So I officially suck at bloging...I have such great intentions, but just never get motivated to follow through. Anyway, here's my Anya update....she's now 5-1/2 (!) and getting ready for first grade. At this moment, she's hiking Bushkill Falls with Pap Pap and her friend Michael. She went home with my parents Thursday night for her "vacation" with Grandma and Pap Pap. She's been so excited about this all summer and that excitement is carrying through the visit. My mom told me that she woke up the first morning practically running in circles with a stupid grin on her face because she was just so happy to be there.
Why wouldn't she? She's got the undivided attention of 2 grandparents and one uncle...and 4 (yes,4) rather large dogs, too! She picked up with her Pocono buddy as if it hadn't been an entire year since they spent a week chasing dogs and hunting worms and slugs together. He joined them on their cave tour yesterday and he and Anya then spent some time trying to catch minnows in a creek. I'm so happy that she enjoys this trip- it's great for everyone! And hopefully next year Baz will be ready for his turn. (And FTR, Anya kept saying that she wanted him to go with her next year rather than each having their own weeks. AND she's told my parents that she misses him!)
I also wanted to note the first dream that Anya has mentioned to me- well, at least in detail. And I've already forgotten some of those details (bad mommy)....this was a potty convo- we were at her friend Dominic's party just before she was to leave with my parents and she needed a potty break and insisted I come with her. No biggie- potty time is hardly private in our house, so I tagged along with her. Whilst peeing, she starts to tell me that she's afraid of stairs. And this is because she had a dream where she was at Nana and Dada's house and started falling down the stairs. I can't remember what else she told me at this point, but the point is that she had had a dream that stuck with her.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Lorelei
Rory is 10 months and 1 day old today....she's been wearing 12 month clothes for a couple of months already.....every person who sees her lately (now that it's warm and she's usually wearing shorts or a dress) asks if they can squeeze her thighs. I usually let them because they really are irresistable thighs! After such peanuts, it's so strange to me to see the rolls on her. She's been working on trying to walk...she's been cruising for quite a while and I'm happy that she hasn't put it together, but I do think it'll be any day now that we'll be chasing after her.
Her spitting up has practically stopped....probably as her intake of solids increased. She loves food...the baby food in jars is a game to her....how much can she wear! She wants to eat whatever we're eating, so I usually indulge her and just cut it up as small as I can. This does make packing up for work hard because I don't know what to pack for her....I'm working on that one! I made scrambled eggs with onion, tomato, and cheese last weekend and she inhaled it! I couldn't believe how much she ate!
She's been doing peek-a-boo lately, too...but instead of covering her eyes, she covers her ears and you get to see the dimples on her elbows- heavenly! She loves clapping her hands, particularly when "We will rock you" comes on. This is Baz's favorite song of the moment and I like putting it on because it makes all the kids happy.
I still maintain that Lorelei is the easiest baby of the bunch....she still wakes once or twice during the night usually (she has slept through on occasion!), but she goes down for the night and naps like a dream. After a bottle, I put her down, wave goodbye, and leave the room and she plays for a few minutes, then goes to sleep. Baz did this too, but Anya took HOURS to get to sleep. I remember sitting outside her room in a kitchen chair forever to make sure she stayed in bed. Or going in to her in the nursery time after time after time when she would cry and cry and cry- that was painful for all of us!
Lorelei is also easy when it comes to naps, or lack thereof. She typically takes 2 naps now- one for 1 hour and one for 2 hours, but if she misses one, she's fine. Maybe a little fussy, but still all smiles and easygoing. She'll even take a nap in the stroller sometimes! She did this at Mike and Jen's on Sunday....we got there around 2, so she still had a nap to take and sure enough- sometime around 5, I plopped her in the stroller with a bottle and she fell asleep.
I'm pretty sure she's up to 8 teeth now. This is notable because at 10 months, neither of the other 2 kids had any teeth. She's got a few words....mama, dada, wow, and uh-oh. uh oh was a surprise....a couple of weeks ago, Sue was over and sitting next to L and said uh oh when she fell or dropped something. Rory repeated it, but it sounded much too perfect, so we chalked it up to coincidence. However, the rest of the day she kept repeating uh oh, uh oh, uh oh....over and over and over!
That's all I can think of now about Rory-bug, but I'm going to try realllllly hard to update here more often with the little cutenesses that happen every day.
Like when I go in to her in the morning and her face lights up! She always pulls herself up as quickly as possible and grabs onto me so tightly- pure delight! I love how she buries her face in my chest- just for a hug, as if she can't get close enough. Ahhhhhhhh...how am I going to make it through the years between when my kids are babies and they have babies for me to hold and care for?????
Her spitting up has practically stopped....probably as her intake of solids increased. She loves food...the baby food in jars is a game to her....how much can she wear! She wants to eat whatever we're eating, so I usually indulge her and just cut it up as small as I can. This does make packing up for work hard because I don't know what to pack for her....I'm working on that one! I made scrambled eggs with onion, tomato, and cheese last weekend and she inhaled it! I couldn't believe how much she ate!
She's been doing peek-a-boo lately, too...but instead of covering her eyes, she covers her ears and you get to see the dimples on her elbows- heavenly! She loves clapping her hands, particularly when "We will rock you" comes on. This is Baz's favorite song of the moment and I like putting it on because it makes all the kids happy.
I still maintain that Lorelei is the easiest baby of the bunch....she still wakes once or twice during the night usually (she has slept through on occasion!), but she goes down for the night and naps like a dream. After a bottle, I put her down, wave goodbye, and leave the room and she plays for a few minutes, then goes to sleep. Baz did this too, but Anya took HOURS to get to sleep. I remember sitting outside her room in a kitchen chair forever to make sure she stayed in bed. Or going in to her in the nursery time after time after time when she would cry and cry and cry- that was painful for all of us!
Lorelei is also easy when it comes to naps, or lack thereof. She typically takes 2 naps now- one for 1 hour and one for 2 hours, but if she misses one, she's fine. Maybe a little fussy, but still all smiles and easygoing. She'll even take a nap in the stroller sometimes! She did this at Mike and Jen's on Sunday....we got there around 2, so she still had a nap to take and sure enough- sometime around 5, I plopped her in the stroller with a bottle and she fell asleep.
I'm pretty sure she's up to 8 teeth now. This is notable because at 10 months, neither of the other 2 kids had any teeth. She's got a few words....mama, dada, wow, and uh-oh. uh oh was a surprise....a couple of weeks ago, Sue was over and sitting next to L and said uh oh when she fell or dropped something. Rory repeated it, but it sounded much too perfect, so we chalked it up to coincidence. However, the rest of the day she kept repeating uh oh, uh oh, uh oh....over and over and over!
That's all I can think of now about Rory-bug, but I'm going to try realllllly hard to update here more often with the little cutenesses that happen every day.
Like when I go in to her in the morning and her face lights up! She always pulls herself up as quickly as possible and grabs onto me so tightly- pure delight! I love how she buries her face in my chest- just for a hug, as if she can't get close enough. Ahhhhhhhh...how am I going to make it through the years between when my kids are babies and they have babies for me to hold and care for?????
Once a month
So it appears that my posts are coming out about once a month or so, which I really hate. Every day, so many things happen that I know will be gone from my memory shortly after they occur, but I just can't seem to motivate to actually write them down at the end of the day. Here's my attempt to catch up to today :)
Today was a particularly challenging day for my mothering skills....it started last night, really....George let the big kids stay up late for movie night, which usually ends badly. Firstly, I spend most of the day anticipating that hour or two during which time I am just me....I can sit, sip a beer, surf the web, and maybe sorta listen to some stupid tv show. When the kids stay up late, I'm still on duty so I can't relax and that day just runs into the next. This happened last night....it was only a couple of hours into all 3 kids being asleep that one after the other they started waking up. Which meant that I kept waking up with them. Add in that George was swimming an open water swim this morning and set the alarm for 3:45, so my sleep time was limited to begin with.
During one of Lorelei's wakeups, Anya heard me and asked for some water. As I kissed her forehead, my lips nearly caught on fire, which was not a good sign. Always the optimist, I hoped that she was just hot from wearing flannel pj's and sleeping under her comforter, but of course this was not the case.
When she woke up in the morning, she started complaining of a headache and upset belly. I was still hoping it was just a headache (strangely accompanied by a fever of 100.6) and gave her Motrin. Which came right back up...... So back to our barfing setup of bucket, big towel, and cool washcloth we went. I swear, Anya will be the most experienced barfer in her class! She's been in pretty good spirits, but the poor thing spent the entire day laying on the couch sleeping.
So now I realized that I would have to occupy and entertain 2 smaller and very energetic kids all day. Without using the pool! Of course, Baz was changed into his swimsuit by 8am and ready to go! Lorelei had been the first to rise around 6am and went down for a nap around 7:30, which helped me tend to Anya. Luckily, Baz was ok with a movie during this time, but once Lorelei was up, he insisted on going outside.
Anya had gone to sleep then, so I opened up the hot tub for Baz and took a chair out on the porch so I could sit while L toddled around. It was not ideal for her because the ground was still wet and the boards are pretty rough, so a splinter in the making, but as it turned out she did fine. She got wet and dirty, but still had fun. Baz only lasted in the tub for a short time (yay!), then moved on to his water table.
Things got a little hairy for a couple of hours then, as Anya still felt crappy and anything she tried to put down came back up. Baz was full of energy and tried to stir up trouble with both of his sisters. Lorelei just acted like a curious infant and got into everything she possibly could.
I was so happy when lunchtime came around....Baz and Lorelei finished their soup. Baz had a "hupcake" that he had made yesterday with Grandma and Pap Pap (and by had, I mean licked the icing off). And then I accomplished the impossible....I got all 3 kids to nap at the same time!!!! Holy cow- I hit the mother load! Of course, I had to wrestle with the voices inside my head that told me to pop in a Turbo Jam and exercise, but I convinced them that my body needed rest more than more work, so I spent a little time just laying down- heaven!
Anya was the first up and we spent a little time just sitting together quietly, which was nice. She's such a trooper when she's sick....she lets me know when she REALLY needs me and when she can wait a few, she does. She tried eating some chicken noodle soup then and I actually thought it would stay down, but a few hours later, it did come right back up.
Once the other kids woke up, I knew I had the hardest part of the day ahead of me, but I had some plans.....Baz had already asked for Toy Story 2 before his nap and he still wanted to watch it. That worked ok- I kept feeding L different toys to keep her occupied and she was ok. By 3:30-4, the natives were getting restless....I broke out the play doh and that kept them going while I made dinner.....finally, George made it home and we had dinner. Baz had about 3 helpings of pasta and meatballs- yippee!!! Anya tried a piece of pasta, which went poorly, but I'm glad she tried I suppose.
After bathing Lorelei and Baz and putting them down, I'm finally sitting down writing all of this monotony down. Of course, I've left out the cute/funny things....I've already forgotten them!
Today was a particularly challenging day for my mothering skills....it started last night, really....George let the big kids stay up late for movie night, which usually ends badly. Firstly, I spend most of the day anticipating that hour or two during which time I am just me....I can sit, sip a beer, surf the web, and maybe sorta listen to some stupid tv show. When the kids stay up late, I'm still on duty so I can't relax and that day just runs into the next. This happened last night....it was only a couple of hours into all 3 kids being asleep that one after the other they started waking up. Which meant that I kept waking up with them. Add in that George was swimming an open water swim this morning and set the alarm for 3:45, so my sleep time was limited to begin with.
During one of Lorelei's wakeups, Anya heard me and asked for some water. As I kissed her forehead, my lips nearly caught on fire, which was not a good sign. Always the optimist, I hoped that she was just hot from wearing flannel pj's and sleeping under her comforter, but of course this was not the case.
When she woke up in the morning, she started complaining of a headache and upset belly. I was still hoping it was just a headache (strangely accompanied by a fever of 100.6) and gave her Motrin. Which came right back up...... So back to our barfing setup of bucket, big towel, and cool washcloth we went. I swear, Anya will be the most experienced barfer in her class! She's been in pretty good spirits, but the poor thing spent the entire day laying on the couch sleeping.
So now I realized that I would have to occupy and entertain 2 smaller and very energetic kids all day. Without using the pool! Of course, Baz was changed into his swimsuit by 8am and ready to go! Lorelei had been the first to rise around 6am and went down for a nap around 7:30, which helped me tend to Anya. Luckily, Baz was ok with a movie during this time, but once Lorelei was up, he insisted on going outside.
Anya had gone to sleep then, so I opened up the hot tub for Baz and took a chair out on the porch so I could sit while L toddled around. It was not ideal for her because the ground was still wet and the boards are pretty rough, so a splinter in the making, but as it turned out she did fine. She got wet and dirty, but still had fun. Baz only lasted in the tub for a short time (yay!), then moved on to his water table.
Things got a little hairy for a couple of hours then, as Anya still felt crappy and anything she tried to put down came back up. Baz was full of energy and tried to stir up trouble with both of his sisters. Lorelei just acted like a curious infant and got into everything she possibly could.
I was so happy when lunchtime came around....Baz and Lorelei finished their soup. Baz had a "hupcake" that he had made yesterday with Grandma and Pap Pap (and by had, I mean licked the icing off). And then I accomplished the impossible....I got all 3 kids to nap at the same time!!!! Holy cow- I hit the mother load! Of course, I had to wrestle with the voices inside my head that told me to pop in a Turbo Jam and exercise, but I convinced them that my body needed rest more than more work, so I spent a little time just laying down- heaven!
Anya was the first up and we spent a little time just sitting together quietly, which was nice. She's such a trooper when she's sick....she lets me know when she REALLY needs me and when she can wait a few, she does. She tried eating some chicken noodle soup then and I actually thought it would stay down, but a few hours later, it did come right back up.
Once the other kids woke up, I knew I had the hardest part of the day ahead of me, but I had some plans.....Baz had already asked for Toy Story 2 before his nap and he still wanted to watch it. That worked ok- I kept feeding L different toys to keep her occupied and she was ok. By 3:30-4, the natives were getting restless....I broke out the play doh and that kept them going while I made dinner.....finally, George made it home and we had dinner. Baz had about 3 helpings of pasta and meatballs- yippee!!! Anya tried a piece of pasta, which went poorly, but I'm glad she tried I suppose.
After bathing Lorelei and Baz and putting them down, I'm finally sitting down writing all of this monotony down. Of course, I've left out the cute/funny things....I've already forgotten them!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Quickie
I'm going to try to make it a regular part of my day to blog just a little tidbit or two so I don't lose all of the cute (and not-so-cute) our kids do daily. Putting it here *might* just make me stick to it a bit!
I'm sitting her now caged in the family room as it thunders and lightenings outside....Anya is snoring next to me on the couch. I got a call from the school nurse Wed that she had vomitted and was still feeling yucky. First, I'm happy that it's Wed and I'm not working- that would have been really hard if I were at work! So I wake L up from her nap (she had stayed up all morning as our house was cleaned, so I was eager for her to sleep!), throw on some clothes and scurry off to the school. Get into the nurses office and there's Anya sitting on her litle cot covered in a blue blanket. She didn't look TOO sick, but she did barf, so we headed home. At first I hoped that it would be a one-time thing (as I usually do) and of course, here we are 2 days later and she's still puking.
I'm so sad for her that she's missing her last few days of kindy...not a HUGE deal in the big scheme, but I still remember how fun the last few days of school were- everyone is excited for summer and no real work is done. In fact, she had her graduation last week, so they've just been doing "projects" since then. Getting over it now....
So as my barfing, crying kiddo sits next to me, the other two are entertaining each other. Baz was lying on his belly as Lorelei tries to climb on his back. Now, he's playing with the Sit-n-Spin as she tries to join in....this one's not the safest- I may have to intervene. A few minutes ago, he was playing fetch with her and her toys...she was happy to crawl across the floor to retrieve the toy he had thrown. It's a treat having them entertain each other!
Now if I could just get Anya to drink a little more "gator juice"... and to call the school to tell them she can't come....
I'm sitting her now caged in the family room as it thunders and lightenings outside....Anya is snoring next to me on the couch. I got a call from the school nurse Wed that she had vomitted and was still feeling yucky. First, I'm happy that it's Wed and I'm not working- that would have been really hard if I were at work! So I wake L up from her nap (she had stayed up all morning as our house was cleaned, so I was eager for her to sleep!), throw on some clothes and scurry off to the school. Get into the nurses office and there's Anya sitting on her litle cot covered in a blue blanket. She didn't look TOO sick, but she did barf, so we headed home. At first I hoped that it would be a one-time thing (as I usually do) and of course, here we are 2 days later and she's still puking.
I'm so sad for her that she's missing her last few days of kindy...not a HUGE deal in the big scheme, but I still remember how fun the last few days of school were- everyone is excited for summer and no real work is done. In fact, she had her graduation last week, so they've just been doing "projects" since then. Getting over it now....
So as my barfing, crying kiddo sits next to me, the other two are entertaining each other. Baz was lying on his belly as Lorelei tries to climb on his back. Now, he's playing with the Sit-n-Spin as she tries to join in....this one's not the safest- I may have to intervene. A few minutes ago, he was playing fetch with her and her toys...she was happy to crawl across the floor to retrieve the toy he had thrown. It's a treat having them entertain each other!
Now if I could just get Anya to drink a little more "gator juice"... and to call the school to tell them she can't come....
Friday, May 1, 2009
Now for the girls.....
Anya is rapidly approaching the end of kindergarten- eek!!!!! She's doing well with reading when she pays attention. She's recognizing more and more words by sight and sounding the rest of the words out more and more easily. She gets frustrated because her friend Olivia is much better than she is, but Olivia barely missed the cutoff last year, so she turned 6 about a month after Anya turned 5. She's had a whole extra year to practice and learn! I know that doesn't make Anya feel better, but I'm happy she's progressing so she can become an avid reader like mommy (was, prior to kids) and daddy.
Lorelei just keeps growing and growing. She now has 2 teeth (bottom center) and loves her solid meals. It appears that she's doing the same thing Baz did, which is only eating well for mommy. Everyone else tells me that she has little or no interest, but when I'm holding the spoon it's a gaping wide mouth. No worries, though- she's maintaining her 90-95th percentile for height and weight so clearly she's gaining. At 7 months, she's easliy sitting unsupported and can sometimes even get herself there. She's scooting all over the floor, but only army crawling so far. She can get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, but she hasn't figured out how to move that way yet (thankfully!). She's still the happies and most easygoing baby ever....she rarely cries and when she does, it's easy to calm her down. She's always aware of who is in the room and watches them until they make eye contact with her. And once they do, the smiles and giggles begin. She loves doing "so big" and clapping and being sung to. It's so hard to believe that she's going to turn into a tantrum-throwing 2 and 3 year old!
Anya is rapidly approaching the end of kindergarten- eek!!!!! She's doing well with reading when she pays attention. She's recognizing more and more words by sight and sounding the rest of the words out more and more easily. She gets frustrated because her friend Olivia is much better than she is, but Olivia barely missed the cutoff last year, so she turned 6 about a month after Anya turned 5. She's had a whole extra year to practice and learn! I know that doesn't make Anya feel better, but I'm happy she's progressing so she can become an avid reader like mommy (was, prior to kids) and daddy.
Lorelei just keeps growing and growing. She now has 2 teeth (bottom center) and loves her solid meals. It appears that she's doing the same thing Baz did, which is only eating well for mommy. Everyone else tells me that she has little or no interest, but when I'm holding the spoon it's a gaping wide mouth. No worries, though- she's maintaining her 90-95th percentile for height and weight so clearly she's gaining. At 7 months, she's easliy sitting unsupported and can sometimes even get herself there. She's scooting all over the floor, but only army crawling so far. She can get up on her hands and knees and rock back and forth, but she hasn't figured out how to move that way yet (thankfully!). She's still the happies and most easygoing baby ever....she rarely cries and when she does, it's easy to calm her down. She's always aware of who is in the room and watches them until they make eye contact with her. And once they do, the smiles and giggles begin. She loves doing "so big" and clapping and being sung to. It's so hard to believe that she's going to turn into a tantrum-throwing 2 and 3 year old!
First, a little update to my previous post....after less than a week of repeating his name 3 letters at a time, Baz can spell his whole first name!!! He's not getting it perfect each time yet, but about every 3rd time he gets it!!! Now to teach him how to write it.....no big hurry there though.
And I also forgot to mention his safety campaign.....it started with the bike helmet he received for his birthday. For a couple of days after he first got the helmet, he insisted on wearing it EVERYWHERE. He's also focusing on my driving....if I dare take one of my hands off the wheel, he asks me to put it back. He also puts up a "stop" hand when we approach Colleen's garage door. I have to wait patiently with him until the door stops moving and then we can go in. What a little protector!!!
And I also forgot to mention his safety campaign.....it started with the bike helmet he received for his birthday. For a couple of days after he first got the helmet, he insisted on wearing it EVERYWHERE. He's also focusing on my driving....if I dare take one of my hands off the wheel, he asks me to put it back. He also puts up a "stop" hand when we approach Colleen's garage door. I have to wait patiently with him until the door stops moving and then we can go in. What a little protector!!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
April
So it appears my blogging is down to twice a month, but I'm going to try reeeeeally hard to do more. Really, the kids are doing incredibly cute (and sometimes not-so-cute) things all the time and I think "I'll have to remember to blog that" and then it's gone...boo, hiss momma!!!! I can already hear one of my two nappers moving around, so this post might be fairly short, but I'm gonna try!!!
Our little man is now 3 *sniff, sniff* How did that happen? It's still truly amazing to see each of them grow and learn and turn into people. He is quite the character, too....his 3 year old brain is teaching him how to throw tantrums and test his boundaries, but his easygoing nature makes them mercifully short (yay!) He does the "fling your whole body to the ground and cry" move often, but as soon as he hears "we're going" or "here's a cookie", it's all over. And I rarely get past 1-2 and have to follow through with a TO or taking a toy away....he's a great listener!! I've decided to get started on teaching him how to spell his name....poor kid INSISTS that his name is Baz or Bazzy (when I clarify- what is your WHOLE name :) )and that won't fly in school. So for the past 2-3 days when we're driving or having downtime, I'll have him repeat SEB- AST-IAN and today he's starting to do some of it solo! I do feel bad for giving him such a long name to learn, but think of all the letters he'll know!
It's also cute to see how kids mix up sounds and words that they can't quite understand. Baz's current ones are "I'm are" instead of I am and Nilla wipers (wafers). I think he's gotten telephone parrot truck straightened out, but it was cute when he said it!
He's become quite the diligent big brother....Colleen tells me how protective he is of Lorelei when she's there with him. I love to see my kids looking out for each other I hope it continues!!!!
Baz is still a picky eater....if it isn't disguised as a chicken nugget or meatball, he's not going there. Luckily, homemade nuggets and balls usually sneak under his radar, so he does get some nutrition! Oh, and he does love broccoli and cauliflower, so I try to have those fairly frequently.
OK- my computer time is up....stay tuned for updates on the girls when I get a chance!!!
Our little man is now 3 *sniff, sniff* How did that happen? It's still truly amazing to see each of them grow and learn and turn into people. He is quite the character, too....his 3 year old brain is teaching him how to throw tantrums and test his boundaries, but his easygoing nature makes them mercifully short (yay!) He does the "fling your whole body to the ground and cry" move often, but as soon as he hears "we're going" or "here's a cookie", it's all over. And I rarely get past 1-2 and have to follow through with a TO or taking a toy away....he's a great listener!! I've decided to get started on teaching him how to spell his name....poor kid INSISTS that his name is Baz or Bazzy (when I clarify- what is your WHOLE name :) )and that won't fly in school. So for the past 2-3 days when we're driving or having downtime, I'll have him repeat SEB- AST-IAN and today he's starting to do some of it solo! I do feel bad for giving him such a long name to learn, but think of all the letters he'll know!
It's also cute to see how kids mix up sounds and words that they can't quite understand. Baz's current ones are "I'm are" instead of I am and Nilla wipers (wafers). I think he's gotten telephone parrot truck straightened out, but it was cute when he said it!
He's become quite the diligent big brother....Colleen tells me how protective he is of Lorelei when she's there with him. I love to see my kids looking out for each other I hope it continues!!!!
Baz is still a picky eater....if it isn't disguised as a chicken nugget or meatball, he's not going there. Luckily, homemade nuggets and balls usually sneak under his radar, so he does get some nutrition! Oh, and he does love broccoli and cauliflower, so I try to have those fairly frequently.
OK- my computer time is up....stay tuned for updates on the girls when I get a chance!!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Another catch-up post
So I have a few moments at work- I'm going to try to update with some of the current cuteness in our house. I know that I'm going to forget a large portion of our day-to-day events and that makes me so sad. Every time I talk to a mom whose kids are grown, they seem to only remember the highlights. I suppose that's the side effect of spending so much of every day caring for small kids.
It's funny how I never noticed just how many construction vehicles appear in the spring. When you have an almost 3-year old boy, car rides become a spectator sport of spotting construction trucks and telephone repair trucks. He's got quite an eye! We even have to make a few detours to see them in action sometimes. His other interest now are Car Washes. We went to the one right next to Jungle Bob's after stopping there one afternoon and ever since he's been fascinated with them. There are 3 on our way to and from work, so at least 3-4 days per week we check them out on the way in. Usually he's out cold ont he way home, so he misses them, but so far he hasn't been bothered by that. Baz has also begun using the phrase "I'm are" for "I am". It's really funny when he's insisting something and he says "I'm are". I have to curtail my giggling!
Lorelei is continuing to grow up faster than the other 2 ever did. I'm surprised those Duggar kids aren't speaking and running around by 6 months old! She's easily sitting on her own unsupported (has been for a while), getting verrrrry close to actually crawling. She can scoot around and roll to get things on the floor, but she's learning the hands and knees position. She's also getting the hang of eating solid foods. I'm still amazed at how young they learn what they like and dislike, even the 3rd time around. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising since newborns can take to one formula or another or prefer breastmilk or formula, but at 6 months old, she prefers certain cereals over others. She also prefers veggies (peas, beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash) to fruits. I have been able to get her to eat pears and applesauce, but forget peaches and bananas. She immediately starts blowing raspberries and spitting it back out! She'll also only eat pear flavored yogurt. This is a problem because the baby yogurt only comes in 6-packs with 2 flavors. So we might be putting yogurt on hold for now.
I'm hesitant to even mention it, but sleeping has been much better for the past few nights. We had a rough spell last week when she had a fever. No other symptoms, but fevers of 101-102 for 5-6 days. During that time, she was up several times during the night, as well as both bigger kids, so last week was hard, but the past few nights have been great- only 1 wake-up woohoo!!!
It's funny how I never noticed just how many construction vehicles appear in the spring. When you have an almost 3-year old boy, car rides become a spectator sport of spotting construction trucks and telephone repair trucks. He's got quite an eye! We even have to make a few detours to see them in action sometimes. His other interest now are Car Washes. We went to the one right next to Jungle Bob's after stopping there one afternoon and ever since he's been fascinated with them. There are 3 on our way to and from work, so at least 3-4 days per week we check them out on the way in. Usually he's out cold ont he way home, so he misses them, but so far he hasn't been bothered by that. Baz has also begun using the phrase "I'm are" for "I am". It's really funny when he's insisting something and he says "I'm are". I have to curtail my giggling!
Lorelei is continuing to grow up faster than the other 2 ever did. I'm surprised those Duggar kids aren't speaking and running around by 6 months old! She's easily sitting on her own unsupported (has been for a while), getting verrrrry close to actually crawling. She can scoot around and roll to get things on the floor, but she's learning the hands and knees position. She's also getting the hang of eating solid foods. I'm still amazed at how young they learn what they like and dislike, even the 3rd time around. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising since newborns can take to one formula or another or prefer breastmilk or formula, but at 6 months old, she prefers certain cereals over others. She also prefers veggies (peas, beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash) to fruits. I have been able to get her to eat pears and applesauce, but forget peaches and bananas. She immediately starts blowing raspberries and spitting it back out! She'll also only eat pear flavored yogurt. This is a problem because the baby yogurt only comes in 6-packs with 2 flavors. So we might be putting yogurt on hold for now.
I'm hesitant to even mention it, but sleeping has been much better for the past few nights. We had a rough spell last week when she had a fever. No other symptoms, but fevers of 101-102 for 5-6 days. During that time, she was up several times during the night, as well as both bigger kids, so last week was hard, but the past few nights have been great- only 1 wake-up woohoo!!!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Anya
So what's new with Anya....She's definitely working on her fashion sense...she loves accessorizing and is getting much better at pulling an outfit together and actually matching it. We're trying to decide what activity to enroll her in. She's no longer swimming since she didn't need the one-on-one anymore and I just haven't looked into finding a group lesson for her. She definitely would love to pursue lessons. But she would also love dance, soccer, or gymnastics....ugh, too many choices! I know better than to let her try a couple of them- what if she wants to keep with both? Also, as time goes on, they will turn into more and more sessions/practices, etc. Factor in 2 more kids, with at least an activity each and we're setting ourselves up for chaos! She, of course, wants to do everything, but she has no concept of how busy that will become. Our evenings are already busy- she gets home from school at 4pm....by the time we factor in homework (some nights), dinner, bath, reading, and maybe a trip to the gym for me- and the day is done!
Baz
Where do I start with Bazzy boy? Well, his name is a good place- last night in the tub, he corrected me when I said something to Lorelei. "Her name is Lorelei Dawn". OK- my mistake!! So I asked him what his full name was..."Baz" No, your REAL name...."Bazzy boy...B-A-Z". Yeah, well that's adorable and all, but not your name, kid! So I asked him to repeat me...Se-bas-tian....he couldn't/wouldn't do it! Not Sebastian, Thomas, or E!!!! I am pretty sure that he's called Sebastian frequently enough that he should at least recognize it, but we've got to work on that!
I don't think I've blogged about his funny words....my favorite is "wardy" This is Baz-speak for "already" . I'm not sure why, but that's how he responds when you ask him to do something that he's already done. "I wardy brushed my teeth!". "Crocked" is another....that's how he refers to a CD that is skipping....it's crocked, which I think is a cross between cracked and scratched. He also points out "telephone parrot trucks" when he sees them!
Baz has been very into friends lately....which kids are and are not his friends. He wants everyone to be his friend (awwwww), but unfortunately he's got a couple of kids at Colleen's who are not of the same mind. One kid, B, often calls him "bad boy", even though Baz is probably one the better kids there. Luckily, B's little brother (who is closer in age to Baz), is sweet and plays very well with Baz. There's a little girl, J, who happens to have an older brother who went to pre-K with Anya, who is also kinda mean to Baz. We're not surprised since the brother was a troublemaker of sorts and often had scuffles with Anya, but we had hoped it would be isolated to the kid, not his sister, too. It sucks because Baz is so sweet and what can I tell him when he says that J is mean and makes him cry :( George had an elegant solution....."She's a girl, so you can't hit her back (when she hits him)....so call her fat!" Because every 3 year old girl is concerned about her weight, right? Anyway, I hope that these little situations prepare him to deal with tougher situations later on.
I don't think I've blogged about his funny words....my favorite is "wardy" This is Baz-speak for "already" . I'm not sure why, but that's how he responds when you ask him to do something that he's already done. "I wardy brushed my teeth!". "Crocked" is another....that's how he refers to a CD that is skipping....it's crocked, which I think is a cross between cracked and scratched. He also points out "telephone parrot trucks" when he sees them!
Baz has been very into friends lately....which kids are and are not his friends. He wants everyone to be his friend (awwwww), but unfortunately he's got a couple of kids at Colleen's who are not of the same mind. One kid, B, often calls him "bad boy", even though Baz is probably one the better kids there. Luckily, B's little brother (who is closer in age to Baz), is sweet and plays very well with Baz. There's a little girl, J, who happens to have an older brother who went to pre-K with Anya, who is also kinda mean to Baz. We're not surprised since the brother was a troublemaker of sorts and often had scuffles with Anya, but we had hoped it would be isolated to the kid, not his sister, too. It sucks because Baz is so sweet and what can I tell him when he says that J is mean and makes him cry :( George had an elegant solution....."She's a girl, so you can't hit her back (when she hits him)....so call her fat!" Because every 3 year old girl is concerned about her weight, right? Anyway, I hope that these little situations prepare him to deal with tougher situations later on.
So it seems that the blogging gods are just not my friends....when I do get a chance to try to write something, I get distracted and it disappears...poof! So I'm going to stick with a handful of brief entries so I don't lose them!
Lorelei is definitely acting like the 3rd kid- doing everything early!! She's sitting unsupported quite well, but that's too boring for her, so she plops down and starts scooting around. She's also getting up on all fours, so it's really a matter of days until she's full-blown crawling- ugh! She's also more typical in her need/want to put EVERYTHING in her mouth. Baz was so as interested in eating everything so I wasn't as worried when he became mobile, but L is another story. I'm going to have to re-babyproof!!!!
She's also jabbering a lot and blowing raspberries. She'll make her presence known! She's doing well with baby food, and like her brother and sister she favors veggies over fruits. In fact, after several attempts at each, I can't get her to eat bananas or peaches- weird kid! She will inhale a whole container of peas, beans, squash, carrots or sweet potatoes though!
Lorelei is definitely acting like the 3rd kid- doing everything early!! She's sitting unsupported quite well, but that's too boring for her, so she plops down and starts scooting around. She's also getting up on all fours, so it's really a matter of days until she's full-blown crawling- ugh! She's also more typical in her need/want to put EVERYTHING in her mouth. Baz was so as interested in eating everything so I wasn't as worried when he became mobile, but L is another story. I'm going to have to re-babyproof!!!!
She's also jabbering a lot and blowing raspberries. She'll make her presence known! She's doing well with baby food, and like her brother and sister she favors veggies over fruits. In fact, after several attempts at each, I can't get her to eat bananas or peaches- weird kid! She will inhale a whole container of peas, beans, squash, carrots or sweet potatoes though!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Mommy nirvana
So here I am....ok, as I started typing this it ended, but I WAS having a moment of bliss.....Anya is off at school, Lorelei sleeping in her crib and Baz was quietly watching Toy Story. I am comfined temporarily to the couch since the cleaning people just left and all of the floors are wet. Ahhhhhh, what could be better? A clean house and quiet kids! I suppose a fresh cup of coffee would make it a little better, but that's easily remedied.
So what's new here.....my blogging is really awful lately, so I don't even know what I've written about.
Anya is starting to get the hang of reading. This morning, she picked up a book on her own (!) and read it aloud to herself! The last page was long with a lot of words on it, so she asked for my help there, but she sounded out the entire rest of the book. This is progress because recently, she's been fighting reading because it's work. I think she's finding that she can recognize more and more words and sounds and it's not so hard anymore. Last week was tough for her in school...we got another note from the teacher....apparently she had a hard time following directions all week and it culminated with her hitting one of her friends! I know she has a temper and does occasionally hit her brother, but her friend? Granted, the girl was being mean and told Anya she couldn't come to her bday party, but not an acceptable reason for Anya to hit her. Luckily, by the end of the day, they were friends again and all was good, but it still warranted a note home and Anya had to sit out from free play that day. The same day was report cards. Anya's doing fine- her only "needs more work" marks were in the writing department. And honestly, I think it's because she just doesn't want to take the time to write properly (kinda like her momma??). She knows how to make all of the letters and when reminded she'll put proper spacing between words. She just loves math, otoh, and often starts making up her own addition problems to figure out- go Anya!
We're trying to go over much of her schoolwork because the way they're learning now lets them learn on their own. The teacher instructs them to just go to town and write what they think is right. My opinion is that it's OK for them to try first on their own, but then somebody goes over it and teaches them the correct way of writing. I worry that she'll learn her way and think that that's right. But I have no education experience, so who knows!
Lorelei is growing by leaps and bounds. I still can't believe she's goingto be 6 months old next week! She's getting more and more mobile each day. Yesterday, we put her in the swing (a portable one on the floor, FTR) and found her face down on the floor next to it!!! She was happy as a clam, but that was a surprise! I lowered the crib last week since you just never know when she'll figure out how to pull herself up on the rails. She's becoming more interactive, too. She tries to talk/sing back when you sing to her and she'll watch someone from across the room until they meet her eye and she giggles. Someone taught her how to blow raspberries too.
Rory has started with some solid foods, which she mostly loves. Rice cereal and oatmeal were big hits, but Barley not so much (big surprise). So far, she's liked veggies much more than fruits- peas, beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes get inhaled, while bananas and peaches get the closed lips. She's getting much better with naps and sleeping, with the occasional exception. She's down around 7:30 usually and up typically and 3:00 with an occasional 11-ish wakeup, then up for good around 6:30-7. Once she drops those middle of the night wakeups, life will be really good! She's also been taking 2 solid naps each day- at least 1-1 1/2 hours, sometimes 2. So now we can sorta of relax until she becomes really mobile- then the real fun starts!
I'm still in shock when I realize that Baz will be 3 soon. Where did my baby go?? He's such a fun and sweet little kid. So loving and caring...he's really good at sharing, which I think is impressive for his age. His only real "issue" now is whining....omg does it suck, but we're trying to ignore or stop it asap because whiny kids are just awful. He's excited about his bday party at a reptile place....we took him there to see if he'd love it or hate it and he definitely loved it.
Baz lately has been into his friends. He asks Anya several times a day "Are you my friend?" He often talks about his friends B an R at Colleen's....and every time we go to the gym (i.e. Jim's), he's eager to make new friends or play with old ones. He's definitely got some charisma...do we have a politician on our hands? He's also showing interest in learning to read....he asks for us to point to the words as we read them. He knows the letters (at least capitals, haven't tried lowercase yet) and some of their sounds. We're working on numbers, too....he loves pushing the buttons on the microwave, which helps to identify them.
His fascination with construction trucks continues....since it's spring, we see more and more of them on our way to work each day. For some reason, he loves telephone "parrot" trucks lately and we see a lot of them! We have to go through the county buildings on our way to Nana and Dada's each morning so we can see the excavators and bulldozers, even though they're often still sleeping when we go by.
Sleeping arrangements are becoming an issue with Baz....a week or so ago, we put his bed up on a frame, which I had hoped would keep him in his own bed at night, but no such luck. Sometimes, I go to bed to find both kids in our bed! Anya starts out there so Baz doesn't pester her and they can both get to sleep, then we move her to her own bed. Baz wanders into our bed when he wakes up during the night, so on those nights I have to move both kids, but Baz eventually finds his way back.
Potty training is done for Baz....the only accidents he's had are due to aiming, not timing issues. In fact, I can't remember the last real accident he had- which puts him ahead of Anya in that respect! He's also doing great at swimming....the kid is in love with diving.
Well, it appears that my "me" time is over for today....stay tuned!
So what's new here.....my blogging is really awful lately, so I don't even know what I've written about.
Anya is starting to get the hang of reading. This morning, she picked up a book on her own (!) and read it aloud to herself! The last page was long with a lot of words on it, so she asked for my help there, but she sounded out the entire rest of the book. This is progress because recently, she's been fighting reading because it's work. I think she's finding that she can recognize more and more words and sounds and it's not so hard anymore. Last week was tough for her in school...we got another note from the teacher....apparently she had a hard time following directions all week and it culminated with her hitting one of her friends! I know she has a temper and does occasionally hit her brother, but her friend? Granted, the girl was being mean and told Anya she couldn't come to her bday party, but not an acceptable reason for Anya to hit her. Luckily, by the end of the day, they were friends again and all was good, but it still warranted a note home and Anya had to sit out from free play that day. The same day was report cards. Anya's doing fine- her only "needs more work" marks were in the writing department. And honestly, I think it's because she just doesn't want to take the time to write properly (kinda like her momma??). She knows how to make all of the letters and when reminded she'll put proper spacing between words. She just loves math, otoh, and often starts making up her own addition problems to figure out- go Anya!
We're trying to go over much of her schoolwork because the way they're learning now lets them learn on their own. The teacher instructs them to just go to town and write what they think is right. My opinion is that it's OK for them to try first on their own, but then somebody goes over it and teaches them the correct way of writing. I worry that she'll learn her way and think that that's right. But I have no education experience, so who knows!
Lorelei is growing by leaps and bounds. I still can't believe she's goingto be 6 months old next week! She's getting more and more mobile each day. Yesterday, we put her in the swing (a portable one on the floor, FTR) and found her face down on the floor next to it!!! She was happy as a clam, but that was a surprise! I lowered the crib last week since you just never know when she'll figure out how to pull herself up on the rails. She's becoming more interactive, too. She tries to talk/sing back when you sing to her and she'll watch someone from across the room until they meet her eye and she giggles. Someone taught her how to blow raspberries too.
Rory has started with some solid foods, which she mostly loves. Rice cereal and oatmeal were big hits, but Barley not so much (big surprise). So far, she's liked veggies much more than fruits- peas, beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes get inhaled, while bananas and peaches get the closed lips. She's getting much better with naps and sleeping, with the occasional exception. She's down around 7:30 usually and up typically and 3:00 with an occasional 11-ish wakeup, then up for good around 6:30-7. Once she drops those middle of the night wakeups, life will be really good! She's also been taking 2 solid naps each day- at least 1-1 1/2 hours, sometimes 2. So now we can sorta of relax until she becomes really mobile- then the real fun starts!
I'm still in shock when I realize that Baz will be 3 soon. Where did my baby go?? He's such a fun and sweet little kid. So loving and caring...he's really good at sharing, which I think is impressive for his age. His only real "issue" now is whining....omg does it suck, but we're trying to ignore or stop it asap because whiny kids are just awful. He's excited about his bday party at a reptile place....we took him there to see if he'd love it or hate it and he definitely loved it.
Baz lately has been into his friends. He asks Anya several times a day "Are you my friend?" He often talks about his friends B an R at Colleen's....and every time we go to the gym (i.e. Jim's), he's eager to make new friends or play with old ones. He's definitely got some charisma...do we have a politician on our hands? He's also showing interest in learning to read....he asks for us to point to the words as we read them. He knows the letters (at least capitals, haven't tried lowercase yet) and some of their sounds. We're working on numbers, too....he loves pushing the buttons on the microwave, which helps to identify them.
His fascination with construction trucks continues....since it's spring, we see more and more of them on our way to work each day. For some reason, he loves telephone "parrot" trucks lately and we see a lot of them! We have to go through the county buildings on our way to Nana and Dada's each morning so we can see the excavators and bulldozers, even though they're often still sleeping when we go by.
Sleeping arrangements are becoming an issue with Baz....a week or so ago, we put his bed up on a frame, which I had hoped would keep him in his own bed at night, but no such luck. Sometimes, I go to bed to find both kids in our bed! Anya starts out there so Baz doesn't pester her and they can both get to sleep, then we move her to her own bed. Baz wanders into our bed when he wakes up during the night, so on those nights I have to move both kids, but Baz eventually finds his way back.
Potty training is done for Baz....the only accidents he's had are due to aiming, not timing issues. In fact, I can't remember the last real accident he had- which puts him ahead of Anya in that respect! He's also doing great at swimming....the kid is in love with diving.
Well, it appears that my "me" time is over for today....stay tuned!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
5 months
Wow- how can Lorelei be 5 months old already??? Actually, she seems to act older than that- thanks to big brother/sister. They both took forever to figure out how to roll over and scoot around, but she's mastered both of those moves long ago. I had to drop her mattress down today because she's sitting up so well that she could be able to pull herself up with the rail.
Another try...
So Baz woke up happy (yay!) and is watching Cars (and by watching, I mean reciting it with the movie and then pointing out each and every car), so I'm going to try again.
Baz is now 1 month shy of 3 years old and amazes us every day. He's still the lovable, adorable kid, but he's throwing in a few new characteristics. He's learning how to manipulate his environment (and us) with whining. Anya definitely went through a phase like this and eventually toned down the whining, but it's painful for us now. The newest thing for him is lying. If he wants something and one parents tells him no, he's say that the other said yes. So far, he hasn't caught on that we usually compare notes (if we even have to) and that he then gets a time out for lying, but it's only been a coule of days. On the way to work the other day, he didn't have daddy to "help him", so when I didn't turn to go past the construction trucks that he wanted to see, he told me "man said we have to go that way". That one had me laughing for a while!
He's stll fixating on trucks and trains. He's noticed a lot of telephone repair trucks as well as diggers, excavators, and bulldozers in our travels. It's always cute hearing him point out a "telephone parrot truck"! I have a feeling this spring/summer will be spent parking near construction sites so we can watch the trucks work!
Sebastian is now completely potty-trained, thanks to Daddy's motivation. About 3 weeks ago, George was home with the kids on a Sat and decided to start the timer method. Baz wore only underwear and we made sure the little potty chair was easily accessible to him and set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes. Every time it went off, he had to try to pee in the potty. Rarely did he not have any, but he also only had a couple of accidents. It took about a week of using the timer before he didn't need it anymore, but I'd say it was effective. After the first day, he was like a trained puppy.... the timer would go off and he'd jump up, exclaim "potty time" and run to the potty. Poop was a bit harder to do- the kid did not want to sit on the potty. Once he finally showed interest at the right time, I coerced him into sitting for a few minutes by looking at the box of the truck that would be his reward for pooping in the potty. Lo and behold, it worked! After that, there were no more accidents and he has not needed any prompting at all- yay! I put a pullup on him for nap and bedtime, but he often wakes up dry from his nap, so he could be done with pullups altogether soon!
Baz is also showing an interest in school lately. He points out where we would turn to go to the preschool that Anya went to (and he will too). We'll probably start him in a 3 year-old program in the fall....I think he'll thrive in that environment.
He's a great napper still, too. I'm pretty sure Anya made it to about 3-1/2 taking an afternoon nap, but I can't remember exactly when she gave it up. I do know that when she stopped napping, she HAD to go to sleep by 7 and slept all night long. Baz isn't so bad with the nightwakings....he does get up, but he just comes into our room and either camps out on the floor next to our bed or climbs in with us. Last night, our bed was completely taken...we usually put Anya down in our bed until both kids are asleep and then transfer her to her own bed. When I went to move her last night, Baz had already come into our bed, so their room was empty and both big kids were in our bed! Oh, and Baz is now in a full-fledged twin bed now. He's been on the mattress/boxspring on the floor, but over the weekend we decided to pull out the frame and set it up. I was a little nervous about him falling out while sleeping or climbing out, but so far so good!
Baz is now 1 month shy of 3 years old and amazes us every day. He's still the lovable, adorable kid, but he's throwing in a few new characteristics. He's learning how to manipulate his environment (and us) with whining. Anya definitely went through a phase like this and eventually toned down the whining, but it's painful for us now. The newest thing for him is lying. If he wants something and one parents tells him no, he's say that the other said yes. So far, he hasn't caught on that we usually compare notes (if we even have to) and that he then gets a time out for lying, but it's only been a coule of days. On the way to work the other day, he didn't have daddy to "help him", so when I didn't turn to go past the construction trucks that he wanted to see, he told me "man said we have to go that way". That one had me laughing for a while!
He's stll fixating on trucks and trains. He's noticed a lot of telephone repair trucks as well as diggers, excavators, and bulldozers in our travels. It's always cute hearing him point out a "telephone parrot truck"! I have a feeling this spring/summer will be spent parking near construction sites so we can watch the trucks work!
Sebastian is now completely potty-trained, thanks to Daddy's motivation. About 3 weeks ago, George was home with the kids on a Sat and decided to start the timer method. Baz wore only underwear and we made sure the little potty chair was easily accessible to him and set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes. Every time it went off, he had to try to pee in the potty. Rarely did he not have any, but he also only had a couple of accidents. It took about a week of using the timer before he didn't need it anymore, but I'd say it was effective. After the first day, he was like a trained puppy.... the timer would go off and he'd jump up, exclaim "potty time" and run to the potty. Poop was a bit harder to do- the kid did not want to sit on the potty. Once he finally showed interest at the right time, I coerced him into sitting for a few minutes by looking at the box of the truck that would be his reward for pooping in the potty. Lo and behold, it worked! After that, there were no more accidents and he has not needed any prompting at all- yay! I put a pullup on him for nap and bedtime, but he often wakes up dry from his nap, so he could be done with pullups altogether soon!
Baz is also showing an interest in school lately. He points out where we would turn to go to the preschool that Anya went to (and he will too). We'll probably start him in a 3 year-old program in the fall....I think he'll thrive in that environment.
He's a great napper still, too. I'm pretty sure Anya made it to about 3-1/2 taking an afternoon nap, but I can't remember exactly when she gave it up. I do know that when she stopped napping, she HAD to go to sleep by 7 and slept all night long. Baz isn't so bad with the nightwakings....he does get up, but he just comes into our room and either camps out on the floor next to our bed or climbs in with us. Last night, our bed was completely taken...we usually put Anya down in our bed until both kids are asleep and then transfer her to her own bed. When I went to move her last night, Baz had already come into our bed, so their room was empty and both big kids were in our bed! Oh, and Baz is now in a full-fledged twin bed now. He's been on the mattress/boxspring on the floor, but over the weekend we decided to pull out the frame and set it up. I was a little nervous about him falling out while sleeping or climbing out, but so far so good!
Drat!
I've been moving around all morning hoping to get a chance to catch up and post all the wonderful things our kids have been doing. I even managed to get Baz and Lorelei to sleep at the same time, but I made the mistake of prioritizing laundry over blogging :( Of course, this means that the second I sat down to wake up the computer, I heard "mommy, mommy, MOMMMMYYY!!!! I'm done!" SO there you have it- the end of my "break"......but I did complete just about all of my household tasks for the day (including packing for tomorrow) already, so there is a TINY chance that I might get to come back to this later. Stay tuned!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
State of the Household
Well, it's been 2 weeks since my last update and I don't think I even finished that one- ugh..... Here's hoping I can get in a few memorable moments now!
Lorelei is happily sleeping away on her belly now....she's been rolling like a log for a couple of weeks now, but she's really only good at rolling from her back to her belly. She's only rolled onto her belly in her crib once or twice before today and has always woken up from it until I roll her back. This afternoon, she was quiet for an unusually long time, so I peeked in and saw her with her cheek on the mattress. So I suppose that's a done deal now- she can sleep on her belly and maaayyyybe she'll sleep through her one wakeup now- could I be that lucky? (Of course, the answer is a resounding no since I mentioned her good habit, which means she'll immediately sleep horribly)
OK- that's the end of my time.....try again later!
Lorelei is happily sleeping away on her belly now....she's been rolling like a log for a couple of weeks now, but she's really only good at rolling from her back to her belly. She's only rolled onto her belly in her crib once or twice before today and has always woken up from it until I roll her back. This afternoon, she was quiet for an unusually long time, so I peeked in and saw her with her cheek on the mattress. So I suppose that's a done deal now- she can sleep on her belly and maaayyyybe she'll sleep through her one wakeup now- could I be that lucky? (Of course, the answer is a resounding no since I mentioned her good habit, which means she'll immediately sleep horribly)
OK- that's the end of my time.....try again later!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Baz
Not a day goes past when I don't comment on ho incredibly cute that little boy is. Yes, he's challenging at times and whines like most 2 year-olds, but otherwise, he's just cute. His favorite phrase now is "i love that"...no matter what it is....Edna, Lorelei, a bridge, the sky....he'll just come out with how much he loves it.
The current movie craze is Wall-E...he watches it several times a day when we're home. I'm amazed at how much attention he gives to almost the entire movie. He's even taken to singing the song from the end "We're coming down to the ground"....
Before this, he was all about Monsters, Inc. He just loved Mike and Sully, so we had to visit them several times when we were at Hollywood studios. He even loved seeing Roz, and she was just a cardboard cutout figure!
I've been trying to encourage him to potty train, but with no success yet. I always thought he'd be easy since practically from birth he hated being wet or dirty. he just doesn't care....not for M&M's and not for gum. I might have to emply the same method I did for Anya....we got her a princess set with dresses and told her that each day she didn't use the potty it would move closer to the garage. If it made it to the car, it would go back to the store. this finally worked, but if it hadn't it would have been a tough one to follo through on. I hope we don't have to go there!
The current movie craze is Wall-E...he watches it several times a day when we're home. I'm amazed at how much attention he gives to almost the entire movie. He's even taken to singing the song from the end "We're coming down to the ground"....
Before this, he was all about Monsters, Inc. He just loved Mike and Sully, so we had to visit them several times when we were at Hollywood studios. He even loved seeing Roz, and she was just a cardboard cutout figure!
I've been trying to encourage him to potty train, but with no success yet. I always thought he'd be easy since practically from birth he hated being wet or dirty. he just doesn't care....not for M&M's and not for gum. I might have to emply the same method I did for Anya....we got her a princess set with dresses and told her that each day she didn't use the potty it would move closer to the garage. If it made it to the car, it would go back to the store. this finally worked, but if it hadn't it would have been a tough one to follo through on. I hope we don't have to go there!
Anya
It is so amazing to watch Anya blossom into a cool little kid. Yes, she still has some babyfat around her cheeks and wrists, but otherwise she looks like a kid- wow! And she's really getting the hang of reading. She fights it since it's work, but each day she's recognizing more and more words by sight instead of having to sound them out. She's getting much better at sounding them out as well. Her writing is improving, too...she rarely puts a capital letter in the middle of a word anymore and her name is much neater.
As far as I can tell, she's doing very well socially too. She has a handful of good friends at school and seems to play well with them. At the beginning of the year, she came home sad every day because they wouldn't let her be the mommy when they played house and now she gets to be the mommy often. There also doesn't seem to be anymore issues with her hitting or bothering the boys, like there were at the beginning of the school year.
She had her 100th day celebration yesterday. Apparently this is quite an event in most schools. We never did this when I was growing up, but we went to her school to view all the kids' posters this week. Anya was so eager to start hers that she picked up a marker and went to town. So rather than having a neatly laid out grid of pictures or stickers or toothpicks, etc, hers is a collage of her drawings, but there are 100 of them!
Anya had a ball at Disney this year....she wanted to be Jasmine at the boutique and she looked lovely! We couldn't find a dress for her before we went down and it looked like that costume just had a lacy material over the belly, so we bought her a flesh-colored bodysuit. Thank goodness we did because Jasmine's costume is actually a 2 piece, bare-midriff one! Besides not wanting the pedophile weirdos seeing her belly, it was COLD, so I was happy we did this. Having Isabella there ran hot and cold for Anya. Mostly, she was happy to have her little cousin there, but there were a few times that Anya wanted to be left alone, which led to some fighting. Baz and Isabella both fought to ride with Anya in the side by side stroller, but in the end it all worked out.
Now we're looking to fill up her winter break from school....it shouldn't be too hard- there's always Colleen's and my parents will be here for a few days.
As far as I can tell, she's doing very well socially too. She has a handful of good friends at school and seems to play well with them. At the beginning of the year, she came home sad every day because they wouldn't let her be the mommy when they played house and now she gets to be the mommy often. There also doesn't seem to be anymore issues with her hitting or bothering the boys, like there were at the beginning of the school year.
She had her 100th day celebration yesterday. Apparently this is quite an event in most schools. We never did this when I was growing up, but we went to her school to view all the kids' posters this week. Anya was so eager to start hers that she picked up a marker and went to town. So rather than having a neatly laid out grid of pictures or stickers or toothpicks, etc, hers is a collage of her drawings, but there are 100 of them!
Anya had a ball at Disney this year....she wanted to be Jasmine at the boutique and she looked lovely! We couldn't find a dress for her before we went down and it looked like that costume just had a lacy material over the belly, so we bought her a flesh-colored bodysuit. Thank goodness we did because Jasmine's costume is actually a 2 piece, bare-midriff one! Besides not wanting the pedophile weirdos seeing her belly, it was COLD, so I was happy we did this. Having Isabella there ran hot and cold for Anya. Mostly, she was happy to have her little cousin there, but there were a few times that Anya wanted to be left alone, which led to some fighting. Baz and Isabella both fought to ride with Anya in the side by side stroller, but in the end it all worked out.
Now we're looking to fill up her winter break from school....it shouldn't be too hard- there's always Colleen's and my parents will be here for a few days.
Back from a lapse....
Wow- it's been well over a month since I posted...not a surprise, but I'm going to try to do better. life is just very chaotic right now....I'm rudely awakened most mornings by either Baz or Lorelei well before the crack of dawn. At least L will nurse a little bit and go back down for an hour or two. Baz has taken to sleeping on our floor (and occasionally in the bed) and announces periodically that "sun is not up mommy" over and over. I guess it's a little better than his pulling my hand to get me up even though the sun isn't up yet, but I'm definitely missing out on some much-needed sleep.
I then spend the next hour or two getting everyone fed, changed, dressed and packed up to go (except Wed and Fri). Then it's running around dropping each kid off where they need to be and taking a deep breath of relief as I enter the office. Barring any nuts and crazies, work is a nice break from home and I enjoy the adult company there.
Once I finish there, I run to the supermarket if I can (or need to), then pick the little kids up and rush home before the bus. If I'm lucky, I can unload the van before we go to the bus stop. This time is usually a little tricky because Baz still needs a nap and if he hasn't already had one, he falls asleep on the way home. If it's close to the bus coming, I'll just keep everyone in the van and drive to the stop.
Once Anya gets home, it's pandemonium in the house. She still likes to go to "wolfland" or "unicornland", where she pretends to be the animal du jour and usually puts on a show about it. The other kids join in (or watch in Lorelei's case) and there usually are a few pieces of furniture involved.
I try to fit in making dinner and maybe unpacking/repacking and any cleaning I can during this time. If George gets home in enough time, I might fit in a trip to the gym as well. Luckily, the big kids really like going there, so George gets a break during this time. After the gym, it's dinner (if we didn't already have it), dessert (usually only Anya since Baz refuses to eat pretty much everything), bath, and bed.
Bedtime lately has been closer to 8pm, so by the time the kids are down and the major cleaning up is done, I've got 30-60 minutes to just "be" before my eyes shut involuntarily and it's all over. L has been waking up 1-3 times each night, so it's not terrible, but still not great. Definitely better than Anya and Baz, though- yay!
So there's why I haven't written any blog entries lately...now to write about each kid.
I then spend the next hour or two getting everyone fed, changed, dressed and packed up to go (except Wed and Fri). Then it's running around dropping each kid off where they need to be and taking a deep breath of relief as I enter the office. Barring any nuts and crazies, work is a nice break from home and I enjoy the adult company there.
Once I finish there, I run to the supermarket if I can (or need to), then pick the little kids up and rush home before the bus. If I'm lucky, I can unload the van before we go to the bus stop. This time is usually a little tricky because Baz still needs a nap and if he hasn't already had one, he falls asleep on the way home. If it's close to the bus coming, I'll just keep everyone in the van and drive to the stop.
Once Anya gets home, it's pandemonium in the house. She still likes to go to "wolfland" or "unicornland", where she pretends to be the animal du jour and usually puts on a show about it. The other kids join in (or watch in Lorelei's case) and there usually are a few pieces of furniture involved.
I try to fit in making dinner and maybe unpacking/repacking and any cleaning I can during this time. If George gets home in enough time, I might fit in a trip to the gym as well. Luckily, the big kids really like going there, so George gets a break during this time. After the gym, it's dinner (if we didn't already have it), dessert (usually only Anya since Baz refuses to eat pretty much everything), bath, and bed.
Bedtime lately has been closer to 8pm, so by the time the kids are down and the major cleaning up is done, I've got 30-60 minutes to just "be" before my eyes shut involuntarily and it's all over. L has been waking up 1-3 times each night, so it's not terrible, but still not great. Definitely better than Anya and Baz, though- yay!
So there's why I haven't written any blog entries lately...now to write about each kid.
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