Saturday, December 30, 2006
Time Flies When it's "Vacation"
It's funny, this past week. Being a stay at home mom, the weeks are really all the same now. As are the weekends (especially if Joel isn't home). Usually weeks around holidays when I normally would have been off from teaching are so normal, so ordinary, they can be slightly depressing. Not much breaks my months anymore. There really aren't too many ways you can mix up feeding babies, dressing babies, napping babies, playing with babies, grocery shopping, cleaning, and doing it all again the next day. But this week I got a sense of it being a holiday again. It was wonderful. Padyn was off of school, I didn't tutor, we didn't have playgroup or Tuesday night at church or bible study. I wasn't scheduled and I could go where we wanted, when we wanted. We could stay home all morning for Kate to take 2 good naps. Padyn could play leisurely with her toys without us having to rush off somewhere else in five minutes. I could sit down and play a game with Padyn. I feel like that never happens. What do I do with my time?
While I still didn't exactly feel like I was on vacation (because, really, how can you feel that way with two small children that need your constant attention and supervision?), I did experience that special feeling where you know something is somehow different and you really want it to last but it is over way too quickly. It's a glimpse into what life will be like a in few years when the girls are in school full time. This week between Christmas and New Years will once again be special. I will once again look forward to it.
It's nice to have a glimpse into the future once in a while. It makes that waiting that much more tolerable.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Kate's Maturing Palette
Then there's been the table food issue. This child seems to have an extraordinarily sensitive gag reflex because if she puts anything bigger than a quartered Cheerio in her mouth she gags. Then chokes. Then vomits EVERYTHING that she's previously eaten. I've just gotten used to the fact that her highchair will always smell of puke. No, not fun, but what can you do? I've scrubbed and scrubbed, but it's hiding somewhere that I can't get to. Anyway, that's only if she'll put table food in her mouth, which she won't unless it's Cheerios or Saltine crackers. Pasta? No. Bread? Forget about it. Banana? I'll take mine for a jar, thank you.
But today we had a break through. I decided it was time to try cereal again. This time I used oatmeal, which she had previously turned her nose up at. I mixed in a little formula and some baby food banana. And she ate it. Willingly. Many many spoonfuls. I was so proud. Not that this is a turning point or anything. We still have to get past the gagging issue. But still. One step at a time.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Baby Stockings and Other Photos From Christmas Day
Yogi Dog doesn't look quite as happy as Padyn and Papa.
Katelyn wanted to open the presents that weren't for her more than the ones that were for her. Really, she probably just wanted to eat the paper.
Look! A picture of Kate with Papa were she isn't crying! By noon, Padyn was all tuckered out. Little did she realize in a few hours she was going to be at her Grammy's where Present Marathon 2006 was going to occur. If she had know, she might have taken a real nap.
Christmas Gifts
"My paints, my ballerina book...(pauses to think)...what else did I get, Mommy?"
Really, I could have just gotten her two presents and she would have been happy? Two cheap presents, at that. You gotta love the priorities of a three year old.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
At Bedtime Tonight...
"What, Mommy?"
"That it will be Jesus' birthday."
"And Jesus will come out of my heart?"
"No, honey. Jesus is always in our hearts."
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Photo Friday: Faves, Part 2
In my attempt to look through every photo I've ever taken and post my favorites, today I'm continuing to post pictures of Padyn. I love these pictures, not because they are stellar quality photos, but because they show Padyn's progression during this time period. She was learning to do so much from 13 months on like opening presents, standing herself up on things, walking, drawing, wearing her hair in barretts...so much fun. Here's a peek at 12-15 months...
November 2004. Padyn couldn't walk on her own yet, but she could walk with the aid of her new walker.
December 2004. Trying to get a photo to give to Daddy for Christmas. January 2005. In Hawaii, Padyn perfected her love of the pool.
January 2004. Padyn was learning how to say "Cheese" for the camera.
February 2005.
February 2005. Padyn discovered her love of stickers and the phone.
Next week...March-June.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Firsts for Katelyn
First, at 8 months and 17 days, she pulled herself up to standing on multiple objects (that were not me...she's been doing that for a couple weeks). She managed to stand herself up on a toy, in her crib, on Padyn's little white chair and on the tub rim. I'm fearful of what is coming next.
Second, she peed on the rug. I know, I know...not as much of an accomplishment as the standing up thing. But still, a first none-the-less. It's just so hard to get her in her diaper these days before she crawls away. And that's just what happened.
Now if we could just get her to sleep through the night...
The Christmas Program...Or as Padyn called it, "The Show"
At least half of the performance she spent with her side or back to the audience.
And do you love how I dressed her in a pink sweater and pants while all the other little girls are wearing lovely Christmas dresses? Her pink fussy sweater was the envy of everyone, even her teacher. Plus, I knew if I put her in a dress, she'd be the kid who pulled it up over her head to show everyone her underwear. She's in the front row, people. You know she would have thought to do that if she could have.
But then, there was that time when she really got excited about being up there and jiggling those bells. It makes me think she might get into this performance thing after all.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Apparently, Mittens Ain't Progress
"Where are my mittens, Mommy?"
"I'm not sure. I washed them, so maybe they are in the laundry basket."
"How they get dirty?"
"Well, they just get dirty with you wearing them and rubbing them in the dirt. I'm sure we'll find them at home."
"You can't stop progress, Mommy."
ok...
Friday, December 15, 2006
Photo Friday-Our Tree
So instead, here's a picture of our Christmas tree that Padyn and I decorated yesterday.
Have a great weekend.
I'm a Cowgirl!
So we were listening to a new Alison Krauss CD two nights ago and Padyn was dancing around like the dancing queen that she is. Daddy asked her if she liked this music. Her response?
"I sure do! YEE-HAW!"
And off she galloped on her pretend horse.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Comparison at Eight Months
Seeing as how we were having Padyn's birthday party on Kate's 8 month birthday, then the 4th was Daddy's birthday, then on the 5th we got on an airplane to visit the W's, the girls' eight month comparison post somehow got forgotten. Well, here it is. A week or so late, but I'm sure no one but me noticed, right?
I couldn't find a picture of the girls where they were wearing the same outfit seeing as how Padyn turned 8 months old in July and Kate celebrated that month birthday in December. I tried to find pictures of them doing similar things, and that was difficult as well. At 8 months, Padyn was sitting like a champ, but not moving anywhere. In fact, at 8 1/2 months is when she really figured out the rolling around on the floor thing. Not that she wasn't rolling over before, it's just that she finally figured out that is was FUN to roll around, as evidenced by these photos. And look-she is on a blanket. I could still put her down on a blanket and she wouldn't go anywhere. Look, here's when she also just figured out how to push up on her arms. When did Kate do that? Earlier. That's all I know. Here's Kate on Dec. 3rd at P's b.day party at the Little Gym. She looks much more mobile, doesn't she? Let me tell you, changing this kid's diaper is like being in a wrestling match.
Going back through all Padyn's 8-9 month photos and viewing the few I have of Katelyn, I see many differences. Padyn was still in her swing, she was eating table foods regularly, and in almost every picture she is sitting up. This right here is one of the only pictures I have of Katelyn sitting up right now. She just wants to be moving too badly to sit still for a photo.
What else can I tell you about Katelyn at 8 months? She loves putting any non-food item in her mouth (as demonstrated above). She particularly enjoys paper and Kleenex products. She doesn't like table food very much. I have to break her cheerios up for her or else she will gag, choke and puke everything she's eaten in the last hour. When I try to give her other small foods (crackers, pears, banana, avocado) she completely refused to put them in her mouth. I did manage to get her to eat small bits of Saltine crackers today. Maybe she just likes salty like her Mommy. She loves crawling around and pulling herself up on her knees, especially onto the laundry basket and the bottom stair. She hasn't managed to pull to her feet yet except when sitting on me, and she hasn't been able to get into a sitting position by herself.
She usually takes 2 naps a day, and still wants to have 5-7 liquid feedings a day, along with her 3 solid food feedings. (This, by the way, is my least favorite aspect of this age. I feel like your entire day revolves around them eating. Fortunately, she's quick when it comes to the liquids). Her favorite food is sweet potatoes and she strongly dislikes any green food.
She is trying to talk, but really all she can say is Dadda, and I don't really know yet if she connects the word with her Daddy. I keep trying to get her to say Momma, but she just looks at me, smiles and says, "Dadda!" The other day I pulled out a bottle and she said, "Babba." I don't know if she actually knows that she said the word for bottle, or if it was just coincidence, but that might go down as her first word connected to meaning.
By far Kate's favorite person is still Padyn. Padyn can make her laugh like no one else. Kate loves watching her big sister dance around and sing, and whatever Padyn is playing with, Kate wants it, too. She isn't so content to hang with her own toys anymore. More and more, she wants to crawl over and check out what Padyn has. You can imagine that this ticks Padyn off to no end. I have visions of screaming matches occurring in the next few months.
Sleeping at night is still not a stable activity. She usually wakes up twice, but I refuse to go in and feed her before 5am unless she didn't get her usual number of feedings the day before.
She's a super happy baby and everyone is amazed at her contentment. She's usually the only baby in the nursery at church who never cries (until I go in to get her). She is quick with a smile and loves being around people, especially other children. Her happiness and contentment make her a very likeable kid. It's really only when she's screaming at 3am that we aren't so happy with her. But then, who is happy when they are awaken at 3am?
Then, of course there is the fact that she still has no hair.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Still Teary Eyed
So go. Read it. Look at the pictures. I got the biggest kick out of it. It was definitely the highlight of my day.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Never EVER Thought There'd Be the Day...
I bought my Christmas tree at the Self-Checkout counter in Home Depot.
What will be next?
The Things that Come Out of Her Mouth
These two were uttered in the same car ride to the airport on Saturday. I would have fallen over upon hearing them, except that would have been unsafe seeing as how I was driving the car.
"Mommy, are you going to be like me when you grow down?"
In a discussion we were having about a friend's son going to college...
"Mommy, when you go to college, who will babysit me?"
Another favorite question of hers these days is, "Mommy, how do you feel when God doesn't talk to you?"
She is also fond of, "I'm lost forever in space." She says it so dramatically. Really, I have no idea.
But her favorite question still is, "Where we going after my nap, Mommy?"
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Zoo Crew
Time flies
Padyn, Katelyn and I flew into Seattle Tuesday morning. Lisa, Coley and Jalyn met us at the airport. We picked up the rental car (need a van now with 4 children between us) and stopped for lunch (not a good idea to eat at Rainforest Cafe with tired toddlers and preschoolers). We headed back to the W homestead for naps, played all afternoon, and had an early bedtime due to the small quantity of napping that occured. Coley and Padyn slept in the same room for the first time that night. They did surprisingly well. I think it helped that they were super tired. (And right now, as I type this, they SHOULD be tired, but I can still hear them quietly talking, even though the light went out an hour ago. At least now they are staying in their beds.)
On Wednesday, the girls wanted to go see Santa. So, off to the mall we went. But the seeing Santa? That was literal. Forget about sitting on Santa's lap. They didn't even want to walk up to the fence to say hello. They wanted to sit in their strollers, eat their snacks, and watch other child telling Santa what they want for Christmas. Naps were better on Wednesday, so that made for a more harmonious afternoon of playing and an easy time of going to bed.
Thursday we stayed home all day and played because the Mommies and Daddy got to go out and have some fun. We took lots and LOTS of pictures of playtime. You'll have to go too Flickr to see them, but here are a few. The one at the top of the post is from Thursday as well. The babysitter arrived at 3pm, and the adults took off for the Deck the Hall Ball in the city. 8 bands in 7 hours. It was a great time, and we saw a couple really excellent bands, but thank God for ear plugs. We must be getting old.
Five hours of sleep is not quite enough to function on, but that didn't stop us. We went to the zoo today for a few hours. I'll put the photos on the next post since I'm having trouble posting them here. The zoo was fabulous today. It was cold, and no one was there and there were a bunch of animal keepers wandering around chatting it up with the kids. The girls had a fantastic time. They particularly enjoyed the small otter, the walruses, and the tiger. All the animals were very active today. Maybe it was the weather or maybe it was because we were there during feeding time. Either way, it was great.
John and Lisa went out tonight, so that's why I had all the girls to myself. They are all down, I'm now eating dinner and I am off to finish my Mike's Hard Limeade. We head home tomorrow. Padyn will be so sad to say goodbye to Coley. Hopefully it won't be another 9 months before they see each other.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Things I Learned Yesterday
- Padyn can climb in and out of the double stroller by herself.
- On a non-busy morning, you can leave your car unattended at the airport departure curb for two minutes before someone tries to make you move.
- The double stroller DOES fit through the security check-point X-Ray machine.
- Kate is impossible to hold for two hours.
- Padyn has no problem sitting still for two hours.
- You should not take tired children to who might be frightened by animatronic jungle animals to eat at The Rainforest Cafe.
- Thirty minutes naps are not long enough.
- Kate enjoys pulling herself up on her knees.
- A preschooler's love of the sink is universal.
- Kate is a bear when her normal routine is messed with.
- Four girls in a tub is too much for a cranky 8 month old.
- Padyn doesn't like mint flavored toothpaste.
- Padyn can sleep well in a room with another child.
- Padyn and Coley really are very best friends.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Daddy's Birthday
"I going to miss him SOOOO much."
True Excitement
"Going on a airpane."
"That's right. Who are we going to see?"
"COLEY!!!!" Followed by jumping and waving arms around.
I'm that excited, too, baby.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Photo Friday: Faves, Part 1
So, here it begins. Padyn, birth to 12 months. There are so so many, and I can't post them all, but here are some of Mommy's Favorites.
February 2004, 3 1/2 months old
April, 2004, 5 months old
May 2004, 6 months old
June 2004, 6 1/2 months old
July 2004, 7 1/2 months old
August 2004, 8 1/2 months old
September 2004, 10 months old October 2004, 11 months old (pictured with Liam) October 2004, 11 1/2 months old (Bella on left, Padyn on right)Thursday, November 30, 2006
That's All Folks
But I leave you today with something I discovered about Katelyn today. I have no idea if she is super brilliant or behind in her development because a child development expert I am not. (Ask anyone who took Human Development with me. I totally slept through every class.) Here's what she is doing:
MIMICKING
She copies Padyn mostly, when she makes sounds and when she waves her arms. It's the cutest thing. And I think she knows she's doing it because she has the biggest smile on her face and is nearly jumping up and down with excitement (Kate, not Padyn). It's so fun to watch that girl grow bigger and bigger, as Padyn would say.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Random Facts
1. Padyn got her first real bloody nose tonight. No one socked her, she just started bleeding, probably due to the cold, dry weather we've been experiencing. I get them, too, and sometimes very severely. Like 30 minutes, super heavy, ice packs needed to stop the bleeding severe. Hers wasn't that bad, but we did have to sit and pinch her nose for a while to get it to stop. We were hoping she wouldn't get those. Oh well.
2. Kate has woken up screaming every night for a week. Always between 3 and 4am, always crying for at least 30 minutes. It's not getting shorter, and it doesn't seem to be going away. Early this morning I finally went in after 45 minutes, gave her the paci, swaddled her up, turned her music on and left. She does this funny thing where she screams two more times after you shut the door then she is completely done. She usually does it when I put her down for naps and at bedtime, so it wasn't surprising to have happen this morning. But seriously...I just couldn't handle it anymore this morning. At 4:30am all you care about is getting a couple more hours of sleep. I couldn't let it continue any longer. And the poor girl has dark circles under her eyes today. I haven't decided what I'm going to do tonight when she wakes up. I've been debating all day whether I should continue to let her scream or just go fix it so we can all get better rest.
3. Kate is learning how to wave. She was showing off this new skill that I had no idea she possessed tonight at dinner. It is highly adorable.
4. Padyn was obsessed with "Heaven" today. She wanted to see it, go there, know who else will be there...I'll have to ask her teacher tomorrow what they've been learning about in bible time. She must really be paying attention during that time. (But obviously she missed the lesson about how Jesus doesn't eat her already digested food.)
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Apparently, Jesus Likes to Eat
"We don't have anymore, honey. We ate them all."
"We ate them all up?"
"Yes."
"And now Jesus is eating them?"
"Maybe..."
"Mommy, where is Jesus? Is He in our house and in our hearts?"
"Yes, baby, He is."
"Does Jesus like to cook?"
"I have no idea."
Monday, November 27, 2006
Birthday Pictures
Coming soon...videos on YouTube! Yes, my technology skills are slowly expanding.
(And now that I've promised that, I really have to deliver, don't I?)
One Down, One to Go
Apparently the nipple broke. Daddy had Padyn throw it in the trash.
Now there's only one more. It's the one that she actually sucks on. The one she's had from birth. Everyday I remind her that when she sleeps without it we can go buy this. She picked it out last week at Toys R Us. She calls it the Dora Cara.
We'll see if and when she actually gets it. Every morning she asks for it and I ask her if she's ready to sleep without her pacis. Her reply is usually an enthusiastic yes, but when it comes to sleepy time, she isn't willing to part with them yet.
To be continued...
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Double Take
This picture just flashed across my screen saver and I thought, "Hmmm...when did I put that dress on Kate? It must have been this summer."
And then I realized it wasn't Kate.
No wonder I don't remember pulling that dress out yet. Doesn't it look cute on PADYN? She's 9 and a half months old in this picture. But boy, I really thought it was Kate for a second.
The other one? That's a 14 month old Coley.
Ok, Fine
Padyn, Kate and I were in Padyn's room getting Padyn dressed. Kate was on the floor putting everything in her mouth that she could (did I tell you she ate a gift receipt the other day?) and I was rubbing the snot off Padyn's face with a baby wipe. Baby wipes are fabulous. Anyway, I was telling Padyn she was silly for having snot on her face and she said, "I have SNOT on my face!"
Then she immediately turned to Kate and commented on her lack of hair.
That's it.
Happy now?
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Padyn's Photo Friday
Crazy Daddy
Kate refusing to eat (actually, I think Kate was eating, but she was distracted by her sister's stunning photo taking skills.)The garbage can: Vol. I and IIAll the crazy fools taking pictures of Padyn taking picturesMommy in the morning:a bit scary, isn't she?Kate crawling towards her favorite person
Unfortunately, some of the other shots just wouldn't load. If they had you would have seen that Padyn is also fond of getting shots of her placemat, her new computer and the highchair. There are also a few almost completely black shots. Maybe the back of her hand? The carpet? She took some of Papa and Kate last night, but she immediately deleted them all. She's her own worst critic.