CC's muscles*

In case you can't see the above video, here is a link to it on YouTube:



*updated

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!

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.

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?

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.