Mallie takes her dolly everywhere now. Before we leave our house, she inevitably stops, turns and asks, "Wha's ma poise?", then, "Wha's my beebee?" and finally, "Wha's ma strolleee?" ONce she has all the necessary equipment, we are allowed to leave. She insists on pushing her baby in it's stroller in the library, grocery store, etc. Everyone looks at her and talks about how adorable she is... but to me, she's just a woman on a mission- very serious and down to business- and completely oblivious about how cute she truly is.
Jack was talking to us about an Indians' game that he went to over a year ago, and recalling the whole thing in great, somewhat scary, detail. He was telling about this Chief Wahoo sign that was turning around and every time he referred to it, he called it "Swee Hahoo". Tommy and I were laughing and so was he because he knew it was wrong but couldn't pronounce it correctly.
If you close your eyes when Mallie talks, you will think you are in the presence of an old Italian woman who is trying to speaky the english. She says things like, "Take 'a ma shoes off', or "Take 'a ma socks off', or 'Don't touch 'a ma tupp' (Don't touch my stuff). I don't know why she throws that extra syllable in there, but it is reminiscent of the 'Old Country' and very amusing.
We rented Disney's Pocahontas last weekend. I love this movie and Jack and I watched the whole thing on the couch together. It didn't seem to keep Mallie or Tommy's attention very well. The end of this version of the story is very sad because Pocahontas stays in America while John Smith goes back to Europe to heal from his gunshot wound (very kid-friendly, huh?!) As soon as the credits came on, Jack turned and smothered his face in my stomach and began SOBBING, complete with the sniffles and wails. I had a feeling he would react this way because I've seen him get upset and emoitional about other movies and shows. When I asked him what was wrong, his tears turned into anger and he pointed at the TV and yelled, "That Moive Is A Stinker!!!!"
After Jack's birthday party the other night, he and Mallie broke out one of the toys. It was two baskets that each player holds and shoots out a ball to the other player. Every time Mallie shot the ball, she let out this 'diabolical' laugh from deep in her throat. It was hilarious.
Jack has been very busy these days with projects he creates. At least 5 times a day, he enters the kitchen craft corner, gets out his scissors and crayons and starts cutting a million pieces of paper and writing things on them. Sometimes he's 'selling our house', other times he has a 'trophy company' or is decoration his bike or making a basketball hoppp or choo-choo train. It's never ending in imagination and in the mess that he makes. Unfortunately, he chose a bad time for these projects because we're trying to keep the house clean for showings.....
We bought Mallie some new fall shoes a few weeks ago. One pair is patent leather and pink and she LOVES them. She is constantly wanting to 'put 'a ma shoes on'. These shoes don't 'go' with most of her outfits, so she's always looking especially flashy when she wears them.
Annie showed the first signs of 'pretending' yesterday. We were sitting on the basement floor and Mallie was talking on her cel phone and I had just gotten off my phone. I looked over and Annie was holding a piece of play lettuce up to her ear and saying, "abaaabaaadadadada'. I don't know that she had a good connection on that thing, but you wouldn't know it but her conversation!
We went to the new Panini's restaurant in Westlake last weekend. This is the site of the old M Bistro where we had Dede's 80th b-day party in February of '08. We were talking to Jack about the party and asking him if he remembered it. He didn't.... but 20 minutes later, he went over to one of the windows and said, 'This is where Auntie put her ipod'.... And sure enough, that was the window that Claire had her ipod for the party. Very, very scary.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday, September 14th, 2009
Well, tomorrow, Jack turns 4 years old. This time of year comes with many milestones in our family. School starts, each of the kids have birthdays 6 weeks after the next, and it feels like the years are slipping away so quickly. I cannot believe that Jack will be 4. He's becoming a big kid- funny, thoughtful, kind, smart, loving, independant. I love watching the person he is every day. It brings me more pride and amazement that anything else ever has. I know that we've done a good job parenting him (or at least the best we've known how!), but the person he is makes me really believe in the nature of people having a lot to do with who they ultimately become. There's no way I could have instilled the sweetness he possesses in the little time I've had him. He is just naturally that way, and I feel lucky that he was given to me that way!
Jack started school a week ago today. He is in Mrs. Pacetti's class again, but this time with a whole new group of kids (15 kids in the class- none of whom were in his class last year!) and with a new aide, Mrs. Gallagher. I'm already seeing a big difference in the activities they're doing in the classroom. They are trying to hold the kids' attention for longer periods of time. I also noticed that we haven't been good about practicing our writing/ coloring skills this summer. The first week back to school brought a lot of stress on me, watching Jack form his letters- much worse than at the end of last year! :( But we're working on it every day now- in actuality, Jack is wanting to know how to spell words and wanting to write more on his own... and I'm already seeing a big improvement.
Annie announced, in her own way, that she knows how to climb up the stairs. I had never seen Annie climb up one step. I was cleaning the house to get ready for a showing last Friday and left the kids down in the basement, playing. From upstairs, I heard someone crying in the kitchen and ran down to see what was going on. There was Annie, sitting on the kitchen floor, whining. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only does she climbs stairs now, but she does it QUICK! If I leave the room and forget to put up the gate, inevitably, Annie has raced her little bottom up the flight of stairs, and can usually be heard giggling as she does it- because she knows she's not allowed to do it and thinks it's hilarious when someone is chasing her.
Annie and Mallie have become playmates. Annie follows Mallie, crawling around the first floor and laughing hysterically. They love chasing each other, and peeking around the corners for each other. Also, as soon as Mallie sits down to the dinner table, Annie stops whining and starts doing this goofy laugh to try to get Mallie to laugh at her. The two of them sit and laugh at each other the entire meal.
Annie is also walking now while pushing things. I've been trying to get her to do this for weeks now and everytime I tried to put her up to a push toy, she's just sit down and play with it. But on Saturday, Tommy tried to get her to do it, and away she went. She wasn't timid about it either. Off she went like a shot of light across the living room. It hilarious to watch her because her little chubby legs are so awkward but they go so fast.
I took Jack and Charlie to Memphis Kiddie Park this afternoon to putt-putt for Jack's birthday. Jack hit a hole-in-one on his first hole. He didn't even realize it! And Charlie made a hole-in-one on the last hole which qualified him for a free game of golf! He was very excited. They followed the game up by a ride on the train and an ice cream treat. I think they had a great time. We'll have Yaya and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa and Dede over for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate.
Jack started school a week ago today. He is in Mrs. Pacetti's class again, but this time with a whole new group of kids (15 kids in the class- none of whom were in his class last year!) and with a new aide, Mrs. Gallagher. I'm already seeing a big difference in the activities they're doing in the classroom. They are trying to hold the kids' attention for longer periods of time. I also noticed that we haven't been good about practicing our writing/ coloring skills this summer. The first week back to school brought a lot of stress on me, watching Jack form his letters- much worse than at the end of last year! :( But we're working on it every day now- in actuality, Jack is wanting to know how to spell words and wanting to write more on his own... and I'm already seeing a big improvement.
Annie announced, in her own way, that she knows how to climb up the stairs. I had never seen Annie climb up one step. I was cleaning the house to get ready for a showing last Friday and left the kids down in the basement, playing. From upstairs, I heard someone crying in the kitchen and ran down to see what was going on. There was Annie, sitting on the kitchen floor, whining. I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only does she climbs stairs now, but she does it QUICK! If I leave the room and forget to put up the gate, inevitably, Annie has raced her little bottom up the flight of stairs, and can usually be heard giggling as she does it- because she knows she's not allowed to do it and thinks it's hilarious when someone is chasing her.
Annie and Mallie have become playmates. Annie follows Mallie, crawling around the first floor and laughing hysterically. They love chasing each other, and peeking around the corners for each other. Also, as soon as Mallie sits down to the dinner table, Annie stops whining and starts doing this goofy laugh to try to get Mallie to laugh at her. The two of them sit and laugh at each other the entire meal.
Annie is also walking now while pushing things. I've been trying to get her to do this for weeks now and everytime I tried to put her up to a push toy, she's just sit down and play with it. But on Saturday, Tommy tried to get her to do it, and away she went. She wasn't timid about it either. Off she went like a shot of light across the living room. It hilarious to watch her because her little chubby legs are so awkward but they go so fast.
I took Jack and Charlie to Memphis Kiddie Park this afternoon to putt-putt for Jack's birthday. Jack hit a hole-in-one on his first hole. He didn't even realize it! And Charlie made a hole-in-one on the last hole which qualified him for a free game of golf! He was very excited. They followed the game up by a ride on the train and an ice cream treat. I think they had a great time. We'll have Yaya and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa and Dede over for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
This is one of those entries that I feel like I can't type fast enough. SO much has happened that I haven't written down and I know that I haven't remembered it all. I cannot get the energy to write every night-even though I regret it.
Jack is confusing words like crazy. It's so cute that I can see how he is compartmentalizing all of the information he recieves throughout the day by the words that come out of his mouth. He called a raccoon, a 'coupon', a tennis racquet, a 'tennis rocket', and the neighboring street "Woodstock", "stocking".
Mallie is becoming a little conversationalist. She perched herself on the arm of the couch last night right next to Tommy. He was asking her questions and she was answering almost all them. SHe uses every word she knows, along with mumbling and flailing her hands all over the place. She is so serious about answering him and I can tell she thinks she is big stuff as she chats away.
I was giving Mallie a bath last night and rinsing her hair. She yelled to me, "Mommy! Look at me! I doing the backstroke!!"
Jack is getting great at riding the bike that Uncle Brian gave him. He rode to Bohlken Park two days ago. I was very concerned about letting him do this becuase all I could picture was myself dragging his bike home while pushing the double stroller. But he most of the time, he was ahead of us and kept up really well. Then yesterday, I let him ride to Linden Park. He, again, did really well. And that night, we rode to Auntie and Drew's! He looks like such a big kid while he rides. And I probably look like a whacko because I am constantly wincing and saying "oh god!' as he goes over bumps or comes close to the grass etc. I think I'm diong an OK job at covering up my craziness though- and he's really good at falling- hasn't gotten hurt once and always lands on his feet! :)
Jack got an eye patch at the eye doctor last week. She wants him to wear it 4 hours per day. The first day, I struggled like crazy to get him to keep it on for 1/2 hour while he watched TV. He was squirming and crying and totally frustrated and I felt awful for him. How annoying to cover up the eye you can see out of so you are left with blurry vision! I gave him a break over the weekend, and on Monday we started again. He had a rough first hour, but by the 2nd hour, he was doing great. He kept it on at Bohlken Park while we played baseball (even hit a few home runs!) He even wore it to the grocery store. (Some ignorant old lady there asked us what was wrong with his eye- which totally threw me off and seemed to throw him off too a little bit). But the 2nd day, he put it on and didn't even complain once. He got to ride in Auntie and Drew's bike trailer as a special treat for his great behavior with it. Then today- he actually went to put it on himself!!! I'm so proud of how he's adjusted and reasoned it through. He knows it's going to help him.
Annie is changing a lot lately. Her sweet little, sunny disposition is not as sunny any more. I don't know if we are working on teeth, or just frustrated about not being able to communicate (the other 2 went through that, just about 6-9 months later than Annie is now!) The girl whined and cried ALL day today though. From the moment she woke up, if she was left alone for even a second, it was an all-out sob fest. Any time I try to get her involved in a toy and walk out of the room to get something accomplished- she finds me and crawls up to the backs of my legs, stands up and rubs her face in my calves as she whines away. She's also adopted a new cry that is very throaty and whiny. It almost sounds like she's saying 'Ohhhhhh Gooooooddddd...." as she throws her head back. SHe's throwing her head back a LOT, too. She does not have any concern for what is behind her either- her crib bars, the doorway woodwork, the floor, etc. It seems as though I have a very frustrated baby on my hands.
Jack wanted to play with the neighbor, Robby this afternoon. Robby was kind of being a punk and not including JAck, but Jack, being Jack, was completely oblivious and proceeded to play a gamet of games in the kids' driveway. As we were leaving, Jack went up to Robby and gave him a high-five and said, "Bye Robby! It was good seein' ya Bud!" Then he strutted back home like he was the coolest thing on Earth.
Mallie knows the entire Frosty the Snow Man song and want to read the book every day, even though it is August. I sing each line to her and stop at the last word, and she fills in the blank. The best line is "He led them down the streets of town, right to the traffic_" And she says "COP!"
Annie is starting to make sound that sound like real words. SHe is saying "auntie' and 'yaya' and it sounded like she said "Hey dada!" when Tommy got home tonight. She says things that sound like, 'Yes', and is constantly experimenting with her new 'vocabulary'. It is so funny when she accidentally says words because Jack and Mallie praise her. "Oh! Mom! Annie said 'soccer'! GrEAT JOB ANN!!!"
Our neighbor's daughter is a softball player for Fiarview Park and their house was TP'ed a couple weeks ago. This sent Jack and Mallie into a tizzy. Why would someone do that!? WHatt happened to Robby's house!? They JUST couldn't wrap their minds around it. Mallie asked me, no joke, at least 200 times, "Why toyet papy on Robby hows?" And I just started answering the exact same answer every time: "Robby's sister has friends and they thought it was funny to put toilet paper on her house!" Then 10 seconds later: "WHy Toyet Papy on RObby hows!?" So I started asking her, "Mallie, Why is there toilet paper on RObby's house?" and she'd answer "sister have friend and it funny!!!" and then she'd laugh in a very forced way.
Annie is eating finger foods now. She will eat anything that is set in front of her. This is a great thing, for the future. Right now, however, it is posing several problems. First of all, she is a complete DISASTER after eating. I am talking, strip-down, hose-off disasterous mess. I'd be able to better deal with this if it was once a day, at dinner time, when Tommy's here to help. But she needs to learn to eat 3 meals a day and to try to wipe the child down 3 times while the other 2 are wreaking havoc on the house or neighborhood is a nightmare. It takes me an extra 10 minutes of clean-up time at each meal. WHich leads to problem #2, which is that it tkakes her foREVER to eat now! SHe really enjoys savoring every morsel and ends up taking a good 25 minutes per meal (when it woudl be only 10 or 15 at most with being spoon-fed). On top of the baby clean-up, there is the highchair clean-up (by the way- we have the most annoying highchair on Earth when it comes to convenience for cleaning- I'm disgusted by what is under the cushion on this thing and would die if anyone ever looked). There is also the surrounding floor clean up. SO, what used to take me 15 minutes at most from start to finish, is now topping out around 25 or 30. THat's just 10-15 extra minutes I don't have in my day. All of these are more annoyance-type issues, but the one issue that is harping on me is the fact that I have NO idea how much the child is actually eating. If I have a plate of food for her, and it is gone at the end of 30 minutes, that does not necessarily mena that it is in her stomach. Fractions of it end up on the floor, the said highchair cushions, her face, hair, cheeks, arms, fingers, legs, in her diaper, on her clothes, in her fat rolls, you get the picture. So I am in constant worry that she is not 'full'. (This is laughable, as you'd know if you saw a picture of Annie right now- she is anything and everything but Hungry!!) But, as a mom I don't want her tummy rumbling...so I have been feeding her baby food meals, after she eats her finger foods. THis is the most ridiculous thing ever because she's definately eating a lot of her finger foods- but then I am stuffing her with baby food. You'd think this was the first time I've ever done this. Such a Rookie move. But I can't help it. Let the issues with food begin!!! Sorry Ann!!!
Jack is confusing words like crazy. It's so cute that I can see how he is compartmentalizing all of the information he recieves throughout the day by the words that come out of his mouth. He called a raccoon, a 'coupon', a tennis racquet, a 'tennis rocket', and the neighboring street "Woodstock", "stocking".
Mallie is becoming a little conversationalist. She perched herself on the arm of the couch last night right next to Tommy. He was asking her questions and she was answering almost all them. SHe uses every word she knows, along with mumbling and flailing her hands all over the place. She is so serious about answering him and I can tell she thinks she is big stuff as she chats away.
I was giving Mallie a bath last night and rinsing her hair. She yelled to me, "Mommy! Look at me! I doing the backstroke!!"
Jack is getting great at riding the bike that Uncle Brian gave him. He rode to Bohlken Park two days ago. I was very concerned about letting him do this becuase all I could picture was myself dragging his bike home while pushing the double stroller. But he most of the time, he was ahead of us and kept up really well. Then yesterday, I let him ride to Linden Park. He, again, did really well. And that night, we rode to Auntie and Drew's! He looks like such a big kid while he rides. And I probably look like a whacko because I am constantly wincing and saying "oh god!' as he goes over bumps or comes close to the grass etc. I think I'm diong an OK job at covering up my craziness though- and he's really good at falling- hasn't gotten hurt once and always lands on his feet! :)
Jack got an eye patch at the eye doctor last week. She wants him to wear it 4 hours per day. The first day, I struggled like crazy to get him to keep it on for 1/2 hour while he watched TV. He was squirming and crying and totally frustrated and I felt awful for him. How annoying to cover up the eye you can see out of so you are left with blurry vision! I gave him a break over the weekend, and on Monday we started again. He had a rough first hour, but by the 2nd hour, he was doing great. He kept it on at Bohlken Park while we played baseball (even hit a few home runs!) He even wore it to the grocery store. (Some ignorant old lady there asked us what was wrong with his eye- which totally threw me off and seemed to throw him off too a little bit). But the 2nd day, he put it on and didn't even complain once. He got to ride in Auntie and Drew's bike trailer as a special treat for his great behavior with it. Then today- he actually went to put it on himself!!! I'm so proud of how he's adjusted and reasoned it through. He knows it's going to help him.
Annie is changing a lot lately. Her sweet little, sunny disposition is not as sunny any more. I don't know if we are working on teeth, or just frustrated about not being able to communicate (the other 2 went through that, just about 6-9 months later than Annie is now!) The girl whined and cried ALL day today though. From the moment she woke up, if she was left alone for even a second, it was an all-out sob fest. Any time I try to get her involved in a toy and walk out of the room to get something accomplished- she finds me and crawls up to the backs of my legs, stands up and rubs her face in my calves as she whines away. She's also adopted a new cry that is very throaty and whiny. It almost sounds like she's saying 'Ohhhhhh Gooooooddddd...." as she throws her head back. SHe's throwing her head back a LOT, too. She does not have any concern for what is behind her either- her crib bars, the doorway woodwork, the floor, etc. It seems as though I have a very frustrated baby on my hands.
Jack wanted to play with the neighbor, Robby this afternoon. Robby was kind of being a punk and not including JAck, but Jack, being Jack, was completely oblivious and proceeded to play a gamet of games in the kids' driveway. As we were leaving, Jack went up to Robby and gave him a high-five and said, "Bye Robby! It was good seein' ya Bud!" Then he strutted back home like he was the coolest thing on Earth.
Mallie knows the entire Frosty the Snow Man song and want to read the book every day, even though it is August. I sing each line to her and stop at the last word, and she fills in the blank. The best line is "He led them down the streets of town, right to the traffic_" And she says "COP!"
Annie is starting to make sound that sound like real words. SHe is saying "auntie' and 'yaya' and it sounded like she said "Hey dada!" when Tommy got home tonight. She says things that sound like, 'Yes', and is constantly experimenting with her new 'vocabulary'. It is so funny when she accidentally says words because Jack and Mallie praise her. "Oh! Mom! Annie said 'soccer'! GrEAT JOB ANN!!!"
Our neighbor's daughter is a softball player for Fiarview Park and their house was TP'ed a couple weeks ago. This sent Jack and Mallie into a tizzy. Why would someone do that!? WHatt happened to Robby's house!? They JUST couldn't wrap their minds around it. Mallie asked me, no joke, at least 200 times, "Why toyet papy on Robby hows?" And I just started answering the exact same answer every time: "Robby's sister has friends and they thought it was funny to put toilet paper on her house!" Then 10 seconds later: "WHy Toyet Papy on RObby hows!?" So I started asking her, "Mallie, Why is there toilet paper on RObby's house?" and she'd answer "sister have friend and it funny!!!" and then she'd laugh in a very forced way.
Annie is eating finger foods now. She will eat anything that is set in front of her. This is a great thing, for the future. Right now, however, it is posing several problems. First of all, she is a complete DISASTER after eating. I am talking, strip-down, hose-off disasterous mess. I'd be able to better deal with this if it was once a day, at dinner time, when Tommy's here to help. But she needs to learn to eat 3 meals a day and to try to wipe the child down 3 times while the other 2 are wreaking havoc on the house or neighborhood is a nightmare. It takes me an extra 10 minutes of clean-up time at each meal. WHich leads to problem #2, which is that it tkakes her foREVER to eat now! SHe really enjoys savoring every morsel and ends up taking a good 25 minutes per meal (when it woudl be only 10 or 15 at most with being spoon-fed). On top of the baby clean-up, there is the highchair clean-up (by the way- we have the most annoying highchair on Earth when it comes to convenience for cleaning- I'm disgusted by what is under the cushion on this thing and would die if anyone ever looked). There is also the surrounding floor clean up. SO, what used to take me 15 minutes at most from start to finish, is now topping out around 25 or 30. THat's just 10-15 extra minutes I don't have in my day. All of these are more annoyance-type issues, but the one issue that is harping on me is the fact that I have NO idea how much the child is actually eating. If I have a plate of food for her, and it is gone at the end of 30 minutes, that does not necessarily mena that it is in her stomach. Fractions of it end up on the floor, the said highchair cushions, her face, hair, cheeks, arms, fingers, legs, in her diaper, on her clothes, in her fat rolls, you get the picture. So I am in constant worry that she is not 'full'. (This is laughable, as you'd know if you saw a picture of Annie right now- she is anything and everything but Hungry!!) But, as a mom I don't want her tummy rumbling...so I have been feeding her baby food meals, after she eats her finger foods. THis is the most ridiculous thing ever because she's definately eating a lot of her finger foods- but then I am stuffing her with baby food. You'd think this was the first time I've ever done this. Such a Rookie move. But I can't help it. Let the issues with food begin!!! Sorry Ann!!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10th, 2009
I feel like there's lots to catch up on:
FIrst of all, Annie has sprouted her first tooth. I admit to being unimpressed with Jack's first tooth at 6 months and not even remembering Mallie's first tooth..... But Annie's has surprised me and taken me aback. At 9 1/2 months, I don't know if I had stopped expecting it and starting thinking that she would just be a cute little 'gummy' 16 year old....but feeling her tooth popping through yesterday shocked me!
I took Annie and Mallie to the doctor for their check-ups today. On the way home, I called Tommy and told him, 'The girls difference in weight is only 5 lbs.!" To which he asked, "well, which one is heavier?" This may not seem funny, but if you could see Annie, you'd realize that she is so big that the question was legitimate. Annie is in the 90th %ile for both height and weight. Mallie is in the 50th for weight and 25th for height. The doctor reminded me that this isn't any type of forshadowing for the future, as Jack was in the 90th %ile for weight at 9 months too and now resembles a string bean.
Jack and Mallie have been performing both fiddle and piano concerts featuring Jimmy Buffet's "Volcano" several times a day (i.e. if you miss the 9 a.m. performance, you can catch the 9:05 a.m. performance). Piano duets are performed (loudly) in the living room by banging the keyboard in synchrony and yelling "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know wha I ma gonna go when I don't know!!!!!!!!!!" Fiddle concerts are less loud, but equally hilarious. THey are performed in the outdoor arena with plastic golf clubs. One is held under the chin, the other acts as a bow. This takes so much concentration by the musicians that the lyrics are sung more softly and slowly.
WHen we got home from our Columbus adventure this Sunday (an overnight in Columbus to visit the COlumbus zoo- which was awesome...and the Dublin Irish Fest).... Jack promptly got out of the car and started scrounging around in the garage. He emerged with a diaper bag over his chest and shoulder with two wooden spoons protruding from it. It was his bagpipe. He used his elbow to squeeze air from it and the spoon to manipulate with his fingers to get the proper notes. When he finished with that, he stood on top of the cooler and played the wooden spoon as a flute, telling everyone in his audience, "this one is about someone that goed to heaven'- which was taken directly from a band we had watched early that day.
We celebrated Mallie's second birthday on Tuesday. She embraced her day, unlike Jack's 2nd b-day, where his fear of the song 'Happy Birhtday to You" ruined his time. SHe woke up asking about her cake. When it was time for cake, the smile on her face was from ear to ear. While everyone sang to her, her little shoulders shrugged up to her ears with joy and she wiggled around with excitment. She has been obsessed with all of her birhtday gifts, including her new shopping cart, dolly, purse, lip smackers, and dress-ups. Her dress-up trunk includes dangle earrings and high heels which are 12 sizes too big for her. SHe has been persistant about wearing and walking in them. And by the end of her party, she was suffling around in them, pushing her shopping cart as though she'd been born in heels.
At the end of Mallie's party, Jack, being the eternally gracious host that he is, ushered everyone to the door, saying, "Bye everyone! Thanks for coming to my sister's birhtday party!"....an Mallie being the myna bird, repeated, "Bye! Thanks for coming to my sister's birthday!!"
At a picnic this wekend with all the Gilbride cousins, Jack was WAY too busy to eat his dinner. At one point, he ran by me and Grandpa Gilbride and stopped to ask if he could have a brownie. I asked him if he had eaten his dinner. He said, "Yes." I asked him if that was the truth or if it was a lie. He said, "That is a lie." And ran away to continue playing with his cousins. I thought GRandpa Gilbride was going to bust open trying not to laugh in front of him.
Mallie got a shot today at the doctor's office. She was not happy about it and didn't do much to mask that from the sweet nurse who had the unfortunate duty of administering it. The nurse was full of apologies and gave her a cool band-aid. Mallie was so beside herself that she tore the band-aid off and yelled at me to 'Throw it away!" Then the nurse offered her a pretty princess sticker for being such a big girl. Mallie, still in hysterics wound up to whip the sticker back at the nurse, who kindly excused herself from the examining room at that point.
Annie is being a HUGE handful!!! SHe is learning that she is not supposed to do things and find that experience funny (which presents a problem in discipline!!) When she picks something up that she is not allowed to have, she gets on all 4's (really all 3's, while holding the thing in question in her hand), waiting for us to say something. When we say , "No Annie!", she throws it down and crawls away as fast as she can, laughing. The girl is only 9 months old and already finding her old lady and old man hilarious when we (lamely) try to excert any type of authority. It's going to be a long 18 years at this rate!!!
Annie has also learned a new trick from her Auntie DI. They were sitting out on a blanket for an hour or so a couple of weeks a ago and Di taught her, "How big is Annie?" SOOOOO Big!!" Annie, being the chubby little thing she is, struggles to raise her rolly little arms above her head and instead shrinks her head down to prove how big she really is. She is also clapping when someone says 'yeaaaaah!" and waving when someone says 'bye or 'hi'. I also told the doctor today about my crazy belief that she is saying 'ba ba', 'mama' and 'dada' intentionally and braced myself for a weird look from her. She said it's certainly early for that, but it's not unheard of and if she's doing it and I'm hearing it, it's certainly plausible!
Mallie and Jack learned about the man in the moon a few days ago from their Yaya. Ever since, they have been asking me about 'him'. "Why is there a man in the moon?' 'Is he real?" Etc. I have been explaining it, repeatedly that there are mountains on the moon. And when the sun shines on them they make it look like there's a face on the moon that we call the man in the moon. Mallie has no clue what is going on and is only asking about the man in the moon because Jack is. However, she is asking about it every time he does and I wanted to see, if by any chance in the world, she is picking up on any of this. So she asked me while we were driving, "Why there a man in the moon Mama?" and I asked her, "I don't know Mal, you tell me, why is there a man in the moon?". SHe relied in the most flip way, shrugging her shoulders, " I dunno..... mountains... moon..... sun shining....."
FIrst of all, Annie has sprouted her first tooth. I admit to being unimpressed with Jack's first tooth at 6 months and not even remembering Mallie's first tooth..... But Annie's has surprised me and taken me aback. At 9 1/2 months, I don't know if I had stopped expecting it and starting thinking that she would just be a cute little 'gummy' 16 year old....but feeling her tooth popping through yesterday shocked me!
I took Annie and Mallie to the doctor for their check-ups today. On the way home, I called Tommy and told him, 'The girls difference in weight is only 5 lbs.!" To which he asked, "well, which one is heavier?" This may not seem funny, but if you could see Annie, you'd realize that she is so big that the question was legitimate. Annie is in the 90th %ile for both height and weight. Mallie is in the 50th for weight and 25th for height. The doctor reminded me that this isn't any type of forshadowing for the future, as Jack was in the 90th %ile for weight at 9 months too and now resembles a string bean.
Jack and Mallie have been performing both fiddle and piano concerts featuring Jimmy Buffet's "Volcano" several times a day (i.e. if you miss the 9 a.m. performance, you can catch the 9:05 a.m. performance). Piano duets are performed (loudly) in the living room by banging the keyboard in synchrony and yelling "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know wha I ma gonna go when I don't know!!!!!!!!!!" Fiddle concerts are less loud, but equally hilarious. THey are performed in the outdoor arena with plastic golf clubs. One is held under the chin, the other acts as a bow. This takes so much concentration by the musicians that the lyrics are sung more softly and slowly.
WHen we got home from our Columbus adventure this Sunday (an overnight in Columbus to visit the COlumbus zoo- which was awesome...and the Dublin Irish Fest).... Jack promptly got out of the car and started scrounging around in the garage. He emerged with a diaper bag over his chest and shoulder with two wooden spoons protruding from it. It was his bagpipe. He used his elbow to squeeze air from it and the spoon to manipulate with his fingers to get the proper notes. When he finished with that, he stood on top of the cooler and played the wooden spoon as a flute, telling everyone in his audience, "this one is about someone that goed to heaven'- which was taken directly from a band we had watched early that day.
We celebrated Mallie's second birthday on Tuesday. She embraced her day, unlike Jack's 2nd b-day, where his fear of the song 'Happy Birhtday to You" ruined his time. SHe woke up asking about her cake. When it was time for cake, the smile on her face was from ear to ear. While everyone sang to her, her little shoulders shrugged up to her ears with joy and she wiggled around with excitment. She has been obsessed with all of her birhtday gifts, including her new shopping cart, dolly, purse, lip smackers, and dress-ups. Her dress-up trunk includes dangle earrings and high heels which are 12 sizes too big for her. SHe has been persistant about wearing and walking in them. And by the end of her party, she was suffling around in them, pushing her shopping cart as though she'd been born in heels.
At the end of Mallie's party, Jack, being the eternally gracious host that he is, ushered everyone to the door, saying, "Bye everyone! Thanks for coming to my sister's birhtday party!"....an Mallie being the myna bird, repeated, "Bye! Thanks for coming to my sister's birthday!!"
At a picnic this wekend with all the Gilbride cousins, Jack was WAY too busy to eat his dinner. At one point, he ran by me and Grandpa Gilbride and stopped to ask if he could have a brownie. I asked him if he had eaten his dinner. He said, "Yes." I asked him if that was the truth or if it was a lie. He said, "That is a lie." And ran away to continue playing with his cousins. I thought GRandpa Gilbride was going to bust open trying not to laugh in front of him.
Mallie got a shot today at the doctor's office. She was not happy about it and didn't do much to mask that from the sweet nurse who had the unfortunate duty of administering it. The nurse was full of apologies and gave her a cool band-aid. Mallie was so beside herself that she tore the band-aid off and yelled at me to 'Throw it away!" Then the nurse offered her a pretty princess sticker for being such a big girl. Mallie, still in hysterics wound up to whip the sticker back at the nurse, who kindly excused herself from the examining room at that point.
Annie is being a HUGE handful!!! SHe is learning that she is not supposed to do things and find that experience funny (which presents a problem in discipline!!) When she picks something up that she is not allowed to have, she gets on all 4's (really all 3's, while holding the thing in question in her hand), waiting for us to say something. When we say , "No Annie!", she throws it down and crawls away as fast as she can, laughing. The girl is only 9 months old and already finding her old lady and old man hilarious when we (lamely) try to excert any type of authority. It's going to be a long 18 years at this rate!!!
Annie has also learned a new trick from her Auntie DI. They were sitting out on a blanket for an hour or so a couple of weeks a ago and Di taught her, "How big is Annie?" SOOOOO Big!!" Annie, being the chubby little thing she is, struggles to raise her rolly little arms above her head and instead shrinks her head down to prove how big she really is. She is also clapping when someone says 'yeaaaaah!" and waving when someone says 'bye or 'hi'. I also told the doctor today about my crazy belief that she is saying 'ba ba', 'mama' and 'dada' intentionally and braced myself for a weird look from her. She said it's certainly early for that, but it's not unheard of and if she's doing it and I'm hearing it, it's certainly plausible!
Mallie and Jack learned about the man in the moon a few days ago from their Yaya. Ever since, they have been asking me about 'him'. "Why is there a man in the moon?' 'Is he real?" Etc. I have been explaining it, repeatedly that there are mountains on the moon. And when the sun shines on them they make it look like there's a face on the moon that we call the man in the moon. Mallie has no clue what is going on and is only asking about the man in the moon because Jack is. However, she is asking about it every time he does and I wanted to see, if by any chance in the world, she is picking up on any of this. So she asked me while we were driving, "Why there a man in the moon Mama?" and I asked her, "I don't know Mal, you tell me, why is there a man in the moon?". SHe relied in the most flip way, shrugging her shoulders, " I dunno..... mountains... moon..... sun shining....."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
For some reason, I'm having a really nostolgic night tonight. Actually, I know the reasons, and there are several. First of all, I spent the morning with Emily Gilbride, who is 9 months pregnant right now. She is describing every last symptom I felt last fall : the cramps, low pressure, tiredness, and loss of patience(i.e. guilt) she has with the other two kids. I feel bad for her, but at the same time I know, from looking back on it, that my kids didn't suffer as much as I thought they did from that time. I felt so negligent as a mom and during that time, actually they grew in their sibling relationship, as well as by themselves, learning to play and entertain themselves. It's a necessary growing pain that is well, well, well worth it. That 3rd kid is such an amazing addition to the family. It makes it feel like a real family to me- not to say that #2 didn't.... but it's just a 'full cirlce', complete feeling.
Secondly, I talked to Meghan Nowlin a lot today about the end of her pregnancy. In so many ways, I don't want her pregnancy to end because it reminded me so much of that awesome time we had of anticipating Jack's arrival. But of course, I am coming out of my skin with excitement for them. To see two people like Meg and Ryan become parents is beyond exiting. They are so perfect, so ready, so excited themselves.... I keep flashing back to the days before Jack was born. I remember them so well- which is so uncharacteristic of me! Tommy and I were on pins and needles, always waiting for SOMETHING to happen, but not knowing WHAT!? I felt so anxious to be a mom and be DONE with being pregnant.. but at the same time, really at peace and just knew things were going to go smoothly. I know it was Ali at my side the whole time. It was great to be close to her then. I know the Nowlin's have a few guardian angels by their side like I did and Baby Nowlin is going to just glide into the world on their wings. It's so, so so exciting.
On the skirts of thinking about Jack being born, I gave that kid a bath tonight. I used to sit down, indian-style and plop him down in front of me to put lotion on him and jammie him up. Tonight, I put him down and went to put lotion on his face. I had to lean over and stretch away from me to reach him!! He's sooooo tall all of a sudden. I don't know what happened and it sent me into a panic attack that he's getting too old and going to leave for college. This, on top of the fact that he's blasting homerun balls out of our yard when we play baseball, his new favorite thing is riding his two-wheeler (with training wheels, but he's getting so good that I'm thinking about taking them off!), and he has an adult-style appreciation of music (asking for Tommy to play some ColdPlay for him tonight, and knew all the words). I don't know how 3 1/2 years passed this quickly, and more importantly, how he has learned so much in that time. He never ceases to amaze me.
Claire and Finn were over at bath time tonight and we decided to give Finn and ANnie a bath together. Finn did not enjoy it, as it was his first introduction to a big-boy bathtub and a LOUD one at that!! All of his cousins were 'helping' and I can only imagine how overwhelming it was for the little guy!!! In the midst of the upset, Jack decided that 'I need to take some pictures of this!!" and told us to "Wait a minute! My camera is downstairs!" He ran down to get his own camera and ended up taking some decent ad pretty funny pictures to hold on to to commemorate the event!! :)
Annie is also jumping ahead by leaps and bounds lately. In the past two weeks, we have taken her off her pepcid prescription and she is doing great- eating at least 5 or 6 oz. a feeding. SHe's starting to sleep through the night, at least the last few nights... I'm sure now that I'm writing this, she will be up all night toingiht!! :) SHe's getting on a decent napping/ sleeping schedule, if I am good about keeping her on it (i.e. not schlepping her around the city all morning, so she can sleep!).
By the end of the day, her little tops of her feet are black from crawling on my eternally dirty floors. She is everywhere, pulling herself up on chairs, tables, gnawing on chairs and toys and anything she can reach. SHe continues to think Jack and Mallie are the most hilarious people on Earth and enjoys to maul Finn any chance she gets.
THis weekend she popped up with a couple great new tricks. First, she started clapping. I've been waiting fo this one. It's so great. ANd she's sooooo happy with herself when she' doing it, which makes it that much more reason to clap!!! She is starting to clap when you say, 'Yeaaa!', too. THen, yesterday, she did the 'arms up' motion for ' How big is Annie!??" twice! Again, she's very happpy with herself, but we need a little more practice. She also is waving witha full arm up and down motion when you say 'Hiiiiii Annie!!!" She has also actually said "Ahhhhh!" (which I interpret as 'Hi!"while she does this, but mostly only when Jack tries to get her to do it. Again, this needs more practice, but she is definatley getting it!!
Mallie is also starting to be a 'big girl', too,as she reminds us constantly. The other day we were on a walk and she saw an American flag hanging on a tree. SHe looked back at me said said, "look Mommy! A America Tree!!"
She is saying the following ALL the time: "Watch this Mommy!", "Not Again!!!" (said this today when I took out her xylophone instead of her cat keyboard that she wanted...as though I do that ALL the time!!), " "What's that called Mommy?", and "What did you say MommY?" These are all great questions for her to know and will teach her lots of things... even though she asks them a million times a day! :) It makes me sick that she's going to be 2 years old next week. My kids are growin up!!! CRAZY!!
Secondly, I talked to Meghan Nowlin a lot today about the end of her pregnancy. In so many ways, I don't want her pregnancy to end because it reminded me so much of that awesome time we had of anticipating Jack's arrival. But of course, I am coming out of my skin with excitement for them. To see two people like Meg and Ryan become parents is beyond exiting. They are so perfect, so ready, so excited themselves.... I keep flashing back to the days before Jack was born. I remember them so well- which is so uncharacteristic of me! Tommy and I were on pins and needles, always waiting for SOMETHING to happen, but not knowing WHAT!? I felt so anxious to be a mom and be DONE with being pregnant.. but at the same time, really at peace and just knew things were going to go smoothly. I know it was Ali at my side the whole time. It was great to be close to her then. I know the Nowlin's have a few guardian angels by their side like I did and Baby Nowlin is going to just glide into the world on their wings. It's so, so so exciting.
On the skirts of thinking about Jack being born, I gave that kid a bath tonight. I used to sit down, indian-style and plop him down in front of me to put lotion on him and jammie him up. Tonight, I put him down and went to put lotion on his face. I had to lean over and stretch away from me to reach him!! He's sooooo tall all of a sudden. I don't know what happened and it sent me into a panic attack that he's getting too old and going to leave for college. This, on top of the fact that he's blasting homerun balls out of our yard when we play baseball, his new favorite thing is riding his two-wheeler (with training wheels, but he's getting so good that I'm thinking about taking them off!), and he has an adult-style appreciation of music (asking for Tommy to play some ColdPlay for him tonight, and knew all the words). I don't know how 3 1/2 years passed this quickly, and more importantly, how he has learned so much in that time. He never ceases to amaze me.
Claire and Finn were over at bath time tonight and we decided to give Finn and ANnie a bath together. Finn did not enjoy it, as it was his first introduction to a big-boy bathtub and a LOUD one at that!! All of his cousins were 'helping' and I can only imagine how overwhelming it was for the little guy!!! In the midst of the upset, Jack decided that 'I need to take some pictures of this!!" and told us to "Wait a minute! My camera is downstairs!" He ran down to get his own camera and ended up taking some decent ad pretty funny pictures to hold on to to commemorate the event!! :)
Annie is also jumping ahead by leaps and bounds lately. In the past two weeks, we have taken her off her pepcid prescription and she is doing great- eating at least 5 or 6 oz. a feeding. SHe's starting to sleep through the night, at least the last few nights... I'm sure now that I'm writing this, she will be up all night toingiht!! :) SHe's getting on a decent napping/ sleeping schedule, if I am good about keeping her on it (i.e. not schlepping her around the city all morning, so she can sleep!).
By the end of the day, her little tops of her feet are black from crawling on my eternally dirty floors. She is everywhere, pulling herself up on chairs, tables, gnawing on chairs and toys and anything she can reach. SHe continues to think Jack and Mallie are the most hilarious people on Earth and enjoys to maul Finn any chance she gets.
THis weekend she popped up with a couple great new tricks. First, she started clapping. I've been waiting fo this one. It's so great. ANd she's sooooo happy with herself when she' doing it, which makes it that much more reason to clap!!! She is starting to clap when you say, 'Yeaaa!', too. THen, yesterday, she did the 'arms up' motion for ' How big is Annie!??" twice! Again, she's very happpy with herself, but we need a little more practice. She also is waving witha full arm up and down motion when you say 'Hiiiiii Annie!!!" She has also actually said "Ahhhhh!" (which I interpret as 'Hi!"while she does this, but mostly only when Jack tries to get her to do it. Again, this needs more practice, but she is definatley getting it!!
Mallie is also starting to be a 'big girl', too,as she reminds us constantly. The other day we were on a walk and she saw an American flag hanging on a tree. SHe looked back at me said said, "look Mommy! A America Tree!!"
She is saying the following ALL the time: "Watch this Mommy!", "Not Again!!!" (said this today when I took out her xylophone instead of her cat keyboard that she wanted...as though I do that ALL the time!!), " "What's that called Mommy?", and "What did you say MommY?" These are all great questions for her to know and will teach her lots of things... even though she asks them a million times a day! :) It makes me sick that she's going to be 2 years old next week. My kids are growin up!!! CRAZY!!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
This marks the end of one of the busiest, most fun weekends I have had in a long time. It just so happens that I have barely seen my children since Friday afternoon, as well. Coincidence? I'll let you decide! :) Molly and Scott Martin got married yesterday. I was lucky enough to be a part of their wedding as a bridesmaid. So Tommy and I were invited to the rehearsal dinner Friday night. My parents, Uncle Crabby, cousins Ian and Jason, Claire and Finn all chipped in to baby-sitt. Yesterday, everyone dropped me off at Farrell's at 8:30 a.m. Tommy then dropped Jack off at my parents' house so Papa could take him to soccer (which ended up being cancelled). Then he took Annie to Claire's while he went to swim lessons with Mallie. After collecting everyone back at home, he got them ready to spend the afternoon with Meghan Nowlin (who is a trooper to volunteer her service being 8 months pregnant) and Uncle Brian. At 4 p.m. the shift change occured when Hannah, Tommy, Lauren and Emily arrived to stay with the kids for the remainder of the evening. When they say that it 'takes a village', they aren't kidding- especially in this case. I write all of this both to remember all the sweet people that helped this weekend, and because I feel so lucky to have such an unbelievable support system in place that help nurture our kids. I barely had to ask any of these people to help- they jumped on it as soon as they caught wind that we were going to the wedding and had such a marathon weekend ahead. I was able to completely let go and focus on my friend on her happy day without any concern that something might be wrong at home.
Yesterday afternoon, Emily, Lauren and Tommy took the kids for a walk to Bohlken Park. On the way, Jack noticed a statue of Jesus in someone's front yard. This started a whirlwind of questions including, "Who is that?", "Do we love Jesus?", "Why do we love Jesus?", "If God is already in heaven, then where will he go when he gets old and dies?", etc. Emily, wisely steered clear of answering these and let Lauren field them instead- seemingly to Jack's content. At the park, the kids went on the swings and Emily was telling them, "Yeaaaa! The swings! Aren't they fun? Don't we just love the swings?" Jack replied at the top of his voice, "YEAAA!! WE LOVE THE SWINGS AND WE LOOOOOVE JEEEESUS!!!!"
The other day I took all the kids on what normally would have been a quick trip to Target. There were several meltdown and blatant, in-mom's-face misbehavior. On the way home, I stopped to get myself a coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drivethru. As we waited in line, Jack continuously asked, "Mom, can I get a donut??" and I continuously answered him, "No, your behavior was ridiculous in Target and you're not getting a treat." When we pulled up to the speaker to order, I rolled down my window. Before I could open my mouth to order, Jack was yelling from his carseat in the way-back of the van, "YEAH! UMMMM- COULD I GET A DONUT PLEASE??? A DONUT WITH HOLES IN IT!?" I don't think they heard him, so they really must have thought I was a kook when I pulled up to pay with tears of laughter in my eyes and unable to speak to them!
Tommy "put Jack to sleep" the other night while I finished watching my show on T.V. When I came up for bed, Jack and Tommy were laying in our bed flipping between boxing and rugby on T.V. Tommy said he had tried to get him to sleep. But as soon as Tommy laid down in our bed, he heard Jack calling for him saying, "Ummmm...DAD!? Ummm... I'm having a rough day in here!!!"
Mallie's temper tantrums have been getting pretty lengthy and outlandish lately. I think we're hitting our terrible 2's. The other day, she screamed for 1/2 hour because she wanted to leave her tennis shoes outside. Others involved not wanting to stop washing her hands or brush her teeth. And most recently because Tommy borrowed my flipflops to take the trash out. There is nothing to do but ignore these, but they are becoming fierce. We had to take her to Costco the other day with her face full of red blotches and her eyes all puffy.
When Jack is trying to be a part of an adult conversation or tell an adult a story, he jumps into a new persona. He uses his hands alot more, takes his time getting his story out (because he really enjoys the attention on himself) and uses the phrase, "it was like..." a whole lot.
Jack was giving us a piano concert this week. As he banged on the keys, he sang, "OOOOHH Patty!!!! (our next door neighbor) I think your cuuuuuuuuuute!!! I love you!!!!!"
Before 8 a.m. yesterday Birdie girl had: a full-blown tantrum because she had finished brushing her teeth and didn't want the water turned off, emptied her entire pajama drawer, and smeared 1/2 tube of Desitin all over her face.
Tommy was driving the kids today after rushing out of the house without Jack's glasses. From the backseat, Jack called, "So, Dad, we decided to go without the glasses today?" And Tommy said, "Yes." To which Jack replied, "Hmmmm.... that's interesting."
Annie is becoming a force to be reckoned with. She is EVERYWHERE and can get there quickly. Her newest trick is to stand on her feet and hands as though she is about to do the bear walk. It is still so strange for me to see her do these thing, even crawl. I always marvel at how strong she is getting and how quickly it's coming along! I honestly believe she'll be walking in a month.
When I put Annie to bed at night, I lay her on her side in the crib. She take her little hand that is free and rubs the sheet next to her, up and down, up and down up and down, really fast. It's her little comfort move that helps her calm down at the end of the day.
Yesterday afternoon, Emily, Lauren and Tommy took the kids for a walk to Bohlken Park. On the way, Jack noticed a statue of Jesus in someone's front yard. This started a whirlwind of questions including, "Who is that?", "Do we love Jesus?", "Why do we love Jesus?", "If God is already in heaven, then where will he go when he gets old and dies?", etc. Emily, wisely steered clear of answering these and let Lauren field them instead- seemingly to Jack's content. At the park, the kids went on the swings and Emily was telling them, "Yeaaaa! The swings! Aren't they fun? Don't we just love the swings?" Jack replied at the top of his voice, "YEAAA!! WE LOVE THE SWINGS AND WE LOOOOOVE JEEEESUS!!!!"
The other day I took all the kids on what normally would have been a quick trip to Target. There were several meltdown and blatant, in-mom's-face misbehavior. On the way home, I stopped to get myself a coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drivethru. As we waited in line, Jack continuously asked, "Mom, can I get a donut??" and I continuously answered him, "No, your behavior was ridiculous in Target and you're not getting a treat." When we pulled up to the speaker to order, I rolled down my window. Before I could open my mouth to order, Jack was yelling from his carseat in the way-back of the van, "YEAH! UMMMM- COULD I GET A DONUT PLEASE??? A DONUT WITH HOLES IN IT!?" I don't think they heard him, so they really must have thought I was a kook when I pulled up to pay with tears of laughter in my eyes and unable to speak to them!
Tommy "put Jack to sleep" the other night while I finished watching my show on T.V. When I came up for bed, Jack and Tommy were laying in our bed flipping between boxing and rugby on T.V. Tommy said he had tried to get him to sleep. But as soon as Tommy laid down in our bed, he heard Jack calling for him saying, "Ummmm...DAD!? Ummm... I'm having a rough day in here!!!"
Mallie's temper tantrums have been getting pretty lengthy and outlandish lately. I think we're hitting our terrible 2's. The other day, she screamed for 1/2 hour because she wanted to leave her tennis shoes outside. Others involved not wanting to stop washing her hands or brush her teeth. And most recently because Tommy borrowed my flipflops to take the trash out. There is nothing to do but ignore these, but they are becoming fierce. We had to take her to Costco the other day with her face full of red blotches and her eyes all puffy.
When Jack is trying to be a part of an adult conversation or tell an adult a story, he jumps into a new persona. He uses his hands alot more, takes his time getting his story out (because he really enjoys the attention on himself) and uses the phrase, "it was like..." a whole lot.
Jack was giving us a piano concert this week. As he banged on the keys, he sang, "OOOOHH Patty!!!! (our next door neighbor) I think your cuuuuuuuuuute!!! I love you!!!!!"
Before 8 a.m. yesterday Birdie girl had: a full-blown tantrum because she had finished brushing her teeth and didn't want the water turned off, emptied her entire pajama drawer, and smeared 1/2 tube of Desitin all over her face.
Tommy was driving the kids today after rushing out of the house without Jack's glasses. From the backseat, Jack called, "So, Dad, we decided to go without the glasses today?" And Tommy said, "Yes." To which Jack replied, "Hmmmm.... that's interesting."
Annie is becoming a force to be reckoned with. She is EVERYWHERE and can get there quickly. Her newest trick is to stand on her feet and hands as though she is about to do the bear walk. It is still so strange for me to see her do these thing, even crawl. I always marvel at how strong she is getting and how quickly it's coming along! I honestly believe she'll be walking in a month.
When I put Annie to bed at night, I lay her on her side in the crib. She take her little hand that is free and rubs the sheet next to her, up and down, up and down up and down, really fast. It's her little comfort move that helps her calm down at the end of the day.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday, July 6th, 2009
AHHHHHH!!!!! It's 10:15 pm and Mallie and Jack are STILL awake upstairs. I have, at this time, put Mallie back into bed 5 times. Tommy has done it once. I am SLOWLY and PAINFULLY coming to the realization that maybe naptime isn't needed anymore. Or at least the 2 1/2 or 3 hour naps that they take...that I love....that I need and don't know if I can let go of. Oh LORD! I hear her up there AGAIN. She is up... now she's coming downstairs. This is truly ridiculous. Now she's sitting on my lap as I write this. I'm too tired....
Anyway, today Annie had her swimming lessons. Tommy took the kids to the splash park and met his parents and Joseph there while I was in the pool with her. She hasn't exactly been herself the past few days. We are wondering about whether she is teething or maybe has an earache. I always hesitate to call the doctor for a possible earache, because she will want me to come into the office to check it out and then I always feel like an overreactive parent when there's no ear infection.....Although, my mind always floats back to Mallie's 1 year old well visit check up. She was perfectly fine, to me...but apparently had a raging double ear infection that was causing her to get up in the middle of the night. I blamed this on teeth.
The really big news with Annie is that she is officially a crawler. She crawled across the basement floor on the 4th of July. SHe's been doing the up-on-all-fours and rocking thing for a week or so. But she really covered ground on Saturday and has been getting more and more endurance each day. This morning I put her in her usual place in the living room to play with her toys while I did the breakfast dishes. The next thing I knew, her little face was peering around the corner into the kitchen. SHe came right over and pulled herself up on the dishwasher and started going through the silverware! It's like having a new kid because we now have to re-baby-proof the house AND she is so much more determined and persistent (dare I say a bit irrationally angry) about getting to things. Not to mention the fact that she is into Mallie's toys now (which is a GREAT lesson in sharing.... albeit a very slow lesson learned) and into Jack's things (so now we're working on playing up high so Annie can't get to his stuff). There's just a lot to deal with now and it'll take some getting used to. She's real cute though and her little crawling motion couldn't get more adorable. I use the 'squeak, squeak' sound affect when she gets going because it's her movements are so small.
In other news, we had a great 4th of July. On the 3rd, Tommy was off work and we took the kids to the History Museum. We met my Aunt Di and my cousins Lauren, Tommy and Halle there. The kids had a BALL. Annie was awesome and the other two LOVED running around the museum with the big kids. We went to a party at Brian and Elissa Hricik's house that night. Then on the 4th, we had a relaxing day at home and went to Di and Kevin's for a cookout. Jack and Mallie did some sparklers (surprisingly!) and ran around with the other kids. We came home to put the kids to bed, but the neighbors were shooting off fireworks. I told them to just lay there and listen to the fireworks for America's birthday (which, by the way, Jack keeps calling Barack Obama's birthday). Anyway, I left them in their room listening to the fireworks and came down to watch the Boston Pops on TV. As I sat on the couch, I heard Jack yell, 'Mommy! Isn't this FUN!!?" This made me feel sorry for them for putting them to bed without seeing any fireworks and only making them listen to them in their bed! So I had them come down and watch the display with us on TV.
On his last day of preschool, Jack won tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom on the 5th of July. So last night, we packed a great picnic dinner and all the kids into the van to drive down to the concert. We were soooo excited about it. We got there, set up our blanket and ate our dinner. Kids were running around and chatting and it was a great atmosphere.....Then the concert began and the whole thing changed. You could have heard a pin drop. It was truly like we were watching this concert at Severence Hall. I hadn't even prepared the kids about being quiet during the music (not that it would have made a difference). They were FULL of loud questions (Where is the conductor? What is he doing with his arms? Where are the violins? Etc.) So we moved to a less crowded area on the lawn. It seemed OK to let the kids kind of run around and dance. But an usher promptly informed me otherwise. He said the concert was being broadcast and he was told that they could hear children over the broadcast so to keep the kids quiet (I can only assume that he was not referring to my children specifically- Oh dear Lord, PLEEEEASE!!) So, up we got and home did trot (with our tails between our legs and me nearly in tears of disappointment and embarrassment).
This Blossom debacle has opened a whole other can of worms about discipline. I may be naive and totally biased.... but I honestly think our kids are pretty good kids. Not only sweet and kind-hearted (I pretty much think that about most kids) but pretty well-behaved and decent in public. Of course we have our flare ups....In fact, we've had lots of flare ups. But I've certainly seen worse- WAY worse. And our kids are still small. Jack's not even 4 yet! Tommy, however, is of the school of thought that it doesn't matter about their age. But that they should listen to us at all times. He says that he listened to his dad whenever he was told to do something...even at age 3 and if he didn't he was spanked. Now, I find it hard to believe that Tommy remembers what he was like at age 3- I certainly do not. But I just have kind of a hard time being that tough on a 3 and 1 year old. I consider myself a pretty stern mom and sometimes worry that I'm being too strict. I don't let them get away with much- especially in public. But, I also have age-appropriate expectations of them. If you take a 3 and 1 year old to church, they are incapable of sitting quietly for a full hour, unless they are tired. If you take them to a orchestral concert and do not tell them that this is a quiet event and to whisper, there is NO CHANCE of them doing so on their own. And even if you do issue that warning, they probably won't follow directions. Especially with a huge, open field at their disposal. Anyway, it's really gotten me thinking about who's way of disciplining is right, better, more appropriate. It's easy to say that I like mine.... But then there's a huge naggin question in the back of my head about whether or not I'm spoiling them and letting them get away with murder. Needless to say, I've been super-strict today with them. Mallie's been in time out 3 times and Jack twice- all completely justified. It's probably good to crack the whip a little once in a while to make them see that I mean business. I just don't want to be unfair with them when it comes to expectations. It's confusing and leaves them sad, scared, unsure, and feeling confused.
Anyway, today Annie had her swimming lessons. Tommy took the kids to the splash park and met his parents and Joseph there while I was in the pool with her. She hasn't exactly been herself the past few days. We are wondering about whether she is teething or maybe has an earache. I always hesitate to call the doctor for a possible earache, because she will want me to come into the office to check it out and then I always feel like an overreactive parent when there's no ear infection.....Although, my mind always floats back to Mallie's 1 year old well visit check up. She was perfectly fine, to me...but apparently had a raging double ear infection that was causing her to get up in the middle of the night. I blamed this on teeth.
The really big news with Annie is that she is officially a crawler. She crawled across the basement floor on the 4th of July. SHe's been doing the up-on-all-fours and rocking thing for a week or so. But she really covered ground on Saturday and has been getting more and more endurance each day. This morning I put her in her usual place in the living room to play with her toys while I did the breakfast dishes. The next thing I knew, her little face was peering around the corner into the kitchen. SHe came right over and pulled herself up on the dishwasher and started going through the silverware! It's like having a new kid because we now have to re-baby-proof the house AND she is so much more determined and persistent (dare I say a bit irrationally angry) about getting to things. Not to mention the fact that she is into Mallie's toys now (which is a GREAT lesson in sharing.... albeit a very slow lesson learned) and into Jack's things (so now we're working on playing up high so Annie can't get to his stuff). There's just a lot to deal with now and it'll take some getting used to. She's real cute though and her little crawling motion couldn't get more adorable. I use the 'squeak, squeak' sound affect when she gets going because it's her movements are so small.
In other news, we had a great 4th of July. On the 3rd, Tommy was off work and we took the kids to the History Museum. We met my Aunt Di and my cousins Lauren, Tommy and Halle there. The kids had a BALL. Annie was awesome and the other two LOVED running around the museum with the big kids. We went to a party at Brian and Elissa Hricik's house that night. Then on the 4th, we had a relaxing day at home and went to Di and Kevin's for a cookout. Jack and Mallie did some sparklers (surprisingly!) and ran around with the other kids. We came home to put the kids to bed, but the neighbors were shooting off fireworks. I told them to just lay there and listen to the fireworks for America's birthday (which, by the way, Jack keeps calling Barack Obama's birthday). Anyway, I left them in their room listening to the fireworks and came down to watch the Boston Pops on TV. As I sat on the couch, I heard Jack yell, 'Mommy! Isn't this FUN!!?" This made me feel sorry for them for putting them to bed without seeing any fireworks and only making them listen to them in their bed! So I had them come down and watch the display with us on TV.
On his last day of preschool, Jack won tickets to the Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom on the 5th of July. So last night, we packed a great picnic dinner and all the kids into the van to drive down to the concert. We were soooo excited about it. We got there, set up our blanket and ate our dinner. Kids were running around and chatting and it was a great atmosphere.....Then the concert began and the whole thing changed. You could have heard a pin drop. It was truly like we were watching this concert at Severence Hall. I hadn't even prepared the kids about being quiet during the music (not that it would have made a difference). They were FULL of loud questions (Where is the conductor? What is he doing with his arms? Where are the violins? Etc.) So we moved to a less crowded area on the lawn. It seemed OK to let the kids kind of run around and dance. But an usher promptly informed me otherwise. He said the concert was being broadcast and he was told that they could hear children over the broadcast so to keep the kids quiet (I can only assume that he was not referring to my children specifically- Oh dear Lord, PLEEEEASE!!) So, up we got and home did trot (with our tails between our legs and me nearly in tears of disappointment and embarrassment).
This Blossom debacle has opened a whole other can of worms about discipline. I may be naive and totally biased.... but I honestly think our kids are pretty good kids. Not only sweet and kind-hearted (I pretty much think that about most kids) but pretty well-behaved and decent in public. Of course we have our flare ups....In fact, we've had lots of flare ups. But I've certainly seen worse- WAY worse. And our kids are still small. Jack's not even 4 yet! Tommy, however, is of the school of thought that it doesn't matter about their age. But that they should listen to us at all times. He says that he listened to his dad whenever he was told to do something...even at age 3 and if he didn't he was spanked. Now, I find it hard to believe that Tommy remembers what he was like at age 3- I certainly do not. But I just have kind of a hard time being that tough on a 3 and 1 year old. I consider myself a pretty stern mom and sometimes worry that I'm being too strict. I don't let them get away with much- especially in public. But, I also have age-appropriate expectations of them. If you take a 3 and 1 year old to church, they are incapable of sitting quietly for a full hour, unless they are tired. If you take them to a orchestral concert and do not tell them that this is a quiet event and to whisper, there is NO CHANCE of them doing so on their own. And even if you do issue that warning, they probably won't follow directions. Especially with a huge, open field at their disposal. Anyway, it's really gotten me thinking about who's way of disciplining is right, better, more appropriate. It's easy to say that I like mine.... But then there's a huge naggin question in the back of my head about whether or not I'm spoiling them and letting them get away with murder. Needless to say, I've been super-strict today with them. Mallie's been in time out 3 times and Jack twice- all completely justified. It's probably good to crack the whip a little once in a while to make them see that I mean business. I just don't want to be unfair with them when it comes to expectations. It's confusing and leaves them sad, scared, unsure, and feeling confused.
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