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As we leave March behind us and move into April (I'm a little late with this), I realize that March was quite a month. At the beginning of the month, several of my family members came from New Jersey to visit. They were here for my sister's baby shower and Gwen's baptism, all in one weekend. Christina and Gwen had the best time with everyone. We are so lucky that so many of our family members were able to come.
The weather was pretty awful at the time, even though the week before was gorgeous. Since then it has been back and forth between turning the heat on in the house and putting the Air Conditioner on. The pollen comes and goes and all of the plants are blooming. We have lots of flowers and pretty trees on our property, thanks to the previous owners, and I added a bird feeder recently which has brought lots of little friends to visit throughout the day.
With the arrival of spring, comes growth and change and boy oh boy is it that time of year for the girls. Take a look at what we have been up to:
-I used the potty training in a day method with Christina a few weeks back (3/18) and other than the occasional accident she has at school, she is pretty much potty trained. Her treat of choice is skittles and it works wonders. On potty training day we said bye-bye to diapers. Now she wears big girl underwear all day and she only wears pull-ups when she is sleeping.
-Gwen got her first tooth on 3/14 although it still isn't all the way up yet. I'm surprised it is taking so long.
-Gwen started crawling forward on 3/24 (she has been going backwards for months now). She is so happy to be able to get around and she is already exploring everything.
-Gwen waved hello and goodbye for the first time on April 1st.
-Gwen has been saying "Mom", "Mama" and "Dada" occasionally although I still think it is just her experimenting with sounds. She has been doing a great job with that.
-Gwen is eating table and finger foods including pasta, chicken, cheerios, squash, apple crisps, and cheese although she still gets most of her nutrition from breastfeeding and from pureed foods. She also likes to use a sippy cup but more so to play with than to drink from.
-Gwen is doing great with Speech Therapy and I've been working with her daily at home.
-Gwen is just recently starting to pull up. She still needs some more practice though.
-Both girls have such great hand-eye coordination (unlike their Mommy) and Christina can really throw. It is amazing how well she throws actually. If you are playing catch with her, be prepared to be surprised. (Does that make sense?)
In addition to those achievements, the girls have continued to be as cute as ever.
-CC calls our house "Mommy's house" and also likes to ask "Where did Mommy's house go?" or "Where did Auntie Mindy's house go?"
-Christina doesn't call her sister "Ray Ray" anymore (she did for a few weeks only), but now can more clearly say "Gwendolyn". This morning she referred to Gwendolyn as "Sweet Gwendolyn sister". It was too cute.
-CC likes to vacuum and clean (she has since she was old enough to walk). Now that we have the Shark, she can actually vacuum all by herself. It is nice for me! She does a pretty good job with it too. Mommy's little helper.
-Sometimes Christina talks like her Uncle Alex did when he was little. It is funny because it isn't like she spends enough time with him for her to have gotten it from him. It must have something to do with Nik. It might be more so that she has a little Jersey accent sometimes. I've got to catch it on video one of these days. It is really cute and very cool to take us back to when Alex was her age.
-Nik likes to add fun little things to Christina's bed time routine. Right now we do high-fives and pinky swears. We use to blow kisses, but she gave that one up. She tried to add feet kissing, but we didn't participate in that one, lol. I think we should add a little fist pump, I'm sure Nik would like that.
-I know that "they" say babies put everything in their mouth, but seriously Gwen takes it to a new level. She especially loves paper and I can't seem to keep her from finding every piece of paper ever found anywhere and shoving it into her mouth. Christina was not like this. I don't get it. I understand wanting to explore by putting things in her mouth and I understand teething, but I wouldn't think that paper falls into either of these categories. I mean, taste one piece of paper and you've tasted them all right? Or does paper have different flavors? Maybe paper with blue ink tastes different from paper with black ink. Does cardboard taste better than printer paper? I don't know, but Gwen is definitely majoring in the art of paper tasting.
-For awhile now, Christina has been pronouncing "hungry" like "honkey". It is starting to get really funny when she tells us "I'm honkey". I feel like she is in the wild west or something.
-Christina has turned into such the little hypochondriac. Well I guess that is exaggerating a little, but she does always talk about having booboo's or saying that something hurts even when I don't think she has a booboo at all.
-We talk about potty training a lot since CC is still getting the hang of it. I tell her that Mommy doesn't like wet underwear. She responds with "Noooo, that's not good" and says it so freakin cute. Randomly she will say "poo poo in my underwear?" and I'll give her a look (like, you know the answer to that) and then without me saying anything, she'll say "Nooooo, that's not good."
-Sometimes when Gwen is sleeping in her bed she likes to sleep across the bed so that her face is pressed against my belly and her feet are pressed against Nik's belly. It is funny because Christina use to do the same thing at that age. Now, whenever Christina comes in bed with us, she tries to cuddle with Nik so much that she even puts her cheek against his cheek. It makes it very uncomfortable for him to sleep that way, but luckily she rarely sleeps in our bed. I have to say with a family of four, a king size bed really is appreciated. Before we moved we only had a queen and now that we have a king, I know I could never go back.
-Christina likes to trick me sometimes when I'm doing something else and I'm not totally paying attention to what she is saying. She'll say things like "Mommy goes to school" or "Gwen peepee's in the potty". She purposely says things that aren't true just to keep me paying attention. If I'm not paying attention and I say "yeah" to something that is not true, she will tell me "Nooooooo". Isn't that something that teenagers are suppose to do? Who knew that it would start so young.
-For one day only (so far), Christina was answering everything with "yeah-ya" like she is Little John or something. I couldn't help giggle each and every time she did it. I don't know where it came from, but all day long she had to add that extra oomph to her "yeah".
-Just like her dad, Christina takes huge bites whenever she is eating someone else's food. Like for example, if Nik is eating a cookie and she is jumping up and down with excitement. She will ask for a bite and then proceed to open her mouth bigger than thought humanly possible, and bite half of the cookie. She must have learned this from her Dad, because he does the exact same thing (the big bite thing, not the jumping up and down with excitement thing, lol).
-Christina does a lot of singing lately and it is too cute the way she sings the Itsy Bitsy spider - aka the "Ipsy Bitsy Spider".
I'll get some photos and videos up here asap. I have a whole months worth, so I thought I should split all of this up. Enjoy the nice weather if you are lucky enough to have it!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
More poems?
And here we go again . . .
exit: Bold
you dare
to scream with your body
and whimper out your mouth
that you're going
far away
you have the nerve
to shed a tear
when you see pure shock
expertly etched
onto my face
you have the audacity
to blow a kiss
let out a goodbye
in-between sobs
turn around
and sigh
you dare to go
and you go
for good
-Brian Schmutz
Schmutz? I'm not totally convinced that isn't a fake name. But, I like the poem either way. This poem is made up of all the gooey love/hate stuff that I use to write about when I was in high school. Short, to the point thoughts - just my style. Of course once I hit college I was taught to add more detail and that is when my poems became LOOOOONG thoughts and descriptions rather than short.to the point. I actually really like both styles and I think it is cool that I can look back at my writing from both of those points in my life.
Yesterday
When girls meant yuck
and friends were new
Dreams were unshattered
and worries few
When recess was too short
and life too long
Decisions came easy
Without the need to belong
When storks delivered babies
and passions weren't so strong
Friendships weren't broken
Right was right
Wrong was wrong
When bad things didn't happen
When only skinned knees
brough tears to our eyes
and the night light
in it's socket
quieted our fears
When farewell meant
just for the summer
And real friends didn't part
the fun went on forever
And never left a broken heart.
-Author unknown
This couldn't possibly be one of mine. I can't really rhyme. Not one of my strong suits.
exit: Bold
you dare
to scream with your body
and whimper out your mouth
that you're going
far away
you have the nerve
to shed a tear
when you see pure shock
expertly etched
onto my face
you have the audacity
to blow a kiss
let out a goodbye
in-between sobs
turn around
and sigh
you dare to go
and you go
for good
-Brian Schmutz
Schmutz? I'm not totally convinced that isn't a fake name. But, I like the poem either way. This poem is made up of all the gooey love/hate stuff that I use to write about when I was in high school. Short, to the point thoughts - just my style. Of course once I hit college I was taught to add more detail and that is when my poems became LOOOOONG thoughts and descriptions rather than short.to the point. I actually really like both styles and I think it is cool that I can look back at my writing from both of those points in my life.
Yesterday
When girls meant yuck
and friends were new
Dreams were unshattered
and worries few
When recess was too short
and life too long
Decisions came easy
Without the need to belong
When storks delivered babies
and passions weren't so strong
Friendships weren't broken
Right was right
Wrong was wrong
When bad things didn't happen
When only skinned knees
brough tears to our eyes
and the night light
in it's socket
quieted our fears
When farewell meant
just for the summer
And real friends didn't part
the fun went on forever
And never left a broken heart.
-Author unknown
This couldn't possibly be one of mine. I can't really rhyme. Not one of my strong suits.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Daycare and germs - hand and hand
When Christina was in daycare, back in New Jersey, she got sick all of the time. That poor girl had RSV twice and Pneumonia several times. She was always sick. We lived at the pediatrician's and I missed a lot of work. Everyone asked if she was in daycare and basically assumed that she got sick all of the time because all kids in daycare get sick. It didn't occur to me that maybe she got very sick because of this particular daycare. Or maybe I just think like that now because her current daycare is soooo different.
Gwen and Christina have been going to daycare here in Georgia since August. Winter here is basically over and guess what? no one has gotten RSV or Pneumonia!! Sure, they've had colds, runny noses and the occassional fever. But, neither of them had ear infections or anything troublesome enough to take them to the pediatrican. At first I thought Gwen just didn't get as sick as CC and CC just got lucky this year, but nope, that isn't it.
The girls go to an awesome daycare. The daycare is clean and as germ free as a daycare could possibly get. It's not like the other one wasn't clean, but it is obvious that more effort goes into keeping this daycare clean, compared to the old daycare. In Gwen's room, the teachers are required to wipe each baby's hands with an antibacterial wipe before and after eating or having a bottle. I believe they do the same after a diaper change. I know for a fact they did not do this at the old daycare. Actually, I was concerned that the teachers themselves weren't washing their own hands well enough, let alone washing the kids hands.
When I go into Gwen's classroom I see a bunch of happy, healthy babies. When Christina was that age, I would walk into her classroom on a winter day and see runny noses and hear coughs so bad that made me cringe. Wow, what a difference. I'm so greatful that the girls are spending their days in a much cleaner place. I don't know if this is something most parents think of when choosing a daycare. I guess you want to assume that every daycare is as clean as it can be, but it just isn't true. It makes a world of difference though. I kind of wish I could go back and do something to keep CC from getting so sick all of the time.
But hey, if I'm gonna wish for stuff, I've got a few more things I wouldn't mind adding. But enough of that. Heading to bed now. Goodnight!
Gwen and Christina have been going to daycare here in Georgia since August. Winter here is basically over and guess what? no one has gotten RSV or Pneumonia!! Sure, they've had colds, runny noses and the occassional fever. But, neither of them had ear infections or anything troublesome enough to take them to the pediatrican. At first I thought Gwen just didn't get as sick as CC and CC just got lucky this year, but nope, that isn't it.
The girls go to an awesome daycare. The daycare is clean and as germ free as a daycare could possibly get. It's not like the other one wasn't clean, but it is obvious that more effort goes into keeping this daycare clean, compared to the old daycare. In Gwen's room, the teachers are required to wipe each baby's hands with an antibacterial wipe before and after eating or having a bottle. I believe they do the same after a diaper change. I know for a fact they did not do this at the old daycare. Actually, I was concerned that the teachers themselves weren't washing their own hands well enough, let alone washing the kids hands.
When I go into Gwen's classroom I see a bunch of happy, healthy babies. When Christina was that age, I would walk into her classroom on a winter day and see runny noses and hear coughs so bad that made me cringe. Wow, what a difference. I'm so greatful that the girls are spending their days in a much cleaner place. I don't know if this is something most parents think of when choosing a daycare. I guess you want to assume that every daycare is as clean as it can be, but it just isn't true. It makes a world of difference though. I kind of wish I could go back and do something to keep CC from getting so sick all of the time.
But hey, if I'm gonna wish for stuff, I've got a few more things I wouldn't mind adding. But enough of that. Heading to bed now. Goodnight!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Poetry corner
Gotta share some of the poems that I found in one of those journals. Sadly, I don't know if any of them are mine. Some of them have authors and some don't. Since I can't remember a damn thing and they all seem so familiar to me (either because I wrote them or just because I loved them and read them over and over), I have no idea whether I actually wrote any of these. Oh well. I'm just glad to have found them.
Mess
I paint my picture,
you choose my colors.
I close my eyes and dance in my mess,
smearing my paint on my face,
and my hands,
and my hair.
I rub my eyes in a futile attempt to clear my vision.
I comb through my hair with my sticky fingers
and try in vain to paint off the colors from my face with my thickened, stiffened brush.
It only grates on my skin
and I cry - red tears,
high-strung sobs that fall from cheeks to canvas.
I close my eyes and dance in my mess,
clutching my paints,
that you have chosen,
that I have accepted.
-Author unknown - me?? maybe? who knows!
Don't love me
Don't love me because I have fair eyes and hair of gold.
Don't kiss me because I am tall and slender.
Don't admire me for my charming smile or delicate hands.
Don't adore me because I sing like a dream or laugh like an angel.
For these are all things beyond my control.
They are gifts.
Love me for my heart.
Kiss me because I am kind.
Admire me for my character.
Adore me because I am good.
For these are the things that I control.
So please,
Love me for who I am.
-Amanda Smith
Until I got to "I sing like a dream", I was convinced it was me, lol. Well I guess my hands aren't that delicate either, but I pretend. Seriously though, why do Nik's hands feel like the butt of a baby and mine feel like a fifty year old construction worker? Gggrrrr.
Mess
I paint my picture,
you choose my colors.
I close my eyes and dance in my mess,
smearing my paint on my face,
and my hands,
and my hair.
I rub my eyes in a futile attempt to clear my vision.
I comb through my hair with my sticky fingers
and try in vain to paint off the colors from my face with my thickened, stiffened brush.
It only grates on my skin
and I cry - red tears,
high-strung sobs that fall from cheeks to canvas.
I close my eyes and dance in my mess,
clutching my paints,
that you have chosen,
that I have accepted.
-Author unknown - me?? maybe? who knows!
Don't love me
Don't love me because I have fair eyes and hair of gold.
Don't kiss me because I am tall and slender.
Don't admire me for my charming smile or delicate hands.
Don't adore me because I sing like a dream or laugh like an angel.
For these are all things beyond my control.
They are gifts.
Love me for my heart.
Kiss me because I am kind.
Admire me for my character.
Adore me because I am good.
For these are the things that I control.
So please,
Love me for who I am.
-Amanda Smith
Until I got to "I sing like a dream", I was convinced it was me, lol. Well I guess my hands aren't that delicate either, but I pretend. Seriously though, why do Nik's hands feel like the butt of a baby and mine feel like a fifty year old construction worker? Gggrrrr.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Write it down baby, write.it.down
I found some old journal's while looking through a box marked "stuff to save", in the basement. I love or should I say use to love to write in journals. Since I had children, I haven't really made time for it, but I know if I get going again, I will really enjoy it. I think this blog was suppose to take the place of a journal, but honestly it isn't the same. I have to write things down to remember to blog about them. It is rare that I can just pull up my blog and start writing from scratch. It is much easier to at least start something on paper, even if it is just an idea. I have often "written" posts in my head while driving, taking a shower, or laying in bed nursing my baby. Too bad I forget those entries before I have a chance to get on the computer.
Lately I've been keeping notes on my phone about things I want to post. When you have little one's that are growing at such a rapid rate, it is essential to keep notes on what they are doing and when. That is to say, if you want to remember them. Of course "remembering" for me is not an option. I hate that I can't remember anything, but hope that writing everything down, or blogging about it will at least help me relive the great moments. The photo's and video's do a great job of that as well.
Ok, so back to those journals . . . boy are they entertaining. I wrote about day to day activites and included emails that meant something to me. I sketched a little, even though I can't draw at all, and I included poems - my own or not. Reading these journals really inspires me to start writing again. Is it too late to say it is my New Years Resolution?
Lately I've been keeping notes on my phone about things I want to post. When you have little one's that are growing at such a rapid rate, it is essential to keep notes on what they are doing and when. That is to say, if you want to remember them. Of course "remembering" for me is not an option. I hate that I can't remember anything, but hope that writing everything down, or blogging about it will at least help me relive the great moments. The photo's and video's do a great job of that as well.
Ok, so back to those journals . . . boy are they entertaining. I wrote about day to day activites and included emails that meant something to me. I sketched a little, even though I can't draw at all, and I included poems - my own or not. Reading these journals really inspires me to start writing again. Is it too late to say it is my New Years Resolution?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Offiically two and a half
Now that Christina's age is determined by years and not months, it seems like so much time has gone by since I have written a real update on her. But now she is officially two and a half years old! That is a good milestone for an update.
Christina Corinne . . .
- calls Gwen "Ray Ray" for some reason. I think she is actually saying "Gwendolyn" but it sounds identical to "Ray Ray". I have to hold my tongue because it is so cute that I want to say Ray Ray too.
- can count! The other day, out of nowhere she just started counting my buttons and counted from one to eight without any mistakes or hesitations. Now I've noticed that she counts all of the time. She loves to count and can count to at least ten (that I've heard).
- knows her colors now. She use to say that everything was yellow, but not anymore. I have heard her correctly refer to pink, green, blue, yellow and several others.
- has officially discovered Disney princesses. She has actually watched The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Aladdin several times. I tried putting Snow White on for her, but she lost interest. We also attempted Sleeping Beauty but she was a little distracted at the time.
- wants to wear her Disney princess nightgowns all the time and sometimes I have to fight her to get her dressed in the morning. On the weekends if we don't have to leave the house, I'll let her wear it all day. She loves it!
- likes to give things to Gwen and then take them back like thirty seconds later. Gwen cries everytime :-(
- will repeat almost anything you ask her to say and if you find it funny, she'll remember and say it randomly at another time, just to make you laugh.
- does this studdering type of thing sometimes when she has a whole lot to say but can't get it out as quickly as she is thinking. The pediatrician says this is very common with three year olds, but because Christina is advanced in her speech, she is experiencing it early on. She is doing wonderful with talking and you can have real conversations with her. She speaks in almost all sentences, except for the rare occasions when she decides to say "goo-goo, ga-ga" so that she can pretend to be a baby. Seriously, she does this, which confuses me. But, it is really rare and I'm sure it will pass.
- loves to point at her Disney princesses (if they are on her purse, her nightgown or a sticker, it doesn't matter) and ask individually who each one is - even though she already knows all of their names.
- tells us "I want to walk like a big girl" whenever we try to carry her anywhere and she wants to get down.
- loves music and dancing. Sometimes when there is music on while she is in her highchair, she tells me she wants to get down so that she can dance. She likes to get up on the fireplace or the ottoman in the living room and dance with or even without her Dora microphone.
- still sits in a highchair. You just can't get that girl to sit still unless you strap her down! lol
- hops around like a frog for fun sometimes.
- likes to cuddle with Daddy on the couch to delay going to bed.
- likes to watch "Friends" with Mommy and Daddy and will even ask for it by name.
- consistently goes to sleep right after we put her in her bed, no matter what time it is.
- sleeps in a big girl bed!!! Her first night was Thursday, February 24th and did wonderful. She had no problems from the get-go and loves to sleep in her "big girl bed".
- gets ridiculous static on her hair (it is getting so long!)
- loves books! This is great because for so long she had no interest in them.
- randomly shouts out "boobies" or "my boobies right there" and points of course. I think this has gone on so long because it is really hard not to laugh when she says it. We are going to have to get control of ourselves though because she is starting to say this in public, lol.
- has told me a few times recently "I need a haircut". I'm not completely sure where she got this from, but it is very cute. She has actually never had a haircut and I don't see myself running out to get her one anytime soon.
- continues to love her accessories. She loves to walk around with a purse, sunglasses, bracelets and hats.
- had her first real phone conversation last week. She usually asks for the phone when someone she loves is on the other line, but never actually had a real conversation until last week. She was talking to Grandma and they went back and forth for a good five to ten minutes. Christina of course talked about her favorite things (M&Ms and presents) and what she was going to be doing that day. It was awesome.
- loves to sing and I have caught her recently singing "Mary had a little lamb" and "Jingle Bell" on her own.
Christina Corinne . . .
- calls Gwen "Ray Ray" for some reason. I think she is actually saying "Gwendolyn" but it sounds identical to "Ray Ray". I have to hold my tongue because it is so cute that I want to say Ray Ray too.
- can count! The other day, out of nowhere she just started counting my buttons and counted from one to eight without any mistakes or hesitations. Now I've noticed that she counts all of the time. She loves to count and can count to at least ten (that I've heard).
- knows her colors now. She use to say that everything was yellow, but not anymore. I have heard her correctly refer to pink, green, blue, yellow and several others.
- has officially discovered Disney princesses. She has actually watched The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Aladdin several times. I tried putting Snow White on for her, but she lost interest. We also attempted Sleeping Beauty but she was a little distracted at the time.
- wants to wear her Disney princess nightgowns all the time and sometimes I have to fight her to get her dressed in the morning. On the weekends if we don't have to leave the house, I'll let her wear it all day. She loves it!
- likes to give things to Gwen and then take them back like thirty seconds later. Gwen cries everytime :-(
- will repeat almost anything you ask her to say and if you find it funny, she'll remember and say it randomly at another time, just to make you laugh.
- does this studdering type of thing sometimes when she has a whole lot to say but can't get it out as quickly as she is thinking. The pediatrician says this is very common with three year olds, but because Christina is advanced in her speech, she is experiencing it early on. She is doing wonderful with talking and you can have real conversations with her. She speaks in almost all sentences, except for the rare occasions when she decides to say "goo-goo, ga-ga" so that she can pretend to be a baby. Seriously, she does this, which confuses me. But, it is really rare and I'm sure it will pass.
- loves to point at her Disney princesses (if they are on her purse, her nightgown or a sticker, it doesn't matter) and ask individually who each one is - even though she already knows all of their names.
- tells us "I want to walk like a big girl" whenever we try to carry her anywhere and she wants to get down.
- loves music and dancing. Sometimes when there is music on while she is in her highchair, she tells me she wants to get down so that she can dance. She likes to get up on the fireplace or the ottoman in the living room and dance with or even without her Dora microphone.
- still sits in a highchair. You just can't get that girl to sit still unless you strap her down! lol
- hops around like a frog for fun sometimes.
- likes to cuddle with Daddy on the couch to delay going to bed.
- likes to watch "Friends" with Mommy and Daddy and will even ask for it by name.
- consistently goes to sleep right after we put her in her bed, no matter what time it is.
- sleeps in a big girl bed!!! Her first night was Thursday, February 24th and did wonderful. She had no problems from the get-go and loves to sleep in her "big girl bed".
- gets ridiculous static on her hair (it is getting so long!)
- loves books! This is great because for so long she had no interest in them.
- randomly shouts out "boobies" or "my boobies right there" and points of course. I think this has gone on so long because it is really hard not to laugh when she says it. We are going to have to get control of ourselves though because she is starting to say this in public, lol.
- has told me a few times recently "I need a haircut". I'm not completely sure where she got this from, but it is very cute. She has actually never had a haircut and I don't see myself running out to get her one anytime soon.
- continues to love her accessories. She loves to walk around with a purse, sunglasses, bracelets and hats.
- had her first real phone conversation last week. She usually asks for the phone when someone she loves is on the other line, but never actually had a real conversation until last week. She was talking to Grandma and they went back and forth for a good five to ten minutes. Christina of course talked about her favorite things (M&Ms and presents) and what she was going to be doing that day. It was awesome.
- loves to sing and I have caught her recently singing "Mary had a little lamb" and "Jingle Bell" on her own.
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