This kid cracks me up. She is nonstop energy and mischief. She’s wonderful, beautiful and absolutely exhausting.
Her favorite habit that drives me crazy is taking the dvds out of the player or their cases and hiding them, putting them back in the wrong case or cleaning them with a baby wipe (she’s also cleaned our new LCD tv with a baby wipe much to my irritation). I was surprised to learn that at age two, she already knows how to work the dvd player already. I put in a movie for her yesterday and came back after ten minutes to find a different movie playing.
When she sneaks down the hall after she’s been put to bed, she comes to my door and whispers “psst hey. Psst hey. Hey guys, psst hey.”
Today our home teachers came for a visit. Being her typical self, she was showing off saying “hey guys, look at me!” and then twirling in circles until she fell down. The best part is her “shifty eye” expression (thus the nickname “shifty eye baby”). She holds her head perfectly still as she turns in circles with her arms held out stiffly. But her eyes are pushed the opposite direction of her twirling, looking over as far as they can without having to turn her head. It’s very awkward and adorable. She also does this shifty eye expression when she’s been asked to do something that she doesn’t want to do. She will slowly turn her head away from me but with her eyes pushed the opposite direction.
Her favorite toy is her “bebug”. It’s a stuffed animal ladybug with crazy hair and she insists on having it to go to sleep (in addition to “yellow” and “panda”). But lately, she seems to have made it part of the bedtime routine that we have to search for the bebug first. She lets me put her to bed without it, and then sneaks out of her room using the excuse of needing her bebug. So I go searching. Most nights, I look for 15-20 minutes without finding it and have one or two failed attempts at putting her to bed with a replacement animal. Then just as I’m getting really frustrated, she suddenly appears with the bebug despite my having searched the entire house and every hiding spot I can think of. Obviously she has a favorite spot that I haven’t found yet and is using it against me.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
this week
I’ve accomplished very little this week. But I’ve told myself I’m still adjusting to having three children so I don’t feel bad about it. But this week is especially impressive because BOTH sets of grandparents are out of town and daddy is gone too! Four days alone with three kids under four years old—I am magic. (I realize tons of women do this and more but it was a first for me.)
The hardest part is bedtime. The girls love their nighttime routine with daddy. He’s so patient and sweet, taking the time to read multiple books and cuddle them. I’m usually just eager to get them in bed so I can get back to the baby or just have the house a little quieter after a long and chaotic day. The first night, Ladybug snuck out of her room and came upstairs four times before actually going to bed. Tuesday night was a new record of NINE times. The first three times were looking for her “beebug”—a ladybug stuffed animal that I couldn’t find. After trying to give her replacement toys and put her back in bed three times, she suddenly appeared in the hallway holding it (despite my having torn the house apart looking for it) and wouldn’t tell me where it had been. I think it was a stall tactic all along. But bedtime jailbreaks number 4-9 all involved searching or crying for daddy.
Butterfly misses him too. Fortunately when she asks for him, she accepts my answer that he’s working and will be home in a few days. But my favorite was when I picked Butterfly up from school today and she asked “mom, can we go to the beach? It’s hot there and I like it. Can daddy take me to the beach?” Personally, I’m all for this idea but I had to truthfully tell her the beach is far away, maybe we can go to the pool instead this weekend.
Other miscellaneous thoughts: Butterfly is loving her gymnastics class. She loves getting dressed in her “special ‘nastics” clothes (leotards and legwarmers made by my aunt) and asks me to put her hair in a ponytail “so its not in my face”. And then she comes home and demonstrates her jumping, skipping, stretching, backbends and somersaults.
Ladybug loves to sing. She sings to me and the baby all day long without prompting. Her favorites are “ABCs”, “Twinkle Twinkle”, “popcorn on the apricot tree”, “I’m a Child of God” and anything from the movie Tangled. In fact, she came up to me, patted the bottom of my chin and quoting the movie, she sang “getting kind of chubby!” (REALLY??!!)
Ladybug has always had her own unique way of getting from place to place. She had her own way of crawling, up on her hands and feet like a spider, and has had sort of a lilt to her gait when walking. But this week she she’s chosen to trot everywhere. Or she uses a leisurely skip/gallop when she needs to hurry. But my favorite is that today she has abandoned walking completely and hops.
Today I realized that our shower in the master bathroom truly is unnecessarily large. The event that made me acknowledge this was when my two little girls had a tea party in it, complete with goldfish cracker as their snacks, blankets spread on the floor and their dollies attending as their guests.
The baby continues her boycott of daytime sleeping. She does pretty great at night actually, as long as I let her sleep next to me. I lay her reclining against daddy’s pillow and she sleeps three (sometimes even four) hours at a time. Last night I watched her, fascinated by the way she actually wiggles and nuzzles her way closer to me in her sleep! Once she’s awake in the morning, she sleeps very little. She drifts off when nursing or in the car but never deep or long enough. Once I put the big girls down for a nap I can give all my attention to the baby. She gets her medicine and a bottle and a long cuddle. This combination finally allows her to settle into a deep sleep and nap for a few hours. But throughout the evening she will be awake again, content to nestle into my arm and watch the world around her with big serious eyes. Her face shows very little reaction to anything but I can see her beautiful eyes focus.
On Monday my sister in law was induced with her third baby. Our baby smiled frequently throughout the evening and then close to bedtime, Butterfly watched the baby stare off in the distance and announced “She’s looking for her new friend! She wants her new friend!”
Tuesday night I left Butterfly and Ladybug with a babysitter. And when the babysitter arrived, I realized that the girls might appreciate this even more than I do. They squealed, jumped up and down and showered her with hugs. Butterfly said “I thought you forgot me, I missed you so much!” and Ladybug pushed her beloved “yellow” (favorite blanket) into the sitter’s hands. It was almost as good as the night Butterfly pushed away saying “okay mom, can you go away now so I can play with my friend?” So I went out, taking the baby with me and had a great evening while the girls played with their sitter and had a blast. It was a wonderful evening for all.
Last night, as a special treat, I took the girls to McDonalds. They were bored, had already watched too much tv for one day and were climbing the walls. So I told them we could go to McDonalds (“oh thank you mommy! Thank you so much!”) and as we pulled into the parking lot, Ladybug was literally bouncing in her seat “Ol Donalds! Go to Ol Donalds!” We got our food, they ate in record time and ran into the playplace while I cuddled my wide eyed baby who was content to snuggle and stare at all the bright colors. The girls raced to the top of the play place where they stopped and decided to play pretend. I heard Butterfly ask, “okay, do you want to watch Nemo or Tangled?” Ladybug answered “uh, Nemo!” Butterfly pretended to put the movie into the wall and then they both sat down and pretended to watch tv! So much for getting them out of the house. Fortunately more kids arrived soon and they were thrilled to have playmates.
The worst moment of the week (and possibly of motherhood so far) was during the middle of the night last night. It was almost 4 am and I just finished nursing the baby and was putting her back to bed when I heard Ladybug’s whimper. This usually means she’s shuffling down the hallway hoping to sleep in my bed. I went out to meet her in the hall and take her back to her own bedroom but as I came into the hall, expecting to see her clutching her blankets and timidly approaching me, I was surprised that she wasn’t there. Nor was she on the stairs or in the hallway going to her room. I peeked into her room and then my heart promptly stopped when I realized she wasn’t in her bed. I checked her closet and under the bed (where she likes to hide), then checked her sister’s room but couldn’t find her. Thinking she must be in my room already and I missed her, I went back to my room. Still not finding her, I grabbed my cell phone and ran to her room to search it again. Now panicking, I called daddy, needing him to help me calm down and think of her favorite hiding spots. I told myself the alarm was set so she couldn’t have left the house without the alarm going off. It was the longest four minutes of my life as I searched the house for my daughter but was unable to find her. It was dark, I was disoriented and fearing one of my worst nightmares had come true when daddy suggested checking his closet. Hidden in the corner, behind two suitcases and below his hanging dress clothes was my little Ladybug, curled up on her two favorite blankets and sound asleep. I sat on the floor holding her hand for several minutes while I calmed down. Since she was sleeping so contentedly and I would have had to make too much noise trying to get her out of her tiny hiding spot, I finally left her there and went back to bed. An hour later I was still awake when she came and climbed into bed with me. Despite telling myself it was silly for me to overreact, I cuddled her close and kept her there until morning, so grateful for the precious gift she is to me.
The hardest part is bedtime. The girls love their nighttime routine with daddy. He’s so patient and sweet, taking the time to read multiple books and cuddle them. I’m usually just eager to get them in bed so I can get back to the baby or just have the house a little quieter after a long and chaotic day. The first night, Ladybug snuck out of her room and came upstairs four times before actually going to bed. Tuesday night was a new record of NINE times. The first three times were looking for her “beebug”—a ladybug stuffed animal that I couldn’t find. After trying to give her replacement toys and put her back in bed three times, she suddenly appeared in the hallway holding it (despite my having torn the house apart looking for it) and wouldn’t tell me where it had been. I think it was a stall tactic all along. But bedtime jailbreaks number 4-9 all involved searching or crying for daddy.
Butterfly misses him too. Fortunately when she asks for him, she accepts my answer that he’s working and will be home in a few days. But my favorite was when I picked Butterfly up from school today and she asked “mom, can we go to the beach? It’s hot there and I like it. Can daddy take me to the beach?” Personally, I’m all for this idea but I had to truthfully tell her the beach is far away, maybe we can go to the pool instead this weekend.
Other miscellaneous thoughts: Butterfly is loving her gymnastics class. She loves getting dressed in her “special ‘nastics” clothes (leotards and legwarmers made by my aunt) and asks me to put her hair in a ponytail “so its not in my face”. And then she comes home and demonstrates her jumping, skipping, stretching, backbends and somersaults.
Ladybug loves to sing. She sings to me and the baby all day long without prompting. Her favorites are “ABCs”, “Twinkle Twinkle”, “popcorn on the apricot tree”, “I’m a Child of God” and anything from the movie Tangled. In fact, she came up to me, patted the bottom of my chin and quoting the movie, she sang “getting kind of chubby!” (REALLY??!!)
Ladybug has always had her own unique way of getting from place to place. She had her own way of crawling, up on her hands and feet like a spider, and has had sort of a lilt to her gait when walking. But this week she she’s chosen to trot everywhere. Or she uses a leisurely skip/gallop when she needs to hurry. But my favorite is that today she has abandoned walking completely and hops.
Today I realized that our shower in the master bathroom truly is unnecessarily large. The event that made me acknowledge this was when my two little girls had a tea party in it, complete with goldfish cracker as their snacks, blankets spread on the floor and their dollies attending as their guests.
The baby continues her boycott of daytime sleeping. She does pretty great at night actually, as long as I let her sleep next to me. I lay her reclining against daddy’s pillow and she sleeps three (sometimes even four) hours at a time. Last night I watched her, fascinated by the way she actually wiggles and nuzzles her way closer to me in her sleep! Once she’s awake in the morning, she sleeps very little. She drifts off when nursing or in the car but never deep or long enough. Once I put the big girls down for a nap I can give all my attention to the baby. She gets her medicine and a bottle and a long cuddle. This combination finally allows her to settle into a deep sleep and nap for a few hours. But throughout the evening she will be awake again, content to nestle into my arm and watch the world around her with big serious eyes. Her face shows very little reaction to anything but I can see her beautiful eyes focus.
On Monday my sister in law was induced with her third baby. Our baby smiled frequently throughout the evening and then close to bedtime, Butterfly watched the baby stare off in the distance and announced “She’s looking for her new friend! She wants her new friend!”
Tuesday night I left Butterfly and Ladybug with a babysitter. And when the babysitter arrived, I realized that the girls might appreciate this even more than I do. They squealed, jumped up and down and showered her with hugs. Butterfly said “I thought you forgot me, I missed you so much!” and Ladybug pushed her beloved “yellow” (favorite blanket) into the sitter’s hands. It was almost as good as the night Butterfly pushed away saying “okay mom, can you go away now so I can play with my friend?” So I went out, taking the baby with me and had a great evening while the girls played with their sitter and had a blast. It was a wonderful evening for all.
Last night, as a special treat, I took the girls to McDonalds. They were bored, had already watched too much tv for one day and were climbing the walls. So I told them we could go to McDonalds (“oh thank you mommy! Thank you so much!”) and as we pulled into the parking lot, Ladybug was literally bouncing in her seat “Ol Donalds! Go to Ol Donalds!” We got our food, they ate in record time and ran into the playplace while I cuddled my wide eyed baby who was content to snuggle and stare at all the bright colors. The girls raced to the top of the play place where they stopped and decided to play pretend. I heard Butterfly ask, “okay, do you want to watch Nemo or Tangled?” Ladybug answered “uh, Nemo!” Butterfly pretended to put the movie into the wall and then they both sat down and pretended to watch tv! So much for getting them out of the house. Fortunately more kids arrived soon and they were thrilled to have playmates.
The worst moment of the week (and possibly of motherhood so far) was during the middle of the night last night. It was almost 4 am and I just finished nursing the baby and was putting her back to bed when I heard Ladybug’s whimper. This usually means she’s shuffling down the hallway hoping to sleep in my bed. I went out to meet her in the hall and take her back to her own bedroom but as I came into the hall, expecting to see her clutching her blankets and timidly approaching me, I was surprised that she wasn’t there. Nor was she on the stairs or in the hallway going to her room. I peeked into her room and then my heart promptly stopped when I realized she wasn’t in her bed. I checked her closet and under the bed (where she likes to hide), then checked her sister’s room but couldn’t find her. Thinking she must be in my room already and I missed her, I went back to my room. Still not finding her, I grabbed my cell phone and ran to her room to search it again. Now panicking, I called daddy, needing him to help me calm down and think of her favorite hiding spots. I told myself the alarm was set so she couldn’t have left the house without the alarm going off. It was the longest four minutes of my life as I searched the house for my daughter but was unable to find her. It was dark, I was disoriented and fearing one of my worst nightmares had come true when daddy suggested checking his closet. Hidden in the corner, behind two suitcases and below his hanging dress clothes was my little Ladybug, curled up on her two favorite blankets and sound asleep. I sat on the floor holding her hand for several minutes while I calmed down. Since she was sleeping so contentedly and I would have had to make too much noise trying to get her out of her tiny hiding spot, I finally left her there and went back to bed. An hour later I was still awake when she came and climbed into bed with me. Despite telling myself it was silly for me to overreact, I cuddled her close and kept her there until morning, so grateful for the precious gift she is to me.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Halloween Party and more
Uncle Booga and his family arrived early so we sent all the kids outside to rake up the leaves in my back yard. Once we got the whole yard clean and pristine looking, with just one pile neatly gathered in the middle, we sent all the kids jumping into it at the same time. The girls had a blast dancing in the leaves and throwing handfuls at each other. (Ladybug didn’t throw very well, she usually just ran up and pushed her handful onto your leg, having forgotten to actually throw it.)
Having had our fill of leaf jumping, we all came back inside and set the kids to work coloring Halloween pictures to hang on the mantel and hanging bats from the ceiling as decorations. Then, since we still had some time before the party was scheduled to start, we took the kids downstairs for a movie. I had gotten “Nightmare Before Christmas” but didn’t realize how creepy it would be. Fortunately most of the kids got distracted to we turned it off about halfway through and played with toys instead.
As we got dinner ready, all the kids make sucker ghosts (tootsie pops with tissues, string and drawn-on faces). Grammy had planned a great and creative Halloween feast. Our pumpkin-look-alike breadbowls were filled with clam chowder and were accompanied by jack-o-lantern quesadillas (the kids got to cut faces into the tortillas before they were cooked) and veggie sticks.
After dinner, everyone got ready in their costumes and lined up for a costume parade. Butterfly had picked out a tiger dress and wore matching tiger ears, Ladybug wore a comfy monkey suit, complete with tail and face on the hood and Baby wore a pink leopard sleeper. Daddy was the absent zookeeper, unfortunately having been summoned away on a last minute business trip. I was going to be a tree, knowing that I’d be carrying the tiny leopard around all night, but without daddy there, it didn’t seem as funny and I ran out of time to prepare it properly anyway. One of my nieces was a witch and her little sister was her black cat. We also had a pirate girl, ladybug, baby ghost, evil eye monster and a family of angry birds! Booga painted a shirt to resemble one of the levels and pinned the evil pigs on his shoulder to be the target wall and his wife, two sons and youngest daughter were each different colored angry birds. Only a few of the adults dressed up, but had some of the most clever costumes of a basket of laundry and a bunch of grapes.
We had some awesome games planned. First we had the witch hunt and the kids went searching the downstairs playroom and bedrooms for cut out paper witches. Then Grammy solemnly announced that there was a giant spider living in my house and I needed help cleaning up the mess. We took the kids into the unfinished portion of the basement and gave each child one end of a different color of yarn. Then they had to follow the yarn, winding it up as they went, crawling through the unfinished framing, under tables, through chairs and over all kinds of obstacles, including each other! In the middle of the room sat the massive spider (made from trash bags and filled with leaves and newspapers). This was a great game for older kids but the younger kids needed help (which was fun too!) Then we returned upstairs for pumpkin bowling (bowling a pumpkin ball into empty milk jugs) and the candy catch (kids were blind folded and sat across from an adult partner, then they had 15 seconds to throw candy as fast as they could and their partner had to use a trick or treat bucket to catch as much as they could). Lastly we did the eye ball bounce where the kids bounced ping pong eyeballs into plastic cups filled with candy (getting to keep the candy from the cups if they made it). We had a few more games planned but since it was getting late, we ended the party with cupcakes and drinks. Then as we cleaned up and sat around to chat, the men set up the bowling alley again and bowled the kids into the jugs! (I have very beautiful, very slick, hardwood floors.)
Soon the party was over and about half the guests went home. The other half spent the night so after a short night’s sleep, we got to play some more. This time, daddy got to join since he had arrived home around midnight. I made chocolate chips pancakes for everyone but since I used hot water, all the chocolate chips melted and we had chocolate swirl pancakes (my brother thought it was brilliant and that I had done it on purpose). After breakfast the kids played downstairs while I got to relax and enjoy talking with my mom, aunt and grandma who had come to town for the party. The dads took the kids out to the hay maze and to the park for a picnic. But soon all of our guests were gone and our very happy girls settled down for a long nap.
The rest of the day was lazily and leisurely spent watching movies and running a few errands. Sunday morning came too soon and after the usual getting-ready-for-church chaos, daddy took the girls on the “church date” while me and the baby cuddled at home. I love that she is spending more time awake throughout the day but along with that, she’s becoming more insistent that she is to be cuddled all day. She begins to fuss and cry whenever I put her down (even if she was asleep). So we spent most of the day cuddling and accomplished very little by the time daddy got home.
The evening was wonderful. We spent it with more family to celebrate daddy’s sister’s birthday. Most of the family there hadn’t met our baby yet so it was fun to show her off and spend time with family that we haven’t seen for a little while. Dinner was so good and the girls loved playing with their cousins. They also particularly enjoyed the birthday party part of the evening—opening presents and blowing out the candles. We had taken the girls to the store and wandered, telling Butterfly she could pick out a present for her auntie. We were surprised when she really did fixate on something (a leopard print umbrella and red socks) and got so excited, insisting that her auntie would love it. With a shrug of “why not” (animal print is her trademark after all), we agreed and Butterfly was so proud of herself.
Having had our fill of leaf jumping, we all came back inside and set the kids to work coloring Halloween pictures to hang on the mantel and hanging bats from the ceiling as decorations. Then, since we still had some time before the party was scheduled to start, we took the kids downstairs for a movie. I had gotten “Nightmare Before Christmas” but didn’t realize how creepy it would be. Fortunately most of the kids got distracted to we turned it off about halfway through and played with toys instead.
As we got dinner ready, all the kids make sucker ghosts (tootsie pops with tissues, string and drawn-on faces). Grammy had planned a great and creative Halloween feast. Our pumpkin-look-alike breadbowls were filled with clam chowder and were accompanied by jack-o-lantern quesadillas (the kids got to cut faces into the tortillas before they were cooked) and veggie sticks.
After dinner, everyone got ready in their costumes and lined up for a costume parade. Butterfly had picked out a tiger dress and wore matching tiger ears, Ladybug wore a comfy monkey suit, complete with tail and face on the hood and Baby wore a pink leopard sleeper. Daddy was the absent zookeeper, unfortunately having been summoned away on a last minute business trip. I was going to be a tree, knowing that I’d be carrying the tiny leopard around all night, but without daddy there, it didn’t seem as funny and I ran out of time to prepare it properly anyway. One of my nieces was a witch and her little sister was her black cat. We also had a pirate girl, ladybug, baby ghost, evil eye monster and a family of angry birds! Booga painted a shirt to resemble one of the levels and pinned the evil pigs on his shoulder to be the target wall and his wife, two sons and youngest daughter were each different colored angry birds. Only a few of the adults dressed up, but had some of the most clever costumes of a basket of laundry and a bunch of grapes.
We had some awesome games planned. First we had the witch hunt and the kids went searching the downstairs playroom and bedrooms for cut out paper witches. Then Grammy solemnly announced that there was a giant spider living in my house and I needed help cleaning up the mess. We took the kids into the unfinished portion of the basement and gave each child one end of a different color of yarn. Then they had to follow the yarn, winding it up as they went, crawling through the unfinished framing, under tables, through chairs and over all kinds of obstacles, including each other! In the middle of the room sat the massive spider (made from trash bags and filled with leaves and newspapers). This was a great game for older kids but the younger kids needed help (which was fun too!) Then we returned upstairs for pumpkin bowling (bowling a pumpkin ball into empty milk jugs) and the candy catch (kids were blind folded and sat across from an adult partner, then they had 15 seconds to throw candy as fast as they could and their partner had to use a trick or treat bucket to catch as much as they could). Lastly we did the eye ball bounce where the kids bounced ping pong eyeballs into plastic cups filled with candy (getting to keep the candy from the cups if they made it). We had a few more games planned but since it was getting late, we ended the party with cupcakes and drinks. Then as we cleaned up and sat around to chat, the men set up the bowling alley again and bowled the kids into the jugs! (I have very beautiful, very slick, hardwood floors.)
Soon the party was over and about half the guests went home. The other half spent the night so after a short night’s sleep, we got to play some more. This time, daddy got to join since he had arrived home around midnight. I made chocolate chips pancakes for everyone but since I used hot water, all the chocolate chips melted and we had chocolate swirl pancakes (my brother thought it was brilliant and that I had done it on purpose). After breakfast the kids played downstairs while I got to relax and enjoy talking with my mom, aunt and grandma who had come to town for the party. The dads took the kids out to the hay maze and to the park for a picnic. But soon all of our guests were gone and our very happy girls settled down for a long nap.
The rest of the day was lazily and leisurely spent watching movies and running a few errands. Sunday morning came too soon and after the usual getting-ready-for-church chaos, daddy took the girls on the “church date” while me and the baby cuddled at home. I love that she is spending more time awake throughout the day but along with that, she’s becoming more insistent that she is to be cuddled all day. She begins to fuss and cry whenever I put her down (even if she was asleep). So we spent most of the day cuddling and accomplished very little by the time daddy got home.
The evening was wonderful. We spent it with more family to celebrate daddy’s sister’s birthday. Most of the family there hadn’t met our baby yet so it was fun to show her off and spend time with family that we haven’t seen for a little while. Dinner was so good and the girls loved playing with their cousins. They also particularly enjoyed the birthday party part of the evening—opening presents and blowing out the candles. We had taken the girls to the store and wandered, telling Butterfly she could pick out a present for her auntie. We were surprised when she really did fixate on something (a leopard print umbrella and red socks) and got so excited, insisting that her auntie would love it. With a shrug of “why not” (animal print is her trademark after all), we agreed and Butterfly was so proud of herself.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
more baby ramblings
Our little baby is doing great. To make a long story short (and vague), the specialist feels confident that she is just fine and she will grow out of the things we have been concerned about. :) It will take a few weeks to get her off the medications and respiratory monitor but we'll get there soon. Onto other random baby news...
Baby quit sleeping. We've begun weaning her off the medications and suddenly she spends a lot more time awake. Her eyes are so beautiful! She stares at me with such intensity that she seems to read my thoughts. Her eyes are a dark sapphire blue at the outer most edge, transitioning to a silvery blue on the inside edge.
She does not like to lie flat on her back. She gets upset near instantly, even when asleep. So we let her sleep propped up, in a semi-reclining position. When awake, she wants to be held up so she can look around and observe her surroundings. I'm amazed at the strength she has to hold her head up. She was trying to do it even the same night she was born! We teased her she had to wait until she was at least a few days old. But now she loves to sit, nestled into my arm, holding her head up and watching her sisters play. Or even better, staring at the ceiling fan.
She's such a good baby and puts up with a lot from her big sisters. I thought that the novelty of a baby would wear off to a more manageable level but it hasn't happened yet. But Butterfly especially is my big helper and such a good girl. She's so eager to help me and always wants to pat the baby, cuddle her, kiss her or hold her hands.
Baby doesn't get fussy very often but she's mastered the deafening "I need you now!" cry. Most the time, her cry still sounds like a newborn, more gentle and quiet but utterly broken-hearted. This is usually when she senses she's been left alone or she simply can't settle down. She reserves the earth-shattering scream for when she's really mad at me (usually because she's wet or hungry, she has no patience for either).
I love my little "tree frog". She cuddles up onto my chest, nuzzling her head in against my shoulder and neck. She rests her arms and hands against me, close against her body and tucks her feet up under her. She looks like a little frog as she clings to me and makes me melt with her adorable warmth.
More attention for baby has left more time for Ladybug to get into trouble. Her new favorite mischief is to take the dvd discs out of their case and either stack them all in a pile or mix them up and put them away in the wrong cases. It's like she intuitively knows this is one of my pet peeves.
Baby quit sleeping. We've begun weaning her off the medications and suddenly she spends a lot more time awake. Her eyes are so beautiful! She stares at me with such intensity that she seems to read my thoughts. Her eyes are a dark sapphire blue at the outer most edge, transitioning to a silvery blue on the inside edge.
She does not like to lie flat on her back. She gets upset near instantly, even when asleep. So we let her sleep propped up, in a semi-reclining position. When awake, she wants to be held up so she can look around and observe her surroundings. I'm amazed at the strength she has to hold her head up. She was trying to do it even the same night she was born! We teased her she had to wait until she was at least a few days old. But now she loves to sit, nestled into my arm, holding her head up and watching her sisters play. Or even better, staring at the ceiling fan.
She's such a good baby and puts up with a lot from her big sisters. I thought that the novelty of a baby would wear off to a more manageable level but it hasn't happened yet. But Butterfly especially is my big helper and such a good girl. She's so eager to help me and always wants to pat the baby, cuddle her, kiss her or hold her hands.
Baby doesn't get fussy very often but she's mastered the deafening "I need you now!" cry. Most the time, her cry still sounds like a newborn, more gentle and quiet but utterly broken-hearted. This is usually when she senses she's been left alone or she simply can't settle down. She reserves the earth-shattering scream for when she's really mad at me (usually because she's wet or hungry, she has no patience for either).
I love my little "tree frog". She cuddles up onto my chest, nuzzling her head in against my shoulder and neck. She rests her arms and hands against me, close against her body and tucks her feet up under her. She looks like a little frog as she clings to me and makes me melt with her adorable warmth.
More attention for baby has left more time for Ladybug to get into trouble. Her new favorite mischief is to take the dvd discs out of their case and either stack them all in a pile or mix them up and put them away in the wrong cases. It's like she intuitively knows this is one of my pet peeves.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
an average day
7:30 ish. Girls wake up and come to mommy's room. Having slept very little, I'm not thrilled. If daddy is home, he takes them downstairs and turns on a movie. If he's already left for work, I have them climb into my bed and watch a cartoon until I'm awake enough to put together a coherent sentence.
8:30. I finally wake up enough to stumbled through breakfast, get all of us bathed, dressed and ready for the day.
9:45. I drop off Butterfly at preschool or gymnastics and take the younger girls out to run errands or go to storytime at the library. If it's not a school day, we have playtime. This means the girls run around like crazy people and I try to keep them from smothering the baby. It also sometimes involves puzzles, toys or a playdate.
12:30. Time for lunch and naps. During naps, I cuddle the baby and try to declutter the house a bit. Or lacking ambition, I put in a movie and work on baby's Christmas stocking
3:30. post nap snacktime and movie.
5:30. I remember I need to make dinner. whoops.
6:00. daddy comes home. this part of the day is awesome. we race to be first for kisses. Or sometimes the girls are still watching their movie and I get him to myself for a few minutes. then he takes the girls to go get the mail or something so I can finish dinner.
6:30. dinner. complete with bribing and arguing until plates are clean. sometimes dessert.
7:30. daddy takes girls downstairs to play while I do dishes, clean up the kitchen and bathe the baby.
8:30. realize it's bed time. but first we spend a little more time playing, watching a movie and more smothering the baby.
9:00. bedtime. complete with books and cuddling with the best daddy ever. I put baby to bed in her own crib.
9:10. baby wakes up crying having remembered that she hates her bed and wants to be held.
9:30. baby is asleep again so I try putting her back into her bed.
9:38. baby wakes up crying having remembered that she hates her bed and wants to be held.
9:45. baby sleeping, try the bed again.
9:52. baby wakes up crying and I give up, take her to bed with me and cuddle her all night. I don't sleep much this way, since she snores, grunts, squirms and cries all night (plus needing to eat every three hours). But since she does all of this in her sleep, she gets plenty of sleep and I get plenty of cuddle time.
8:30. I finally wake up enough to stumbled through breakfast, get all of us bathed, dressed and ready for the day.
9:45. I drop off Butterfly at preschool or gymnastics and take the younger girls out to run errands or go to storytime at the library. If it's not a school day, we have playtime. This means the girls run around like crazy people and I try to keep them from smothering the baby. It also sometimes involves puzzles, toys or a playdate.
12:30. Time for lunch and naps. During naps, I cuddle the baby and try to declutter the house a bit. Or lacking ambition, I put in a movie and work on baby's Christmas stocking
3:30. post nap snacktime and movie.
5:30. I remember I need to make dinner. whoops.
6:00. daddy comes home. this part of the day is awesome. we race to be first for kisses. Or sometimes the girls are still watching their movie and I get him to myself for a few minutes. then he takes the girls to go get the mail or something so I can finish dinner.
6:30. dinner. complete with bribing and arguing until plates are clean. sometimes dessert.
7:30. daddy takes girls downstairs to play while I do dishes, clean up the kitchen and bathe the baby.
8:30. realize it's bed time. but first we spend a little more time playing, watching a movie and more smothering the baby.
9:00. bedtime. complete with books and cuddling with the best daddy ever. I put baby to bed in her own crib.
9:10. baby wakes up crying having remembered that she hates her bed and wants to be held.
9:30. baby is asleep again so I try putting her back into her bed.
9:38. baby wakes up crying having remembered that she hates her bed and wants to be held.
9:45. baby sleeping, try the bed again.
9:52. baby wakes up crying and I give up, take her to bed with me and cuddle her all night. I don't sleep much this way, since she snores, grunts, squirms and cries all night (plus needing to eat every three hours). But since she does all of this in her sleep, she gets plenty of sleep and I get plenty of cuddle time.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
three
There's a strange sense of empowerment creeping over me as I slowly reclaim my life and learn to juggle three children.
My three year old is my big helper and so proud of it. She asks me "mom, you have job for me?" She's eager to help, obedient, eager to cuddle when I can and independent enough that I can set her up with an activity or a movie and not worry about her while I go do something else.
The baby is relatively easy. She requires a lot of care but her needs are few and she's pretty easy to please. As long as she's dry, full and being cuddled, she's a happy baby. We are grateful that she seems to have few fussy moments and generally just wants to be held.
Truth be known, the two year old is the most difficult. Like her big sister, she's eager to help but like her baby sister she still needs a lot of care. Or more accurately, supervision. She's curious, mischievous and full of energy. I don't dare leave her unsupervised because I know her knack for getting into trouble. I love that she still needs me and wants to share every activity and moment with me but it does require a lot of time and attention that I'm happy to give when I can.
So we are learning to juggle, trying to find our new groove--a routine that meets the needs of three busy children. On really good days, I even manage a bit of housework and on less manageable days, I consider it a success that the house is still standing when daddy gets home.
I copied this off a cousin's blog because I love the eloquence of his writing and wholey agree with the sentiment he shares...
“You blink and it’s gone.”
Which isn’t actually true.
I tried it when Ruby was throwing an epic tizzy the other day.
It was still there.
Still, though I can’t fully appreciate what they are saying yet, I do believe them. Or at least, I believe that I will one day say something like that and mean it.
We have three kids now. We are all getting older. Time seems to have lost its predictable nature. When it comes to days and years, the whole seems to be less than the sum of the parts. The days seem to be 365 hours long. But, there are only 24 days in a year. It’s sort of an anti-synergy.
I can’t stop it or slow it down. I’m blinking, even when I’m sleeping. And it’s going.
My kids are growing fast. Many moments are painfully long with little patience or productivity on my end. And yet my kids are growing so fast that I'm desperate to record every look, every cuddle, every feeling because I know I will soon look back and miss this so much. how do I make this last? how do I get past the frustrations of everyday so I can more fully enjoy every moment?
My three year old is my big helper and so proud of it. She asks me "mom, you have job for me?" She's eager to help, obedient, eager to cuddle when I can and independent enough that I can set her up with an activity or a movie and not worry about her while I go do something else.
The baby is relatively easy. She requires a lot of care but her needs are few and she's pretty easy to please. As long as she's dry, full and being cuddled, she's a happy baby. We are grateful that she seems to have few fussy moments and generally just wants to be held.
Truth be known, the two year old is the most difficult. Like her big sister, she's eager to help but like her baby sister she still needs a lot of care. Or more accurately, supervision. She's curious, mischievous and full of energy. I don't dare leave her unsupervised because I know her knack for getting into trouble. I love that she still needs me and wants to share every activity and moment with me but it does require a lot of time and attention that I'm happy to give when I can.
So we are learning to juggle, trying to find our new groove--a routine that meets the needs of three busy children. On really good days, I even manage a bit of housework and on less manageable days, I consider it a success that the house is still standing when daddy gets home.
I copied this off a cousin's blog because I love the eloquence of his writing and wholey agree with the sentiment he shares...
“You blink and it’s gone.”
Which isn’t actually true.
I tried it when Ruby was throwing an epic tizzy the other day.
It was still there.
Still, though I can’t fully appreciate what they are saying yet, I do believe them. Or at least, I believe that I will one day say something like that and mean it.
We have three kids now. We are all getting older. Time seems to have lost its predictable nature. When it comes to days and years, the whole seems to be less than the sum of the parts. The days seem to be 365 hours long. But, there are only 24 days in a year. It’s sort of an anti-synergy.
I can’t stop it or slow it down. I’m blinking, even when I’m sleeping. And it’s going.
My kids are growing fast. Many moments are painfully long with little patience or productivity on my end. And yet my kids are growing so fast that I'm desperate to record every look, every cuddle, every feeling because I know I will soon look back and miss this so much. how do I make this last? how do I get past the frustrations of everyday so I can more fully enjoy every moment?
Human Truths
not original. but true nevertheless.
1. Part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history when you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. Companies that intentionally misspell their name are not cute. They're illiterate and should not be trusted with your business.
6. Map Quest should start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.
7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
9. Bad decisions make good stories.
10. You never know when it will strike but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
13. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
14. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
15. I wish Google Maps had an "avoid ghetto" routing option.
16. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
17. How many times is it appropriate to say "what?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand what they just said?
18. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong brothers and sisters!
19. If you want to stay healthy, don't turn 50.
20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty and you can wear them forever.
21. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone and pinning the tail on the donkey -- but I bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from a meter away in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time!
1. Part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history when you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. Companies that intentionally misspell their name are not cute. They're illiterate and should not be trusted with your business.
6. Map Quest should start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my own neighborhood.
7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
8. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
9. Bad decisions make good stories.
10. You never know when it will strike but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
11. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
12. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
13. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
14. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
15. I wish Google Maps had an "avoid ghetto" routing option.
16. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
17. How many times is it appropriate to say "what?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand what they just said?
18. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong brothers and sisters!
19. If you want to stay healthy, don't turn 50.
20. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty and you can wear them forever.
21. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone and pinning the tail on the donkey -- but I bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from a meter away in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time!
Monday, October 10, 2011
columbus day
Once upon a time a young man comes up with a great idea. He wants to sail from Europe to Asia by going west rather than sailing all the way around Africa. He shops around, finds an investor and sets sail. Doubt turns to depression and two failed suicide attempts later, the ship lands in the wrong spot. They make camp, claim someone else's home as theirs, nearly starve to death, wipe out an entire indigenous race and he becomes a hero.
I have to admit that his mistake works out well for me though since I am an American. So let's celebrate in similar fashion--by not accomplishing what we should and close all government offices today.
Don't mind me. I'm just cranky the health department isn't open today and I need to get my baby's birth certificate.
I have to admit that his mistake works out well for me though since I am an American. So let's celebrate in similar fashion--by not accomplishing what we should and close all government offices today.
Don't mind me. I'm just cranky the health department isn't open today and I need to get my baby's birth certificate.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
imp
me: "hey are you an imp?"
Ladybug: "I imp!!"
evidence:
During dinner, Daddy pushed four bites of meat to an empty spot on her plate explaining that if she would eat this, she could have another serving of peaches. So she dutifully took one bite. I watched as he turned back to his own plate. Ladybug watched him too and seeing that he was distracted, slowly and quietly pushed the other three bites of meat back into their original pile and announced "okay daddy I done! more peaches please!"
I laid down on my bed to cuddle the baby during naptime. Soon, I heard small feet patter into my bedroom, past my bed and into the bathroom. I didn't say anything at first because Butterfly always comes to my room after a nap, uses the bathroom and then climbs into bed with me. Ten minutes passed with no Butterfly. So I got up and opened the bathroom door to check on her. Instead of Butterfly, I found my Ladybug curled up in the empty bathtub with her favorite blanket and reading a book.
The way she asks for something, waits for me to repeat it (trying to understand what she said) and then she cheers, "okay!" as if it was my idea. Her: "tangled peas?" Me: "you want to watch Tangled?" Her: "okay!"
The way she sneak down the hall with her hands over her eyes, undoubtedly thinking this means we can't see her and she will get away with it.
Or the way she climbed into the snack cabinet and ate an entire bag of craisins. Or took the soap dispenser from the bathroom and used it to wash the couch. Or the way she took every book from the bookshelf and used them to build a fort. Or the way she stole my ice cream sandwich and ran and hid under the bed where I couldn't reach her.
Mischievous little imp monster.
Ladybug: "I imp!!"
evidence:
During dinner, Daddy pushed four bites of meat to an empty spot on her plate explaining that if she would eat this, she could have another serving of peaches. So she dutifully took one bite. I watched as he turned back to his own plate. Ladybug watched him too and seeing that he was distracted, slowly and quietly pushed the other three bites of meat back into their original pile and announced "okay daddy I done! more peaches please!"
I laid down on my bed to cuddle the baby during naptime. Soon, I heard small feet patter into my bedroom, past my bed and into the bathroom. I didn't say anything at first because Butterfly always comes to my room after a nap, uses the bathroom and then climbs into bed with me. Ten minutes passed with no Butterfly. So I got up and opened the bathroom door to check on her. Instead of Butterfly, I found my Ladybug curled up in the empty bathtub with her favorite blanket and reading a book.
The way she asks for something, waits for me to repeat it (trying to understand what she said) and then she cheers, "okay!" as if it was my idea. Her: "tangled peas?" Me: "you want to watch Tangled?" Her: "okay!"
The way she sneak down the hall with her hands over her eyes, undoubtedly thinking this means we can't see her and she will get away with it.
Or the way she climbed into the snack cabinet and ate an entire bag of craisins. Or took the soap dispenser from the bathroom and used it to wash the couch. Or the way she took every book from the bookshelf and used them to build a fort. Or the way she stole my ice cream sandwich and ran and hid under the bed where I couldn't reach her.
Mischievous little imp monster.
growing fast
Baby was officially three weeks old yesterday (it's going so fast!). She celebrated by NOT crying during bathtime for the first time ever. (she's had a bath every other day since she was born and has always hated it). Instead, she watched me with big serious eyes. then I tried to take her out of the tub and she cried.
Baby is a nighttime party animal. she has a longer awake period in the late morning and in the evening. Lately, "evening" has been from about 6:30 to 11:30. she also tends to get fussy in the evening and will only go to sleep if I hold her until she's deep asleep. Her favorite place to sleep (other than my arms) is daddy's pillow. She will sleep deeper and longer here than anywhere else. Her favorite time to sleep (based on length and peacefulness of sleep) is in the morning.
The ceiling fan is fascinating to her. She will just stare and watch perfectly content for long periods of time. Which works out well because then I can just stare and watch her.
For her three week old birthday she got her first piece of mail--her social security card. I got her first hospital bill. I'd suggest playing "guess how much a week in NICU costs" but its too depressing. Thank heavens for insurance.
Her big sisters are crazy about her and I have some semi-serious concerns about them smothering her with their cuddles and kisses. Ladybug loves to hold the baby's hand and Butterfly is so proud of herself for being "mommy's big helper". She even prays for Heavenly Father to help her be a good sister.
Our new carseat arrangement is working out great. Butterfly sits in the middle so she can peek under the canopy to check if baby is asleep or when baby is crying, she tries to give her a binky. She's amazingly gentle and sweet and so helpful.
Her 3 year old big sister pointed out that when baby screams it sounds like she's saying "no". First word? ...yikes.
Baby is a nighttime party animal. she has a longer awake period in the late morning and in the evening. Lately, "evening" has been from about 6:30 to 11:30. she also tends to get fussy in the evening and will only go to sleep if I hold her until she's deep asleep. Her favorite place to sleep (other than my arms) is daddy's pillow. She will sleep deeper and longer here than anywhere else. Her favorite time to sleep (based on length and peacefulness of sleep) is in the morning.
The ceiling fan is fascinating to her. She will just stare and watch perfectly content for long periods of time. Which works out well because then I can just stare and watch her.
For her three week old birthday she got her first piece of mail--her social security card. I got her first hospital bill. I'd suggest playing "guess how much a week in NICU costs" but its too depressing. Thank heavens for insurance.
Her big sisters are crazy about her and I have some semi-serious concerns about them smothering her with their cuddles and kisses. Ladybug loves to hold the baby's hand and Butterfly is so proud of herself for being "mommy's big helper". She even prays for Heavenly Father to help her be a good sister.
Our new carseat arrangement is working out great. Butterfly sits in the middle so she can peek under the canopy to check if baby is asleep or when baby is crying, she tries to give her a binky. She's amazingly gentle and sweet and so helpful.
Her 3 year old big sister pointed out that when baby screams it sounds like she's saying "no". First word? ...yikes.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
quote of the day
I'm including this as a quote of the day but more accurately, it's a quote of nearly every day lately.
Butterfly: "Dear Heav'nly Father, thank you day. thank you for baby and mommy. thank you can play and be good." (daddy whispers to suggest "please bless the food") Butterfly yells "no daddy! I do it myself!" (returning to her prayer voice) "please bless the food. name Jesus Christ Amen."
and a Ladybug quote of the day was when she stood behind her big sister to play with her hair and sing to it "flower geam and grow, make shine, make clock reverse and give back was mine, once was mine..."
Butterfly: "Dear Heav'nly Father, thank you day. thank you for baby and mommy. thank you can play and be good." (daddy whispers to suggest "please bless the food") Butterfly yells "no daddy! I do it myself!" (returning to her prayer voice) "please bless the food. name Jesus Christ Amen."
and a Ladybug quote of the day was when she stood behind her big sister to play with her hair and sing to it "flower geam and grow, make shine, make clock reverse and give back was mine, once was mine..."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
first cold
There's never a good time to get sick. And its always especially heartbreaking to be unable to help your child feel better.
Butterfly was four days old and spending only her second night at home when she was so congested that she could hardly breathe. We had brought the cold home with us from the hospital and her tiny little body was struggling with it. I remembering sitting in the middle of the living room floor, holding her and crying because I was so worried about her, so tired and still such a hormonal mess.
Ladybug never really got sick as a new baby. It wasn't until later, after her first birthday that she began a string of colds, ear infections and sinus infections that resulted in tubes and an adenoidectomy.
Baby girl is two and a half weeks old and caught her first cold. She's horribly congested, especially at night. I have a little extra reassurance from her respiratory monitor. We joked about it being the way to "idiot proof" a baby, or there has been countless jokes about needing to "plug in the baby", but last night, i was grateful to remember that in the worst case scenario, if she became too stuffy to breathe properly that the alarm would go off.
hang in there baby girl, life gets so much better.
Butterfly was four days old and spending only her second night at home when she was so congested that she could hardly breathe. We had brought the cold home with us from the hospital and her tiny little body was struggling with it. I remembering sitting in the middle of the living room floor, holding her and crying because I was so worried about her, so tired and still such a hormonal mess.
Ladybug never really got sick as a new baby. It wasn't until later, after her first birthday that she began a string of colds, ear infections and sinus infections that resulted in tubes and an adenoidectomy.
Baby girl is two and a half weeks old and caught her first cold. She's horribly congested, especially at night. I have a little extra reassurance from her respiratory monitor. We joked about it being the way to "idiot proof" a baby, or there has been countless jokes about needing to "plug in the baby", but last night, i was grateful to remember that in the worst case scenario, if she became too stuffy to breathe properly that the alarm would go off.
hang in there baby girl, life gets so much better.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
first weekend home
life is so good. We have all three of our beautiful girls home now. Since coming home from the hospital, we spent the first two days running around to see doctors. But then we got to spend the weekend relaxing at home. Highlights:
-baby loves to cuddle. she doesn't really love her bed but daddy put a recliner in our room so I could cuddle and nurse her throughout the night. We're not sleeping much yet but working on it.
-baby got her first bathtub bath. unfortunately, she hated it.
-our ward and neighbors have been bringing us tasty dinners, allowing us to spend our time relaxing and cuddling instead of trying to figure out what to feed my family.
-thoroughly loved watching conference. morning sessions were a little crazy but we got all the girls to nap at the same time during the afternoon sessions so we could relax and listen. I love the uplift and insights that were shared.
-the girls LOVE their little sister. They smother her with kisses whenever possible and are trying to hard to help and share toys with her.
-I love moments like this afternoon--sitting on the porch to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, cuddling the baby while the big girls drew chalk pictures with daddy.
-we started watching the Office. Having been fans on the original version, we were reluctant to try the American version. But we finally got around to trying it and its fun.
-daddy and his big girls built a fort in the playroom tonight. Needless to say, the girls thought it was awesome. So they cuddled in the fort for a movie night.
-we got to spend a lot of time reading books and playing with puzzles.
-our baby is unbelievably adorable. I could watch her for hours... actually, I do. I can't help it. I'm crazy about this kid.
-baby loves to cuddle. she doesn't really love her bed but daddy put a recliner in our room so I could cuddle and nurse her throughout the night. We're not sleeping much yet but working on it.
-baby got her first bathtub bath. unfortunately, she hated it.
-our ward and neighbors have been bringing us tasty dinners, allowing us to spend our time relaxing and cuddling instead of trying to figure out what to feed my family.
-thoroughly loved watching conference. morning sessions were a little crazy but we got all the girls to nap at the same time during the afternoon sessions so we could relax and listen. I love the uplift and insights that were shared.
-the girls LOVE their little sister. They smother her with kisses whenever possible and are trying to hard to help and share toys with her.
-I love moments like this afternoon--sitting on the porch to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, cuddling the baby while the big girls drew chalk pictures with daddy.
-we started watching the Office. Having been fans on the original version, we were reluctant to try the American version. But we finally got around to trying it and its fun.
-daddy and his big girls built a fort in the playroom tonight. Needless to say, the girls thought it was awesome. So they cuddled in the fort for a movie night.
-we got to spend a lot of time reading books and playing with puzzles.
-our baby is unbelievably adorable. I could watch her for hours... actually, I do. I can't help it. I'm crazy about this kid.
quote of the day
Butterfly: (in the tub) "Mom! What are you doing?! Why are you washing me? I'm not a dish!"
Don't worry, she got over it quickly. Now she's running around, frantically putting toys in her backpack, "i have to go on 'acation! I'm going to be late for 'acation!" This was followed by lengthy hugs for "mommy, my father and sister princess Cinderella".
Which inspired little sister, "k, bye! Have go to work and bring Bacon! Bye! Have fun, go to work, bring bacon!"
Don't worry, she got over it quickly. Now she's running around, frantically putting toys in her backpack, "i have to go on 'acation! I'm going to be late for 'acation!" This was followed by lengthy hugs for "mommy, my father and sister princess Cinderella".
Which inspired little sister, "k, bye! Have go to work and bring Bacon! Bye! Have fun, go to work, bring bacon!"
Saturday, October 1, 2011
nursing
I knew this conversation was coming, so I decided to just take it head on. The first time I sat down to nurse the baby, Ladybug had to investigate, "what she doing?", "she bite you?" So I tried to maturely explain to my two year old what the baby was doing and how mommy could give the baby special milk. She seemed satisfied with the explanation ("good baby. baby, it okay, you eat.") Soon daddy came home and little Ladybug went running to him with her shirt held high to show her own naked chest and saying, "daddy look! milk for baby!"
which isn't half as bad as her sister. I sat down on the couch to nurse Ladybug as a baby, with Butterfly sitting next to me and daddy next to her. She looked at me, looked at her dolly, and then tried pulling up her own shirt in attempt to nurse the dolly. Since she was wearing a onesie, it didn't work. So she looked at me, looked at daddy and began pulling up his shirt and trying to nurse her dolly on him! He was quick to stop her and I was quick to burst into laughter.
which isn't half as bad as her sister. I sat down on the couch to nurse Ladybug as a baby, with Butterfly sitting next to me and daddy next to her. She looked at me, looked at her dolly, and then tried pulling up her own shirt in attempt to nurse the dolly. Since she was wearing a onesie, it didn't work. So she looked at me, looked at daddy and began pulling up his shirt and trying to nurse her dolly on him! He was quick to stop her and I was quick to burst into laughter.
quote of the day
Butterfly: (while starting conference) "It's like church. but it's not. I'd rather go to church." (and as conference as ending) "Okay, it's time to go to nursery now. see the moms and dads and girls and boys. they're going. it's time to go to nursery now."
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