There's no place like home

I really mean it! We had an awesome trip and saw so many people, but I could not have been happier to arrive at my home this evening. My house was neat thanks to my wonderful husband who bathed the kids and put them to bed. I am so exhausted!

Let's see...

Monday the girls and I went to tea with my mom and sisters. The place was so cute and the kids were really good. Here is a picture of us in the hats:

Then we went to Dunedin Causeway to watch the sunset.

Tuesday Audra and Isobel came up and we went to the playground.

After that we went out in my step-dad's boat with him, my mom, and my sisters. That was SO much fun. The water was a bit chilly but it got better as you get used to it. I was worried that Leah would not go near the water because of her fears of water in her face. Not only did she go in, she played and poured and dug and had a fabulous time. Both girls loved the boat and the wind. They slept hard that night. :)

My "cool" girl

Leah really liked the island

Mom and Carly, who is moving to Barcelona in a MONTH!

Lauren & Leah

Pops & Erin

Mike asked me yesterday when I got home if I would change anything about the trip now that it was over. He meant like would I make it shorter, only go to one city, etc. Honestly, as exhausting as it was, I wouldn't change a thing. We saw so many people, the girls got some real quality time with many family members and friends too, i got to see people I haven't seen in 2+ years. For what it was, the girls slept well and did not have any major meltdowns. So all in all a wonderful trip. I am not ready to do it again anytime soon, but is was great! :)

Coast to Coast

The girls and I arrived safe and sound in Clearwater this afternoon. I won't recap the weekend again for you. If you are interested in what went down, check out Nikki's and Erica's entries.

Today we went to John Chestnut Park with Rhiannon and Ty. He is so ALL boy. He runs and jumps and climbs now. It is so weird because he looks EXACTLY the same, just more active. :) He followed Leah around a bit which was cute. Rhi and I got to visit (I forgot how much I enjoyed our talks when we would switch kids). It was a fun afternoon. Then we (my mom and I) took the girls to Chuck E Cheese. Leah had a blast. Erin only ate diced carrots and apples, goldfish, and bits of pizza instead of her baby food. I am thinking she is about done with it. Pops showed up for the last few minutes and followed us over to Grammy's house to hang out some more. He is SO good with kids Leah's age. Thanks, Pops, for entertaining my big girl so well.

As with Erica, all is quiet here. We have another few busy days ahead of us, so I better go get some rest while I can.

Sunny Florida!

We are here! On the flight here, Mike rode with the girls and I sat alone. Can you believe it? I convinced Mike that I would be riding by myself with the girls on the way home so he should get the experience on the way there. He did great with them, even getting Ern to nap a bit. Then, thanks to Keri, our ride to Melbourne was pleasant. Once we got to the Konicki house, the girls had a blast. Halle and Annabelle and Leah played and played. They climbed outside in the backyard, played in the ball pit, had a tea party, counted bears, drove Halle's mini-Mustang around the cul-de-sac, used sidewalk chalk, watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc.

After the kids were fairly settled, Nikki, Keri, and I went shopping. I only bought the necessities for our trip, but it was fun just hanging out with the girls. We got to stroll aroud Target with out Starbucks and catch up. I love those times...

Because Erin only napped 20 minutes all day, she had a rough night. Leah went to bed at 9ish, so she also had a rough night. It's almost annoying that my kids are so regulated, because when we do something out of the ordinary they have a hard time adjusting. Don't get me wrong, on a daily basis I LOVE it. I love knowing that I have at least 2 hours to myself each day after they go to bed. But they do NOT handle change well.

The plan for today is to go to Erica's house (she has a photo studio inside her house) to take pictures of the girls. I also know that we are having dinner over there too. Christina and her family and Liz & Ella are arriving today too. Leah will have so many kids to play wth, she won't know what to so with herself! And Erin can play NEXT to Corgan and Kaitlyn.

I am so happy to be here!

Erin Update

Keri posted about this and this and it made me realize that I have been meaning to post about these things too!

1) Erin is so much bigger than Leah was at this age. At 8 months, she is solidly in 6-12 month clothing (Old Navy) and 12 month shirts and pants (Target). Her footie PJs are 12 month too (Children's Place) but they are still a bit long. She can still fit in the 9 month Circo ones from Target, but I have lots of 12 month ones from Leah so she alternates. Anyway, Leah was wearing 12 month clothes when we moved here and all through that summer into the fall. I didn't buy her 18 month stuff until it got cool, close to her 18 month birthday. It is so odd to picture Leah walking around in the clothes that Erin is currently wearing to sit on her big ole tush. :)

2) I suspect that Erin has been signing "more" and "milk" to us, though not always in the correct context. She tends to sign "milk" when we are about to eat solids. I am trying to get her to sign "eat" then, but she is not getting that one yet. When she is eating her snacks (puffs, freeze dried fruits, baby goldfish, cheerios), she usually has one in each hand signing "more" by touching the snacks together. I think she is signing, so I cheer and encourage it.

3) Erin is a backwards crawler! She lays on her belly and pushes back with her hands. Her tush scrunches up in the air, then she readjusts her hands and pushes herself flat. She can go pretty far that way. She looks just like an inchworm going backwards.

Updated: 4) I forgot to mention that she turns the pages of her board books when we read together during our "go to sleep" routine. Erin gets two books before nap and two before bedtime. Some current favorites are: Just Like Daddy, Peek-A-Who, and the always classic Brown Bear. If I let go of the next page with my right hand so that it pops up, she will push it over to the other side. From my teaching days, I remember the first level of literacy is knowing how to hold a book and which way the pages go. My baby is on the path to literacy! :)

To all of our Florida friends and family, can't wait to see you all! Two more days!

Weekend flowers

This weekend we decided to finish up our landscaping around our trees. While we were at Lowe's, Leah and I saw some flowers we liked. So we planted them around each tree.

Periwinkles around the trees

Phlox in the garden under the dining room window

The phlox is from last year. I almost pulled it out last fall because it looked dead but I never got around to it. Look at it now! he long thin things in front are tulips and hyacinth. I got them from Wal-Mart in a pot. When they were done blooming, I pulled them out of the pot and put the bulbs in the ground. We will see if they make it.

The other thing we did this weekend was build a basketball goal. Yes, you heard that right. Here it is in action:
How's that for ghetto? :)

Tea for Three

I took the girls to a place called SweeTea's Cakes for tea time today. Mike was going wakeboarding today so I wanted to do something just us girls. This place is new to downtown Monroe and it is SO cute. It is family-owned and the lady is really nice. She helped me set Erin up in her high chair and got Leah a cupcake and some juice. I got to have hibiscus mint tea and a cranberry scone with raspberry preserves and clotted cream. YUM! It was a fun little outing for us girls.

I am also planning Leah's birthday party. She has been wanting to have a tea party for her birthday. But I was not having much luck finding tea party things that I liked. So we went to Party City to check out the selection. We left with a new party theme: luau. They had an entire aisle devoted to luaus and with a little convincing that it could be just like the Legendary Luau Brothers, Leah was in.

Middle of the night lurkers

So last night at 3am. Mike woke up to find Leah at his side of the bed. Here are all the things she did prior to winding up at his bedside:

* woke up and got out of bed
* went into her bathroom, turned on the light, and put the potty seat on the potty
* went potty and wiped
* realized that her panties were a bit damp (I guess she only mostly made it)
* got a new pair of panties out of her drawer and put them on inside out
* tried to put her jammies back on

The only flaw in her plan was those darn jammies. She wore footie pajamas to bed last night, you know the kind that zip from one ankle to chin. Well, she put the zip footie on first, then couldn't get the other leg in (honestly, who could?). She went merrily back to bed after we helped her dress.

I had always said that I would stop using the baby monitor on her room (yes, we still use it) when she could get up in the night and go potty without help. I think this pretty much qualifies. I know that if she needs anything she will come and get us. So my firstborn is taking one more step towards big girldom, unsupervised sleep!

Getting to know Leah

1. What's your middle name? Cathleen

2. What food will you eat every time? Mac-n-cheese, cheeseburger from McD's

3. Describe a usual lunch for you? turkey sandwich, grapes

4. What's your favorite drink? 2% milk

5. What are your very favorite songs? Twinkle, Twinkle; You are my sunshine, the Name Game

6. Who are your favorite fictional characters? Dora, Cinderella, Ariel

7. What is your favorite TV show? still Dora, but you also love Signing Time

8. What is your favorite movie? Cinderella, hands down

9. What/who are your favorite stuffed animals? not really a stuffed animal fan, but LOVES her dolls: Baby Carol and Darby (from My Friends Tigger & Pooh)

10. What are your favorite electronic toys? our laptop, your "CD" player from Nana

11. What are your favorite non-electronic toys? baby doll stroller, dress-up clothes

12. What are your favorite books? Berenstain Bears books and books we take out from the library

13. When's your naptime? no more naps for me unless I had a rough night and am cranky

14. When's your bedtime? 7:30-8pm

15. What's your bedtime routine? Take medicine (Singulair), brush teeth either in your bathroom or Mommy's, go potty, get jammies on, read 2 stories in your reading chair, turn on music and off lamp, Mommy and/or Daddy stays for one song and we talk about the day and tomorrow, hug, kiss, sookie (Eskimo kiss)(sometimes we just blow kisses, hugs and sookies, sometimes we actually give them), night night!

16. Besides the obvious, what's in your bed at night? blankie, Baby Carol

17. When is your happiest time of the day? depends, but usually early afternoon

18. What can make you laugh 100% of the time? rough-housing with Daddy

19. What makes you mad 100% of the time? making you do something you don't want to do

20. What do you do to make others laugh? Talk gibberish

21. What do you do that drives your Mommy crazy? make me put on your shoes more than once because they are "bozzering" you

22. If you talk, what word(s) do you say incorrectly every time (but it's so cute that you can just go on saying it that way for a while)? not too much anymore, we just mastered the "th" where you were using "f" before (thirsty instead of firsty)

23. If you talk, what are your favorite words or phrases? I can do it!, I'm so, so starving.

24. What physical feat have you just accomplished? learning to pedal a bike or tricycle

25. Who are some friends you play with often? Ian, Kenna, Andy, Porter, Megan (neighborhood) Ava, Emma (school)

Getting to know Erin

1. What's your middle name? Audrey

2. What food will you eat every time? puffs, anything NOT baby food

3. Describe a usual lunch for you? a grain cereal and a veggie

4. What's your favorite drink? formula, but you love juice too

5. What are your very favorite songs? you love Leah to sing Twinkle, Twinkle to you

6. Who are your favorite fictional characters? none in particular yet

7. What is your favorite TV show? whatever sis is watching

8. What is your favorite movie? not in your attention span

9. What/who are your favorite stuffed animals? Pluto

10. What are your favorite electronic toys? a Baby Einstien push button thing

11. What are your favorite non-electronic toys? anything you can shake to make noise

12. What are your favorite books? Brown Bear, Just like Daddy, Pajama Time

13. When's your naptime? between 8-9am for about 2 hrs and again between 1-2 for (hopefully) 2 hrs, if one of my naps is missing or short, I may take a 3rd at 4:30

14. When's your bedtime? 7pm, no later or we hit a wall of crank

15. What's your bedtime routine? Take off clothes, put on clean diaper and diaper rash cream, smooch your little neck and armpits while you shriek with laughter, put on jammies, drink a bottle, read 2 stories, nuk (pacifier) goes in mouth, music on, lamp off, short snuggle, then in bed with your blankie next to your face, cover up and say good night!

16. Besides the obvious, what's in your bed at night? just blankie and covers

17. When is your happiest time of the day? right when you wake up, as long as it was a decent sleep

18. What can make you laugh 100% of the time? smooches on your neck, Leah talking gibberish to you

19. What makes you mad 100% of the time? wiping your face, having a bottle in sight but not in your mouth

20. What do you do to make others laugh? pat, pat, pat someone's face

21. What do you do that drives your Mommy crazy? take off your socks at every opportunity (this just started recently)

22. If you talk, what word(s) do you say incorrectly every time (but it's so cute that you can just go on saying it that way for a while)? no talking

23. If you talk, what are your favorite words or phrases? da da da da

24. What physical feat have you just accomplished? pincer grasp to put bits of food into your mouth

25. Who are some friends you play with often? well, you sit next to Chase occasionally and steal his toys, does that count?

Overheard...

We went to a birthday party yesterday (Happy Birthday Grayson & Ella!) at Frank Liske Park in Concord. If you are ever up there and want to go to the park, this one was AWESOME! We had lots of fun. Anyway, I wanted to write about things I heard Leah say.

I asked her if she had to go to the bathroom. She said Why? Is there a bathroom 'round here?

When we left, I stopped for gas. I was complaining about the pump being slow. As we were pulling away, Leah says That was the slowest pump EVER!

Today out of the blue: Mommy Bommy, I really like this home I'm living in.

Some pictures

from our courtship days.

Mandi & I getting ready for the Jacksonville Regional

Mike rocking out in the yellow house

From our spring break road trip, is it any wonder that I fell in love with THIS? :)

A toga party

My anniversary gift

My husband is seriously the most creative gift giver. Obviously he can't be THIS creative for every holiday we encounter or he would get burned out. :) But this anniversary gift was awesome.

You all know that we met because of color guard. Stacy and I were in the same guard, Paradigm and Mike came to watch our dress rehearsal (Jan. 9, 2000) before the competitive season began. He noticed me on the floor performing and posted on our guard's website how hot he thought I was. :) I kept trying to figure out who had posted about me because he didn't leave his real name. I finally discovered it was Stacy's brother, the one with the blue hair. I was totally surprised that someone would notice me out of everyone. We started emailing each other back and forth and that progressed to talking on the phone.

One day I asked him through email what he was doing the next night. I suggested we rent Muppets from Space because we had been talking about it and no one else wanted to see it but us. So we got together the next night (Feb. 2, 2000) and watched the movie. I did not want to go home. :) From that day on we spent all the time we could spare together.

A little over a year later, in May, Mike proposed and a year after that, on April 5, 2003, we got married. You know the rest.

So for my gift Mike got me a FLAG! Not only that he got me THIS flag.

You can't really see the embroidery, but on the left is the date we met, the top is the date of our first date, the right is our wedding date, the bottom is today's date. Down the vertical strip is our initials, MG & AT.

How great is that present?!?!?! I have been saying every once in a while that it would be fun to have a flag to spin. I was just speaking hypothetically, I never thought I would actually have one. Now, not only do I have one, but I have one that commemorates our relationship. What an awesome idea! Thanks, baby!

Love is...

I used to think that being in love
Meant passion, excitement, and romance.
Now I understand that real love is all those things,
But it's so much more...

Love is...
Watching television together,
Sharing Sunday-morning newspapers,
Talking through our problems,
Reading next to each other in bed,
Cuddling when the nights get cold,
And knowing we will always be together.

Being with you has shown me
All that love can be.

I'm so glad I get to share my life
And my love with you.
(from the card I gave to Mike this morning, I didn't write this)

April 5, 2003-April 5, 2008 (5 years)

Mashed banana, mashed banana

(title is a Wiggle reference)

This morning Erin ate small bits of banana and buttered toast for breakfast. How's that for growing up? I think she is going to be one of those kids who rejects baby food as soon as she is capable of sustaining herself on table food. She ADORES everything I have given her so far. The second little tooth finally peeked through right next to the first one so we are getting there.

On another note, thanks to my wonderful husband for the anniversary flowers! Our 5th anniversary is on Saturday (we are spending it at a 2 yr old's birthday party), but the flowers arrived today. We had a minor issue with last year's flowers. See when they send the flowers, they are not yet blooming so that they will last longer. When they arrived, Mike was sorely disappointed because they did not look at all like the picture he saw online. So he called the company and complained (big shocker there, right?). They sent another bouquet. By the time that one arrived, the first one had bloomed nicely and I had two enormous bouquets on my kitchen island. Don't get me wrong, they were lovely. But Mike learned a thing or two about flowers. So he had this one delivered early on purpose in order for it to bloom by our anniversary. Does he think ahead or what? :)

Mopping dilemma

So while I have found the secret to keeping a clean house, I have yet to find the secret to mopping floors. I currently use the Swiffer WetJet. But I hate the way the solution leaves the floors sticky. I have tried using the mop with the sponge head, but once it gets dirty it just tracks more dirt around the kitchen. I have wanted a Hoover Floormate for a while now. Anyone out there own one? What do you think? If not, what do you use to mop vinyl? What about hardwood?

Chore Organization

I finally found it! I know, I know, I have said it before. This time I really think I have figured it out.

I don't know too many people who enjoy housecleaning. I certainly don't. I have tried various methods to help me keep track of chores and keep me from slacking. My old chore chart was a list of what to do daily, weekly, and monthly. But I would put off weekly and monthly chores until the last minute and have a pile of things to do at the end. That wasn't so pleasant.

But I finally came up with a new chore chart that I have kept up with for the last two months. Here it is for April and May...


I know it's hard to read and you may not be interested in what it says.

For some reason, assigning chores to certain days has really been what I needed. Now I have no excuses or reasons to put off chores. Although I do occasionally do something the next day instead of its assigned day, it is rare. So there you have it, the secret to my success. :) Mike and I agree that the house has been cleaner and nicer to be in since I started it.

Roasted Chicken

I promised Mama Konicki I would post this recipe. Here we go...

Roasted Chicken

2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3-4 lb whole chicken

Mix all spices together and rub chicken all over. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (better overnight). Preheat oven to 500. Stuff crushed garlic into chicken cavity (I added some cut up onion too). Put in a roasting pan BREAST SIDE DOWN! (Important for juiciness.)

Here's the breakdown:
15 minutes at 500
15 minutes at 450
15 minutes at 425
Flip chicken over to breast side up for last 15-20 minutes to brown and crisp skin.

Internal temp should be 180. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.

You should have a delicious moist chicken that has a hint of sweetness.

Date night!

Friday night Mike & I got to go on a real date. During the day I went to New York & Co and bought a new outfit to wear. I got a pair of those crop pants. I guess they are kinda like capris except shorter. I was worried that it would be too cool to wear them, but it wasn't!

So I drove to the city and met Mike after work. We parked and walked to Arpa's Tapas Wine Bar & Grill. It was fabulous! I have always wanted to go to a tapas restaurant. We sat outside on the patio because it was a beautiful evening. We ordered things like meaty mushrooms with sherry and truffle oil, Spanish ham croquettes, and chicken confit with apricots and almonds. Delicious! Then we got a trio of desserts too! It was one of the best meal experiences I have ever had.

Earlier in the week, Mike had heard about a play from the radio. It is called The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? and it was playing while my parents were visiting. He thought it sounded funny so we decided to make it a date. So after dinner we made our way over to the Boothe Playhouse. It was a smallish theater, seated about 200-300. The play was really funny! It was about a guy who was dumped, but he wanted to get her back, so he had to figure out what women want. I was amazed because it was 90 minutes and it was a one-man show. He kept everyone entertained for that long all by himself. If you get a chance to see his show, I highly recommend it.

A quick Leahism before I sign off. I have this purse that is black with a pink G on it that I don't use much anymore (let's face it, my purse is a diaper bag). So I put it in Leah's playroom for her to play with. She had been using it that day as a diaper bag, but was long since done playing with it. So I found it and put my stuff in it because it matched my outfit. She pitched a fit! She told me, Mama, if you don't wear pink, you don't have to use my bag. She wanted me to change my clothes! So I declined and told her it was my purse to begin with and I was only letting her borrow it to play with. Kids!

A freezer full...

of seafood gumbo, red gravy (spaghetti sauce) with meatballs and sausage, shrimp, fish, barbequed brisket, split pea soup...

I think that is all. YUM! Thanks, Dad, for filling it up!

Two new Leahisms

With a play camera:
Put your heads together and smile. Holds camera up to her eye backwards. Looks at the camera. Cute!

After using the bathroom:
I don't want to wash my hands. I want to use sanitizer.

Also, she was in the playroom playing with her dollhouse. She took each doll and put it on the potty. Then she pretended to wipe all of their tushes and flushed the little play toilet.

She kept calling our movie Horton hears da Hoot today. She was pretty squirmy. Every time Mike & I laughed she asked What? very loudly. Of course they were jokes she didn't get and it was too complicated to explain, so we kept saying Shhhh, nothing, just watch.

Laptop MIA

Our laptop has decided to bite the dust and for a variety of reasons I can't put pictures on our website at the present time. So I will post Erin's 7 month portraits here. The girls looked so adorable together and Leah was so well-behaved that I got some of them together too.

Testing out Picasa albums

Easter

New Leahisms

On the way home from dinner the other night:
When we get home, I wanna chill out and watch a show.

After being in the bathroom by herself for a few minutes:
Mama, I need new undies.
Why, Leah, did you have an accident?
I don't want to tell you.

While on her Kangaroo Climber:
Ian is the prince and I am the princess.

Things to do in NC

Whenever my dad visits us, we are always looking for things to do within a 3 hr or so driving distance. Last 4th of July we went to Chimney Rock for a quick overnight to explore. He also came to visit when Erin was born but we didn't really go anywhere then. This time, we decided to check out Linville Caverns.

I am always the hotel chooser and booker when we go on trips. I have a pretty good track record at finding unusual places to stay that are picturesque. When we went to Chimney Rock, it was my first failure. Our hotel was old, dirty and tiny. I was disappointed in myself. So this time around, I was a little apprehensive about being the hotel picker. I found Linville Falls Lodge & Cottages without looking too hard and it looked awesome on the pictures. I made everyone else look at them and read about it before I would book it. We got a 2 bedroom cottage with a little kitchen so that we could spread out, even though we were only going overnight.

This was our cottage:

It turned out to be nice, clean, and of course pretty small. There was no central heat, only a gas fireplace to heat the entire cottage! We had to leave the bedroom doors open to stay warm.

When we got there it was about 6:45pm. I had expected Erin to nap in the car on the way (we left home at 2:45, stopped at Barnes & Noble for about half an hour, and picked up Mike in the city before heading out). She slept about ONE wink the entire drive. So she was ready for bed. But we had to eat dinner. The plan was to eat at the restaurant on site, but when we got there the owner told us they only open on weekends in the winter. The closest eating place was 5 miles away on mountain roads. I got us lost on the way there. It's a pizza place that was PACKED and we waited a good 30-40 minutes for our pizza. By then the meltdowns were all around. We got the pizza to go and went home to put the girls to bed.

Finally at like 9pm both kids were asleep. Everyone else was exhausted so we all piled into bed too. Have to open all the doors because of the heat. At 1am, Leah woke up crying. She was in Mimi and PawPaw's room but would not be consoled, so Mike got up to get her. On the way to the door, he kicked Erin's pack-n-play, which woke her up and she started to cry too. I fixed her a bottle while Mike took Leah to the potty. She stood in front of the toilet and peed in the only pair of jammies I brought her. Oh and I forgot to say that she had peed her pants at Barnes & Noble earlier that day too. We were lucky there were no more accidents because I was out of clothes for her. Everyone eventually went back to sleep. Erin woke up again at 4am but fell asleep again fairly quickly with me in my bed. When the girls go to bed late, expect a rough night, I have learned.

In the AM, things were MUCH better. We had a great day exploring the area. First we had breakfast at Famous Louise's Rock House, which is situated on the boundary of three counties. Then we went back to the cottage to let Erin nap. She only slept about an hour. After we packed up, we were off to the caverns. It was really neat.

Doesn't this picture look like Squidward from SpongeBob?

Leah was a bit fussy in the cavern because she claimed to be scared of bats, but they were all hibernating.

We played around in the gift shop, then explored the creek a little. I love this picture of the girls, me and my dad.


Then we needed a place to have our picnic lunch. We drove a bit aimlessly and randomly came across the entrance to Linville Falls and Gorge. It was a 0.4 mile walk to the falls and they were BEAUTIFUL!!! I don't have any good pictures of them because I loved them so much, I couldn't stop looking to take too many pictures. But I did get one of Mike and Leah sharing a stick of antelope jerky.


After our little "hike" we ate our picnic lunch of roasted chicken (we had roasted it before we left and packed it in a Ziploc bag) chips, guacamole, and fruit. Then we headed home. Both girls slept on the way home. When we got home at 4pm, we had plenty of daylight left to play outside. The Maddex boys came over for dinner and Ian & Leah played so nicely together.

Thanks to Dad & Myrn for coming to visit so we could take a fun trip together!

I'm scared of that Easter bunny

This is what Leah told us when this bunny visited our cul-de-sac. Even though the bunny was not her favorite, we had a very good Easter over here. It actually began yesterday with the dying of the eggs. Leah did not get nearly as messy as Ty, Annabelle, and Halle but she enjoyed herself just the same. Here is my artsy picture of the completed eggs. I think it came out a little blurry, but I like my food mode.



The morning began at 6:30am with Leah entering each bedroom saying "The Easter bunny came!" We all trooped downstairs to find our baskets.


The bright pink basket held community treats. Guess who belongs to the Spiderman basket? :) Many a Pez, Reese's bunny and mini-Cadbury egg were consumed. I went back to bed for an hour. When I woke up, Leah helped me make these biscuits.


We nibbled and played and Erin napped and Mimi and PawPaw and Aunt B went to church. When they got back, we all played outside for a while. Leah came in to rest a half hour before our outdoor egg hunt and fell asleep watching Dora Egg Hunt. We had to wake her up to go outside. She and Ian hunted along with our neighbors and their family. Here is the best shot of them chowing down we could get. Also, one of Erin meeting the Easter bunny.



We came in and ate fried fish and potato salad for dinner. Ahhhhh! Now relaxation... well, at least after the kids go to bed.

Getting back to good

Leah has been fever free for 36 hours now. Sh ehas a TINY rash the size of a half dollar on her lower back and that's it. Erin has had a periodic fever, lower grade than Leah, for the past 2 or so days. Not too serious and she is absolutely fine in between times. So we are happily returning to normal.

Dad & Myrn & Brittany arrived yesterday and have been totally entertaining the kids. I don't know what to do with myself half the time because I am so used to always doing something for someone. Myrn cooked shrimp alfredo last night (YUM!) and we are going to Maggiano's tonight for dinner!!! My favorite restaurant of all time! So I am super excited. We had sweet potato pancake for breakfast and they were delicious. Eating is so good when Dad comes to visit. We have crab legs in the freezer to eat this week too. I can't wait!

Dr appt

So...

It's not the flu or strep throat, even though Leah's throat did look a little red. When we took her temp at the dr's office, it read 99.4 under her arm. The nurse said we could take it rectally if I wanted to check, because I was certain it was higher than that. I hated making Leah do it, but I was right again, 103 this time. It could be roseola, which does not really have any symptoms except fever until the rash breaks out. Fortunately once the rash appears, about three days after the fever begins, the fever disappears and there is no discomfort. UNfortunately, it is contagious. And Erin has a fever of 102.3 currently.

I am so hoping it is roseola right now. Because the dr said the next step, if the fever doesn't go away or if other symptoms manifest, is bloodwork, urinalysis, and x-rays. Yikes!

Anyway, nothing else we can do but wait...

I got the fever

Well, Leah's got it, anyway. She was at 103.7 under her arm at 4pm. I called the triage nurse and of course she doesn't call me back until AFTER the office is closed. AND she recommends that the doctor see Leah. So I have to call first thing this AM. Anyway, Tylenol did bring that fever down by bedtime. But it was up again at 10:45 and stayed flaming until about 12:30. I laid with Leah in the guest room bed while she thrashed about and I listened to her rapid breathing and her heart hammering. I hate those symptoms of high fever. I did learn that there is no reason to treat a fever of less than 102 unless the child is complaining of discomfort. From 102-104, you treat with Tylenol or Motrin and you can sponge bathe IF the medicine doesn't bring the fever down. But don't sponge bathe until about an hour after you administer the meds, because both together can make the fever come down too fast. Over 104 gets serious, but still not a whole lot you can do during the night except medicate and bathe. I will keep you updated on the dr appt later today.

PS Erin slept from 7pm until 6:15am!

My poor babies

Well, it turns out Erin had an ear infection. I took her to the dr on Monday because I had suspicions, and sure enough I was right. There weren't really any symptoms though, just Mommy's intuition. Since she has been taking medicine, she has been napping 2-3 good naps a day and going to bed between 6:30 and 7 as usual. Still waking up with the birds? sun? Nope, before either of them. But today she woke up at 4:30, took a bottle and went back to sleep until 6:45. That would be perfectly fine with me for the time being. We will work on eliminating that feed later. She is not taking enough formula before bed because her dinner is too late. Some adjustments need to be made.

Leah has had a mid-grade fever since last night. I gave her Tylenol before bed and hoped she would sleep it off. She woke up at 10:30 and 4:30, happy and alert, but still feverish. So I dosed her with more Tylenol each time (I had no Motrin). This morning, with the fever still around, I discovered that I had been underdosing her the whole time. So we went to the store to get Motrin and children's Tylenol (instead of using up all of the infant one, she gets 2 1/2 droppers full now!). Leah also got a special McD's lunch of chicken nuggets since she was a sick girl (as she told me every five seconds). During all this, she acted mostly like her normal self, maybe a touch less energetic. I would have been concerned if she has been quiet, but that did not happen. :) So we got home, I gave her the correct dose of Motrin and she has been asleep since about 1pm.

My babies need to get well, their PawPaw and Mimi are coming in 2 days!!!

Update on last night's sleep

So Erin slept from 5pm until 4:30am, when she guzzled down a 6oz bottle in no time flat. I put her back in bed and she talked to herself for a bit. I don't know when exactly she fell asleep again because I turned her monitor down to where I could barely hear her and dozed off. I woke up to her talking again at 7am. It was very pleasant. Today though she may have dozed 20 min for her first nap. We kept her in her bed a solid hour. I just put her down 20 min ago and I just stopped hearing from her. Hopefully we get a good nap in this afternoon and we will have a bedtime of between 5:30 and 6.

UPDATE: Erin dozed for another 20 min for her second nap and went to bed, no problem, at 5:30.

Yet another LONG sleep post

I have a dilemma. Erin will not sleep past 6am. Most days she wakes up between 5:30 and 5:45, which is not acceptable in this house (especially now that Leah is not napping).

Here is what my idol says about wake-up time:
"Some babies tend to wake up early, 5:00am or 6:00am, and return to sleep after a brief feeding or diaper change. This is a true continuation of night sleep and not a nap. Other babies wake up later but start the day then. Most children will awaken to start the day about 7:00am, but there is a wide range (between 6 and 8). In general, it is not a good idea to go to your child before 6am, even if he is crying, because if you do, he will begin to force himself to wake up earlier and earlier in order to enjoy your company. The natural wake-up time seems to be an independent, neurological alarm clock in these young infants that is somewhat independent of the part of the brain that puts them asleep or keeps them asleep. In fact, despite what is commonly believed, you cannot change the wake-up time be keeping your baby up later, feeding solids before bedtime, or awakening your baby for a feeding before you go to sleep." p.247

In another part of the book, he says earlier bedtime (of course, that's the answer to everything). Two nights ago, I put her down at 6:15 and she woke up at 7:15 with poop. And last night I put her to bed at 6:15 and she talked to herself until almost 7 before falling asleep. She may be waking up because she is hungry, but if I go in to give her a bottle, it stimulates her and she is up for the day.

Do I need to temporarily go SUPER early? Like say 5 or 5:30? That cramps our life a bit obviously and that means Mike would not see her. But I guess if I start tonight, it's okay because it is weekend tomorrow. Today she has slept a total of 45 minutes. That's not a typo. A 25 min nap this AM and a 20 min nap in the car on the way home from the mall. She is currently in her bed talking to herself.

So we all agree? 5:15 bedtime tonight?

Thanks for your input. :)

Six Word Memoir

I got tagged by long-time bud at Awesome Ave.

This meme is about writing your memoir in six words. Here are the guidelines:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post.
4. Tag other blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Emily tagged me forever ago and I have been putting this one off because I HAVE NO IDEA what to say!

So here goes...

Always looking for a better way

I'm not going to tag anyone, but whoever whats to play is invited. Leave me a comment here if you do participate so I can check it out.

Leah feeds Erin

Someone asked for a video of this so here it is:

I love when Leah says, "Ahhhh" to get Erin to open her mouth!

I just realized that it totally sounds insincere when I congratulate Annabelle at the end, but I really do mean it. I am SO impressed at Annabelle's letter recognition skills. Great teaching, Keri!

Squeezers

I noticed this afternoon that Leah had several splinters in her hand, one of which was starting to get infected. So I told her I had to get the tweezers and take it out. She said, "I don't like the squeezers." :)

After we got her ready for bed, I sat down on our bathroom floor with her in my lap and read the The Lorax in her ear while Mike did his magic on her hand. She cried the entire time and tried to jump out of my lap 3 times. It is SO hard to hurt your child even when you know it is good for them. She kept saying, "I want to go straight to bed." You know when that child is asking for bed she is traumatized. She is usually exclaiming, "I'm not tired," right up to the second she falls asleep.

In addition, I was flashing back to when I was a kid and my step-dad used to get my splinters out. I HATED it! I could almost still feel the tweezers.

So when she was finished, we made a big deal about how brave she was. She got 3 mini-M&Ms and 3 stories because she is going to be 3 soon. She has been talking (and shouting) to herself in bed for a good 45 minutes now. I guess the straight to bed thing was just a ploy...

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Leah actually took a picture with the Easter Bunny! I think this came out great. I had to bribe her with a treat o get her to smile, but it was worth it. Of course I spent too much on 1 5x7 and 4 wallets but I have never done this before so I feel justified in doing it every now and then. So Happy early Easter!

Book Tag

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth

2. Turn to page 123


3. Find the 5th sentence


4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog:
The afternoon nap usually lasts until about three years of age and gradually disappears after the third birthday.

It is so ironic that this is the 5th sentence because my almost three year old has been done with naps for the last 2 months. This book has been really good to me in everything but this...

A little mother

This morning Leah was eating breakfast and Erin was sitting in her high chair. I had been feeding Erin cereal and fruit, but she started blowing raspberries with the food so I stopped. There was only a few bites left in the bowl. I put Cheerios on Erin's tray for her to play with. (She can pick them up now! But she doesn't put them in her mouth yet.) I ran upstairs to scoop kitty litter. When I came back Leah was feeding Erin a Cheerio. I said "Aww, what a good big sister, feeding Erin." Leah said " Yeah, I feeded her it all." I looked at the bowl and it was EMPTY! Leah had given Erin the last few bites of food!!! Leah said "She didn't spit it out!" She was so excited to feed Erin. It was adorable!

Stolen from Keri

If you are out there, leave me a comment with your answers to these questions. Even lurkers can take a stab at it. If you are a regular reader, you probably have a guess at some of these.

1. Where did we meet?
2. Take a stab at my middle name.
3. What is my favorite color?
4. Color of my eyes?
5. Do I have any siblings?
6. What's one of my favorite things to do?
7. What's my favorite type of music?
8. What sport do I like to watch?
9. What is my favorite drink?
10. Do I have any special talents?
11. What am I most adamant about?
12. How many children do I have?
13. Your thought or memory when hearing my name.
14. If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring?

New pictures

For those of you that look at my page in an RSS reader, I posted Erin's 6 month portrait from Penney's in the sidebar. I think the girls really look alike in these pictures. Erin's head is more round like Leah's than it has been but they still have different complexions. Erin is more olive like me and Leah is more fair like Mike. Although Leah is kinda shiny in her picture so it's hard to tell.

There are two other shots of Erin up at G-Rated Life in the Portraits album for anyone who would like to see the rest of the photo session. For some reason our SUPER smiley Erin was dead-pan the entire time. We worked SO hard for the few smirks you see. I had a hard time picking pictures to order because none of them were really all that good. The one on this page is my favorite.

A case of the Whys

Oh. my. gosh. If I have to answer one more Why question, I am going to jump off the roof. Here are some examples of that impossible question:

L - Why McDonald's is this way?
-------------------------------------------------
Me - Ian isn't home yet so we have to wait at our house.
L - Why we have to wait at our house?
-------------------------------------------------
L - Why we going to Wal-Mart?
Me - To get Clorox wipes and paper towels
L - Why?
-------------------------------------------------
L - I wanna go to the broccoli play place. (There is a mall play area with a big broccoli in it.)
Me - Not today, baby, it's too far away.
L - Why?
------------------------------------------------
L - Why Erin needs her diaper changed?
Me - Because she's stinky.
L - Why?
-----------------------------------------------
And the list goes on and on and on and on...

Muppet Babies

Mike pointed out this face Erin was making and I had to film it because it was SO. FREAKING. HILARIOUS!



We got a movie from Netflix and I told Leah that today after lunch when Erin naps, she and I will watch it. She was trying to remember the name of the movie and said, "Mommy, when are we going to watch Poppin' Beans?"

The movie was Mary Poppins.

Update: Leah has been calling the movie "Hoppin' Poppin'" all day. I laugh my head off every time!

Last but not least, I know Mike posted this one on his blog but some of my friends don't read his too. So here it is. Last night Leah was telling Mike that he had "dumpies." He was like WHAT? Leah insisted that he and Erin had dumpies. I finally realized that she meant dimples. I had told her that morning that Erin and Mike had dimples and she and I do not. She got "dumpies" from that. :)

Tag from Erica

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then post this on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6am to nurse Erin, she never went back to sleep and neither did I

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, my engagement ring and wedding band specifically

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Juno

4. What is your favorite TV show? I like too many shows to have a fav. I currently watch: Supernanny, Biggest Loser, Notes from the Underbelly, and Lost

5.What do you usually have for breakfast? cereal, oatmeal, egg sandwich

6. What is your middle name? Cathleen

7. What food do you dislike? bananas

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? The only CD's I listen to are Leah's Laurie Berkners.

9. What kind of car do you drive? Honda Odyssey

10. Favorite sandwich? Roast beef and provolone at Jersey Mike's

11. What characteristic do you despise? Deceptiveness - agreed with Chelsi & Erica

12. Favorite item of clothing? Jeans

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Grand Canyon

14. Favorite brand of clothing? Old Navy

15. Where would you retire to? Retirement is too far away to think about

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Last birthday I spent at the zoo with some cousins, my dad and my family, that was fun

17. Favorite sport to watch? Football

18. Farthest place you are sending this? Mmmm not sending this, I dont even know where my visitors come from - Ditto with Erica

19. Person you expect to send it back first? First to repost? Tiffany maybe

20. When is your birthday? December 27, 1978

21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night, although lately I am more of a midday person

22. What is your shoe size? 6

23. Pets? cats names Allegra (Ally) and Lily

24. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us? Not so much, just same ole, same ole

25. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher

26. How are you today? Stuffed up and drippy, but happy

27. What is your favorite candy? snickers and reeses

28. What is your favorite flower? Gerbera daisies

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? March 22nd when my dad arrives for his visit and April 17th when we go to FL

30. What is your full name? I’m not putting this one only because I dont want search engines picking it up :)

31. What are you listening to right NOW? Erin babbling and Leah asking for help (I am trying to ignore her)

32. What was the last thing you ate? PB & J and grapes

33. Do you wish on stars? Sometimes

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Something bold

36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Yesterday I left Laurie a message about traffic on the way home.

37. Favorite soft drink? Pepsi, but I RARELY drink it

38. Favourite restaurant? Maggiano's hands down. We have a gift certificate there, we just need a babysitter...

39. Hair color? dark brown

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? barbie's and cabbage patch kids

41. Summer or winter? Summer, I'd rather be hot than cold

42. Hugs or kisses? Like them both

43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Depends on my mood

44. Coffee or tea? Tea or Lattes

45. Do you want your friends to email you back? I’d like them to repost this :)

46. When was the last time you cried? I have been tearing up at the most ridiculous things lately.

47. What is under your bed? dust and hairballs

48. What did you do last night? watched TV with Mike and read blogs

49. What are you afraid of? losing my family

50. Salty or sweet? both

51. How many keys on your keyring? a few , but I only use my car and house keys

52. How many years at your current job? stay at home mom 9 months

53. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

54. How many towns have you lived? 10, I think

55. Do you make friends easily? Yes

56. How many people will you send this too? Whoever stops by to check my site

57. How many will respond? No idea, but if you do repost this, leave me a comment!

Can you see it?

It's Erin's first tooth!

You may not be able to see it. It is on her left, the right side of the picture, on the bottom. It has just barely broken the skin. Part of it isn't even out yet. I can't believe I was able to get a picture of it. Macro mode is the best. I have never used it before and it came out great! The tooth next to it is also just about to bust through.

Leah's new bed

We bought this bed yesterday for Leah.I am SO excited because I have had in my mind for the longest time that I wanted her to have a daybed with a trundle. I was thinking about how I had a trundle bed when I was little and I loved it. Sleepovers were so much fun. But I was having trouble finding what I wanted for under $1000 not including mattresses, which Mike refused to pay for a kid's bed. I tried to explain to him that she would keep it for MANY years to come. But he was not having it. In the end we found it for $750, which includes the daybed, trundle, and both mattresses!

The downside is that is doesn't come in until April 23rd. So Tiffany, you may have your toddler bed back then. I hope that is okay. :)

Erin's a big girl now

Here she is in her big girl car seat!

Leah got the boot

Mike is playing Guitar Hero. He let Leah have a turn and she got booed off the stage. When he told me she got booed, she said, "Yeah, I got foo-ted."

I feel different

Okay, all my friends out there with two or more kids, I need to know something. How are your feelings different, if at all, with the second and subsequent children? It's hard for me to put it into words. I am going to try.

I know I always loved Leah from the minute she was born. But I don't remember feeling it this intensely. When I look at Erin and snuggle her, I am overwhelmed by my feelings for her. I literally can't. get. enough of her. What is it about this time around that makes it so much MORE? Not that I am saying I love her more than Leah. It's just that the experience is more.

Maybe we are lacking the fear of first-time parents this time around. Maybe the confidence allows more of the joy in. Maybe it's due to Erin and her personality. Unless she is sick or super-overtired, she never stops smiling her big-mouth grin. But Leah smiled a lot too and was almost always happy. I just don't know what it is.

Anyone else out there have a similar story? Or am I just crazy? :)

Erin makes a mess

Love/hate relationship

Here is something funny I just realized. When Leah was a baby, I hated any top that did not snap under her tush. I did not like shirts that would ride up and leave her belly hanging out at all. If I happened to put one on her, I was constantly pulling it down and straightening it out.

Now, Erin very rarely wears onesies. Maybe it's because I did not have that many from Leah in the correct size/season. I had to buy most of Erin's winter wardrobe new. I found that I was drawn to regular shirts. And now I love them on her! When I think about it, it's probably because I like to buy the girls matching shirts and they are usually both regular shirts. But they are super cute.

We took Erin's 6 month pics today. I put a small white BOW in her hair! Don't pass out now, y'all. I know I am not a bow kind of mom, but both my girls wore white bows in their hair today. I will take a pic after Erin gets up. They are beauties!

Love Tag

I was tagged by T to list 14 things that I love in honor of Valentine's Day. I have been saving this tag to do today. So here it is, in no particular order:

1. Erin - I cannot get enough of my baby!

2. Leah - My logical girl learns faster than I can keep up with and remembers EVERYTHING!

3. Mike - After a month of being disconnected due to vacations (his) and sickness (both of us), we're back, baby!

4. My parents - All of my parents have contributed to the happiness I have today

5. My neighbors and neighborhood - I couldn't think of a better place for my babies to grow up.

6. Cooking an elaborate dinner for guests

7. A really good book (like Expecting Adam)

8. Visiting friends

9. Taking vacations

10. Being able to be there for all my girls' milestones

11. Making crafts with Leah (we gave those butterflies out at her Vday party at school)

12. Going to Maggiano's

13. When my house is clean (but I hate cleaning it!)

14. Buying people presents

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Where has the time gone?

Erin is 6 months today! Her stats at the dr were: 17lbs 3/4oz (82%) and 25 inches tall (25%). This morning I did a photo shoot with the girls. On Leah's 6 month birthday, we took pictures of her in her Princess dress (thanks to Megan!). So I dug it out and put it on Erin. Check out the comparison on the right! Leah got in on the act with her ballerina costume she got for Christmas 2006 from Mimi & PawPaw. Here are my favorites:







Okay, so that's more than a few, but I couldn't decide!

A flaw or a virtue?

I came to a realization about myself tonight. Nothing happened particularly to make me think about this. I was just driving home from my WW meeting (7 lbs down) thinking.

In situations that are potentially of concern (like a sick relative, etc.), I am not very comforting. I don't know what to say to people. I tend to ask a lot of questions so that I know all of the facts, but I don't do the whole encouraging words bit. I think I am more of a problem solver. I try to give options to make things better. It's not that I don't want to encourage or help. I guess I just don't know how to talk like that.

I guess I was thinking about Mike being sick. He has been home from work these last 2 days with congestion in his head, headaches, and a horrible cough that has made him sore from neck to waist. When we talk, I usually don't say nice things like, "Oh, babe, I'm sorry" even though I think it. I ask him what his symptoms are, suggest things to make him feel better and move on.

My dad recently had emergency eye surgery to repair a detached retina. My immediate response upon hearing the news was to ask a million questions and clarify the next steps. Of course I was concerned, but I did not show it with the love I felt.

Now I know this is not a virtue. But is it really a flaw? Do you think people see my approach as lack of emotion? It makes me sad to think that. To all my friends and family out there, I want to you know that the reason I ask those questions is that I don't know how to voice my feelings. I would not feel the need to understand the situation if I didn't care.

I guess the flaw is that I don't know how to put my support into words.

Thank you!

I just have to thank all of my commenters on my last post. Those words went a long way toward relieving my guilt. I admire all of my mommy friends so much and your words mean a lot. Those who are not mothers, I so appreciate that you took the time to give me encouraging words. Thanks for all the love!

Numbered days

I have been reluctant to talk about this, not because I'm afraid of what people think, but because I feel guilty. So here it is. I think my breastfeeding days are numbered.

I can rationalize this a lot of ways. Here is one. I did an experiment and started giving Erin formula bottles before bed to see if she was waking up so much because she was hungry. Sure enough, she has slept between 10 and 11 hours at night straight since we started it. So she wasn't getting enough from me before bed to last her. I know that it is normal in breastfed babies to wake up in the night more often, but it doesn't make me enjoy it more.

Here is another one. Erin really seems to love bottles. Whenever one is in her sight, she opens up her little birdie mouth so wide and starts hooting in excitement. When I pull the bottle out for a break, she grabs it and tries to bring it back to her mouth immediately. Who am I to stand in the way of my daughter's happiness?

And really here is the most pressing reason. I am just done. From day one, I have never been one of those moms who feel such a special bond from breastfeeding. It was just my job. I worked through problems to do that job just like anyone else might. But I was never excited about it. I feel just as attached and bonded to Erin when I bottle-feed her.

So there it is. I feel guilty because I should be wanting to do it longer for my child. But six months is pretty good, right? Mike is fine with whatever I want to do, which is saying a lot when he knows our costs are going to go up. Those of you who know him know how very much that means. :)

So our days look like this:
wake-up time - breastfeed
an hour or so later - cereal and fruit
mid-AM - bottle (7 oz)
noon - veggie and maybe cereal
mid-PM - breastfeed
dinner - cereal and veggie
before bed - bottle (7 oz)
middle of night (if awake) - breastfeed

And those breastfeeds will probably gradually change to bottles as time goes on. I really don't anticipate a problem with engorgement because i just don't think I produce that much milk. Erin is always eager to take a bottle, even after breastfeeding. I do kind of feel like that is another rationalization. Well, I just don't have enough milk, I could tell myself. But I know there are things I can do to change that. I just don't really want to put in the effort to continue something I don't enjoy.

It was fun while it lasted.

Poop du jour

I have never in my life experienced a poop explosion of this magnitude. Here are the items sullied:

Erin's entire romper
the changing pad
the carpet in spots from the kitchen to the living room behind the couch
Erin's car seat
my shoe
my pants
Leah's pants
the bathroom sink (where said romper was rinsed)
the dryer (where said romper was sprayed heavily with stain spray)
the washer (where said items of clothing are currently swishing away)

Mike & I were just talking the other day about how Erin has peed/pooped out of diapers MANY times less than Leah. She is just neater, even down to spitting up and eating (so far anyway). But today topped them all. Even Leah's movie theater disaster didn't touch this for sheer number of items requiring cleaning. Thank goodness I was just getting home is all I have to say.

Note: I believe this is due to the fact that Erin has had glycolax in a juice bottle every day for a week. This is the first poop of exploding consistency she has had since she was a newborn.

Monday night timeline

7pm Erin goes to bed

7:30pm Leah goes to bed

7:45pm Watch Deja Vu with my mom (great movie!)

10:30pm Go to bed

11:15pm Erin wakes up and cries for 20 min before falling back to sleep

1:30am Leah wakes up crying, saying she has to pee pee. I take her and she gets back in bed.

2:20am Leah is crying again. This time she says "Mommy, I have a bad feeling." What can I say to that? She gets in bed with me.

3:30am Erin wakes up to eat. Goes right back to sleep.

3:50am Back in my bed.

5:30am Erin wakes up and cries for 20 min.

5:50am I go in and try soothing her in her crib.

6:00am I change her diaper and nurse her back to sleep.

6:11am I am back in my bed.

7:15am My mom comes in to take a shower.

7:30am Leah wakes up and my day begins.

All I can say is, Mike is on duty from the minute he walks in the door.

PS Happy Mardi Gras y'all!

Leah these days

She is such a card! (Are cards funny? Because that's the only way that saying makes sense.) Yesterday we went to the mall and on the way out to the car, we were wandering around a little. I didn't realize I went down the wrong row for the car and I was looking around for it. Leah says, "Mom, it's over there," and points right to the car in the next row. My two year old found my car in the parking lot.

My mom was doing something with her and she says, "Grammy, you are smarter than me."

She is always asking "or" questions like "Yes or no?" or "Rest or nap?" or "Hot or cold?" Everything is "or."

With Mike in Colorado, the other day Leah was sad in bed. She said "Daddy didn't come home for dinner." That is what I always tell her, that Daddy will be home at dinnertime.

At the Wal-Mart checkout, she always makes me hold one of those furry pens, usually a Pooh one, while she takes my picture with a pretend kids camera.

She has only ever had a pee-pee accident at home. Never while we are out (*knock on wood*). She has been in underwear for about 3 weeks solid during the day.

This morning we were on the Harcourt (textbook publisher) Math site and we were doing the Pre-K games. She could do all of them. I had to prompt a little on the comparing length game and on the pattern game, but on all the rest she had it down pat. Should I put her in kindergarten in the fall? :)

So full of joy

I am so in love with my baby lately. She is becoming such a personality. She gives open-mouth kisses almost non-stop. I lay her on her changing table at night to get her ready for bed and we have a ball. She loves being stripped to her diaper. I give her lots of kisses on her neck and armpits and she laughs up a storm. She is stingy with her laughs, so I love them all the more when they come out. I say "Oh Ma Ma" to her and she sometimes repeats back "Ma ma ma ma." When I lean over her to talk, she places both hands on my face and I let her pat and rub while I tell her gentle. That makes her crack up too. She still smiles her big mouth grin, but sometimes I can get a regular gummy one in.

She eats two meals a day, oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and oatmeal with 2 veggies or a veggie and a fruit for dinner. She LOVES her mealtimes. Her mouth is always open like a baby bird. When you eat, she watches the fork go to your mouth so intently. I can't wait to start her on Stage 2 foods because there is so much more variety. Yesterday she got a biter biscuit for the first time and had a blast with it. Of course she was a total mess, but it was fun. Also last night after her dinner we were feeding her Cheerios. She actually reached for them for the first time and was raking them around the tray. When I picked one up to put in her mouth, she would grab my hand and lead it to her mouth. She gets a daily bottle with juice and glycolax (stool softener) since she is now having trouble pooping. (Same meds Leah was on, Leah goes off it Erin goes on *sigh*) She loves her juice. I have stopped giving her formula in bottles because I want to limit the amount of bottles she gets. We were having some trouble nursing, so Laurie suggested that maybe she was getting used to the ease of bottles and needed to relearn to nurse properly. So we have been working on that. It is getting better.

Erin is almost sitting up. She can sit for short periods on her own but she still tends to fold forward or fall back often. She has been sitting in the cart at the store and in the high chair at restaurants in my shopping cart/high chair cover I still have of Leah's. (It's funny that when Leah was born, it was just becoming a thing and there weren't that many out there on the market. But now there are tons of cuter ones to choose from. I will never get away with buying a cuter one when the one I have still works great.) Erin has rolled over front to back a few times but not consistently. When she lays on her tummy, she usually swims instead of holding her upper body on her arms.

When she is not tired, she is such a joy to be around. I know I thought Leah was just the most lovable baby, but I feel like Erin is so cuddly, she just makes you adore her. I have forgotten Leah like that. Now I am just in awe of the way Leah's mind works. I will have to pay attention today to all the wonderful things she comes up with and I will post tonight some new Leahisms.

Home Alone

Oh my god, watching Lost by yourself SUCKS! I don't like scary stuff as it is, but this episode is super freaky. Someone come over here and watch it with me!

Oh blah de, oh blah da

life goes on, o-o-oh, la la la la life goes on.

I am back to normal now. As expected the dentist asked me, "How soon are you going to get those wisdom teeth out?" So *sigh* I will be calling to make that appointment shortly.

Today was Leah's last day at her old school. She starts the new school next Tuesday. She was chatting with Ian about it tonight. There is a little boy in her new class who we see at the gym daycare often. So she will already know two kids in her class. Laurie said they just sent a letter home about Valentine's Day and a list of the kids. How cute is that? I need to decide what we can make for her class. :)

Mike arrived in Breckenridge, CO this afternoon. He was so psyched to go he could barely function these last few days. I am glad he is getting the chance to take this trip because he really deserves to spend some time doing something he loves. I just hope he makes it home in one piece. He met Keith Donald out there and they come home Tuesday night. My mom arrives tomorrow midday to hang out and help with the girls. I am excited to have her, as always.

I thought today was going to be rough with having the girls my myself all day but it was no big deal. I bathed them both together. I have this bath seat for Erin to sit up in now that she is getting close to sitting alone. In theory it is an awesome seat. But the suction cups on the bottom don't actually stick to the tub. Is it because the bottom of my tubs are slightly textured? Any suggestions on how to get it to stick? Anyway Erin was asleep by 7 and Leah by 7:30. I got to scrapbook for half an hour before Lost came on.

Anyone else out there watching Lost this season? So excited about some new TV. See you on the other side...