to happen next , in runs Baz as if on cue- with something brown on his heel. Aw, crap.....yep, it was crap!!! It turns out that he ALMOST did it right- as I carried him quicky to the bathroom, watching carefully where I walked since I didn't know where he had left his present, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his poop was very locally contained. It appears that he got up on the stool and pooped standing up!! Haha!!! It could have been so much worse, but I see now why it's better to teach little boys to pee AND poop sitting down to start with!!!!
So yesterday morning, Baz makes several requests in a row to "pee pee potty" and George gets sick of getting up and walking him to the bathroom and back. As a result, he (G) comes out and tells me that he's just going to let Baz run around naked for a while so he can pee whenever he wants. This is a fine idea, except that he hadn't yet pooped, which has been happening early in the day lately. Uh-oh.....
As I mention this to George and he realizes what's going to happen next , in runs Baz as if on cue- with something brown on his heel. Aw, crap.....yep, it was crap!!! It turns out that he ALMOST did it right- as I carried him quicky to the bathroom, watching carefully where I walked since I didn't know where he had left his present, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his poop was very locally contained. It appears that he got up on the stool and pooped standing up!! Haha!!! It could have been so much worse, but I see now why it's better to teach little boys to pee AND poop sitting down to start with!!!!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Yo Gabba Gabba
For those of you who have been spared by Yo Gabba Gabba, it's a weird but oddly captivating kids' show. Baz has been VERY into it lately and requests it at least once a day. Once you get past the weird, it does have good messages- he's been seen singing "please, thank you..please, thank you" for instance. They have a segment where Biz Markie sings Biz's beat of the day and apparently that has interested Baz. Here's a sample of the segment:
Here's Baz's version:
We're so proud of our future rappers!!!!!
PS- yay mommy for figuring out how to embed a video!!!
Here's Baz's version:
We're so proud of our future rappers!!!!!
PS- yay mommy for figuring out how to embed a video!!!
Anya
We're rapidly approaching Anya's kindergarten screening so we're trying to prepare her without making it stressful. One of the 2 questions she missed on the "test" at preschool was knowing her address, so we've been working on that and she seems to have it down now. This week, they had to cut out the numbers for their phone number and she didn't know that. It didn't take long, but she knows that now too!
Her teacher gave me a little show when I dropped her off on Thursday. Each day, the kids have to find their name on the back of their seats (it's different each day). Anya has been reading and writing her own name for quite a while, so that's no biggie. On Thurs, though, she started telling each kid where their seats were! I asked her how she knew everyone's name and the teacher said she's been doing that for a while!!! She then went through cards with each kid's name on it and Anya knew them all- what a smartie!! Maybe all the kids can do that, but her teacher certainly seemed impressed by it. That definitely helps me worry less about sending her to kindergarten when she's still 4.
Her teacher gave me a little show when I dropped her off on Thursday. Each day, the kids have to find their name on the back of their seats (it's different each day). Anya has been reading and writing her own name for quite a while, so that's no biggie. On Thurs, though, she started telling each kid where their seats were! I asked her how she knew everyone's name and the teacher said she's been doing that for a while!!! She then went through cards with each kid's name on it and Anya knew them all- what a smartie!! Maybe all the kids can do that, but her teacher certainly seemed impressed by it. That definitely helps me worry less about sending her to kindergarten when she's still 4.
Sebastian
Baz is rapidly blooming into a wonderful 2-year old. His speech is better each day and he's always using 2,3, and 4 word phrases. He surprised everyone in the past few days by counting!!! At home, it's usually in the tub, for some reason, and at Nana and Dada's, it's climbing the stairs. Either way, we're thrilled that he's starting with numbers! He's also working on colors, although he frequently says the wrong color.
He still loves pushing the stroller and his baby around the house. He'll wave and say "bye bye, see you later!!"
Thankfully, his ear infection seems to have resolved quickly, although getting the abx in is a treat. It's orange flavored (what kind of idea is that?? What was wrong with bubblegum????), so it's a fight trying to get the small part of his dose in. We only have a couple more days anyway.
He is also picking up some less-favorable 2 year old behavior as well. HIs tantrums are adorable- if he doesn't get what he wants, he first grabs whatever is close to him and throws it to the floor, then he throws himself. Face down. Then cries there for a bit. He's usually over it pretty quickly so far. He's also learning how to bully Anya back. She's always pushed him out of her way as big sisters do, but now he's learning that that goes both ways (as little brothers do). Anya's lucky because he's still smaller than her, but her time will come!
He still loves pushing the stroller and his baby around the house. He'll wave and say "bye bye, see you later!!"
Thankfully, his ear infection seems to have resolved quickly, although getting the abx in is a treat. It's orange flavored (what kind of idea is that?? What was wrong with bubblegum????), so it's a fight trying to get the small part of his dose in. We only have a couple more days anyway.
He is also picking up some less-favorable 2 year old behavior as well. HIs tantrums are adorable- if he doesn't get what he wants, he first grabs whatever is close to him and throws it to the floor, then he throws himself. Face down. Then cries there for a bit. He's usually over it pretty quickly so far. He's also learning how to bully Anya back. She's always pushed him out of her way as big sisters do, but now he's learning that that goes both ways (as little brothers do). Anya's lucky because he's still smaller than her, but her time will come!
The saga of the hot tub
George and I decided at Christmas to get one big gift for each other rather than spend money on useless things that neither of us really want. We decided on a hot tub and found a GREAT deal at BJs. Of course, because it was a great deal, it didn't include delivery or installation.
OK, no biggie.....we're pretty good at doing things ourselves and my dad is the ultimate do-it-yourselfer, so we began the project. It was the beginning of February when we took the van to have a hitch installed- this was a one day project that involved a lot of carpooling, etc so we could leave the van at UHaul all day. It worked out pretty well.
The next step was actually GETTING the tub from BJ's and bringing it home. Unfortunately, the closest BJ's sold their only model, so we had to go to one a bit further away. This is only relevant because we were now carting around a 76" high tub (on its side on a pallet) in an open trailer that was probably about 50" high on the sides. There was definitely a "topple over" factor involved! Anyway, we scored because this tub was amost $500 less than the one we were looking at and had more features- woohoo!!!!
Actually loading the tub was pretty easy once the 10 guys the manager brought out to the door to lift the thing told their manager she was nuts and just lifted it with the forklift. The trip home was a little nervewracking, but otherwise uneventful. Unloading was another issue altogether- George had already knocked down the fence on the side of the house so we could pull the van around the back, but the trees limited how far we could pull in. So much for rollling the tub right off where we eventually wanted it. The next issue was that the ground was soft so once the corner of the pallet was off the trailer, it dug into the mud. Luckily, we had rented some dollies, so with a little ebow grease we pushed and pulled the sucker off. As fate would have it, we couldn't back the van up with the position of the tub and the trailer, so we had to unhitch the trailer and manually turn it around and pull it out. Who said pregnancy was a "delicate condition???"
THat ended the big progress for quite a while. We slowly amassed the parts we would need- fusebox and parts, wires, stones, etc. George chopped down the cherry tree in the place where we wanted to put down the tub. We hired a guy to come with a super-cool stump grinder. He was nice enough to use his machine to level out the ground for us!!!!
We now had a ot of crappy weather- snow, rain, cold, etc....so little progress was made. Next we had a visit from my parents, so dad went to work on the wiring and fuses. He couldn't do too much since it was miserable out, but he got a start and showed George what had to be done next. Over the next couple of weeks, George dug the trench for the electrical and did some masonry work laying the stones. Everything was set for the master electrician to do his magic!
My parents arrived Wed evening and while mom took Anya to swimming, dad went right to work on the electrical stuff in the cold and rain-what a trooper! THe next day, he and George managed to move the tub to its spot and lay it on the side. By the time I came home from work it was ready to fill. It took over night to heat up, but this morning, this is what we did:
Both kids had a BLAST playing in the water. Anya demonstrated her swimming skills and Baz just splashed and splashed. He threw a huge tantrum after we got out the first time, but I think after the second dip today, he gets that the tub isn't going anywhere!
I'd just like to thank everyone who helped us, especially my mom and dad. Hopefully we'll have lots ot good times in it!
OK, no biggie.....we're pretty good at doing things ourselves and my dad is the ultimate do-it-yourselfer, so we began the project. It was the beginning of February when we took the van to have a hitch installed- this was a one day project that involved a lot of carpooling, etc so we could leave the van at UHaul all day. It worked out pretty well.
The next step was actually GETTING the tub from BJ's and bringing it home. Unfortunately, the closest BJ's sold their only model, so we had to go to one a bit further away. This is only relevant because we were now carting around a 76" high tub (on its side on a pallet) in an open trailer that was probably about 50" high on the sides. There was definitely a "topple over" factor involved! Anyway, we scored because this tub was amost $500 less than the one we were looking at and had more features- woohoo!!!!
Actually loading the tub was pretty easy once the 10 guys the manager brought out to the door to lift the thing told their manager she was nuts and just lifted it with the forklift. The trip home was a little nervewracking, but otherwise uneventful. Unloading was another issue altogether- George had already knocked down the fence on the side of the house so we could pull the van around the back, but the trees limited how far we could pull in. So much for rollling the tub right off where we eventually wanted it. The next issue was that the ground was soft so once the corner of the pallet was off the trailer, it dug into the mud. Luckily, we had rented some dollies, so with a little ebow grease we pushed and pulled the sucker off. As fate would have it, we couldn't back the van up with the position of the tub and the trailer, so we had to unhitch the trailer and manually turn it around and pull it out. Who said pregnancy was a "delicate condition???"
THat ended the big progress for quite a while. We slowly amassed the parts we would need- fusebox and parts, wires, stones, etc. George chopped down the cherry tree in the place where we wanted to put down the tub. We hired a guy to come with a super-cool stump grinder. He was nice enough to use his machine to level out the ground for us!!!!
We now had a ot of crappy weather- snow, rain, cold, etc....so little progress was made. Next we had a visit from my parents, so dad went to work on the wiring and fuses. He couldn't do too much since it was miserable out, but he got a start and showed George what had to be done next. Over the next couple of weeks, George dug the trench for the electrical and did some masonry work laying the stones. Everything was set for the master electrician to do his magic!
My parents arrived Wed evening and while mom took Anya to swimming, dad went right to work on the electrical stuff in the cold and rain-what a trooper! THe next day, he and George managed to move the tub to its spot and lay it on the side. By the time I came home from work it was ready to fill. It took over night to heat up, but this morning, this is what we did:
Both kids had a BLAST playing in the water. Anya demonstrated her swimming skills and Baz just splashed and splashed. He threw a huge tantrum after we got out the first time, but I think after the second dip today, he gets that the tub isn't going anywhere!
I'd just like to thank everyone who helped us, especially my mom and dad. Hopefully we'll have lots ot good times in it!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Catching up
OK, so clearly pregnancy has had a negative impact on my blogging. Well, it just can't be helped- by the time I get to sit down in the evening, I've been puking or nauseated and so exhausted that even the thought of sitting at the computer is tiring. As I approach the second trimester I am feeling a little better and before I completely lose this time in the kids' lives, I'm going to try to write it down.
Baz is really turning into a cool little kid. He's looking and acting more and more like a boy than a baby lately. His vocabulary is expanding by the second and he really seems to understand what he's saying- not just parroting. He also sings a lot, too... this evening he joined me in Do-Re-Me and sang the right word at the proper time- I was amazed! He does sometimes burst out with "fa fa ti ti" while he's playing- cute!
He is still fixating on the Tower of Terror ride at Hollywood studios. I'm already worried about how much he'll freak out when he isn't tall enough to ride it next year when we go.
Anya has taken a big interest in helping me cook dinner. She's gotten great at Rice-A-Roni :)!! She also likes setting the table- it's cool to start her with chores! She rocked on her kindergarten readiness test- she scored 96 out of 100, missing 2 questions....one was her address, which she knows so I don't know what happened there. She also had trouble drawing a proper triangle. I can live with a 96 though- go ANya!!!!
And Anya has moved on from her nudity phase, but now she wants to live in jammies all the time. Of course, who doesn't, right? For now I'm letting her change into jammies when we get home since we rarely have anyone visit, so who cares what shes wearing. Baz is starting to take his own clothes off now, so I may have another exhibitionist on my hands!
It appears by my baby widget that I'm under the 200 day mark- wow!! I know that once I feel better, the days and weeks will just melt off, but so far it has been a long, slow journey. Thank god for zofran, but that didn't take away the nausea and exhaustion. Here's hoping it ends soon and doesn't come back!!!
Baz is really turning into a cool little kid. He's looking and acting more and more like a boy than a baby lately. His vocabulary is expanding by the second and he really seems to understand what he's saying- not just parroting. He also sings a lot, too... this evening he joined me in Do-Re-Me and sang the right word at the proper time- I was amazed! He does sometimes burst out with "fa fa ti ti" while he's playing- cute!
He is still fixating on the Tower of Terror ride at Hollywood studios. I'm already worried about how much he'll freak out when he isn't tall enough to ride it next year when we go.
Anya has taken a big interest in helping me cook dinner. She's gotten great at Rice-A-Roni :)!! She also likes setting the table- it's cool to start her with chores! She rocked on her kindergarten readiness test- she scored 96 out of 100, missing 2 questions....one was her address, which she knows so I don't know what happened there. She also had trouble drawing a proper triangle. I can live with a 96 though- go ANya!!!!
And Anya has moved on from her nudity phase, but now she wants to live in jammies all the time. Of course, who doesn't, right? For now I'm letting her change into jammies when we get home since we rarely have anyone visit, so who cares what shes wearing. Baz is starting to take his own clothes off now, so I may have another exhibitionist on my hands!
It appears by my baby widget that I'm under the 200 day mark- wow!! I know that once I feel better, the days and weeks will just melt off, but so far it has been a long, slow journey. Thank god for zofran, but that didn't take away the nausea and exhaustion. Here's hoping it ends soon and doesn't come back!!!
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