We went up to Rockford on Saturday and came back on Tuesday, by way of Ames where we stopped in briefly at a ridiculously-sized gathering at my grandparents' house there. We had a wonderful time in Rockford, including two fun-filled days with cousins and another day with just my little clan there. As you can tell by the picasa pictures, it was really, really fun. It was hard to say goodbye to Jenny's family, knowing that she had to go back to Ames so her girls to go off to Michigan with their dad, but she's been holding up much better than I ever could. The whole situation is ridiculous, and I just try not to think about it too much because I get so pointlessly angry at her stupid husband, doing such stupid, hurtful things. He seems to be doing anything he can to hurt Jenny, and it doesn't matter if he hurts himself (stupid) or his kids (heartless) in the process.
...but anyway, it was a really great Christmas, and it's fun to think we get round two in Barnum during this coming weekend! The girls got some fun gifts, including a truck for Emily that she can take apart with a little battery-powered driver, a play mailbox for Audrey complete with letters AND stamps (I think I saw every kid except Milo having fun with it), and a ton of puzzles and books and other fun things. They really enjoyed the thrill of waking up to see what Santa brought them. They weren't up at 5 AM like Julie was; in fact, I thought 7:15 was pretty nice for Christmas morning! If only we hadn't stayed up until 1:30 getting everything ready, and doing the grown-ups gift exchange! Ah well, I got a nap the next day, and it was really feeling vacation-like.
But today, Travis went to work, since we were in town and he had stuff he wanted to get done, and he can take the vacation days later in the year instead of today and tomorrow. That meant it was a pretty normal day for me and the girls. We actually went to the mall and walked around, which was fun, and when we got home they decided not to come inside but rather to play in the car for about half an hour, which enabled me to unpack purchases, switch out laundry, and start lunch! nice! Speaking of meals, I know I have described how independent these little girls have become in getting their own plates, cups, etc. For breakfast this morning, Emily got out her own plate and knife and the bread, and wanted to make a PBJ sandwich. Audrey picked out her rice krispies and her bowl, and headed to the table. I called her back to the kitchen to point out that we were out of milk, and as she's standing looking into the fridge, she says to me, plain as day, "Egg nog!" I said, ohhhh, no, I don't think we can put egg nog on your rice krispies, but she kept insisting. And I decided, well, how bad could it be, really? She loved it. And I loved hearing her sing "Egg nog, egg nog, egg nog" all throughout breakfast. What a fun way to start the day!
The girls put on a little vocal show for the family at Mommo and Poppo's, although I guess it was mostly Audrey because Emily was quite crabby at the time (which was understandable because she was exhausted from being at Grandma's house and still miffed that we had to leave in the first place). It was so lovely. I was most pleased that I think Mommo could actually hear her, because she would start to sing along with Audrey but then not continue singing and just listen. This is truly notable because 1) her hearing is far worse than she will admit and 2) usually she sings along so loudly that you wonder what the point is of having a child sing for her if all she wants to do is hear herself sing. But that's one of those things that you just accept from someone who's 92, though, you know? I think she really was able to enjoy Audrey's spontaneous lullabyes, and Audrey really got a kick out of the applause and general reaction, seeing people so pleased with something she could do. It'll be a few years before self-consciousness provides her some stage fright, so for now I'm going to enjoy it and make her do her pony tricks for everyone who would appreciate it - haha! The girl is amazing! So is Emily, but she obviously is more shy, and I don't want to weird her out about music - I want her to love it in her own way. She recited a couple of poems for my mom, though, which was amazing in itself. "Girls and Boys, Come Out To Play" is 10 lines long! She also recited over half of the Bunk Beds book for mom. When she did that for Travis the other night, he said to me afterwards, "Is that normal???" I don't think it is, but it sure is lovely.
I have a huge to-do list for tomorrow, but I'll probably spend a lot of it getting ready for another weekend trip. It'll be 2012 before I know it!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Naptime
This is too funny to not write down.
Today, the girls were playing together after lunch, and I heard them go upstairs. I figured I'd better see what they were up to, so I got to the stairs and Emily shouted down to me, "Mom, I'm putting Audrey down for her nap. I don't need any help, so you stay down there!"
I laughed and went back to the living room to pick up Audrey's blanket and small pink bear, which she has been really attached to lately, and brought them upstairs. I told Emily that she'd need those things, so that's the only way she would let me go upstairs. I found her and Audrey in the bathroom, with Audrey happily sitting on the potty, putting on her pullup. They came back into their bedroom, and picked out a book, snuggled up with me on Audrey's bed, and we read it together. Then I asked Audrey if she thought her pillow looked like a nice place to snuggle, and she giggled and crawled over there, snuggled in. Then Emily pulled up the blankets around her, kissed her on the cheek, and turned off the light. All I needed to do was kiss Audrey and say goodnight! three hours later, she called for me, but Emily beat me to it and went upstairs and helped her get her undies back on, and by the time I got there she was almost ready to come back downstairs.
Aren't they nice girls?? :)
Today, the girls were playing together after lunch, and I heard them go upstairs. I figured I'd better see what they were up to, so I got to the stairs and Emily shouted down to me, "Mom, I'm putting Audrey down for her nap. I don't need any help, so you stay down there!"
I laughed and went back to the living room to pick up Audrey's blanket and small pink bear, which she has been really attached to lately, and brought them upstairs. I told Emily that she'd need those things, so that's the only way she would let me go upstairs. I found her and Audrey in the bathroom, with Audrey happily sitting on the potty, putting on her pullup. They came back into their bedroom, and picked out a book, snuggled up with me on Audrey's bed, and we read it together. Then I asked Audrey if she thought her pillow looked like a nice place to snuggle, and she giggled and crawled over there, snuggled in. Then Emily pulled up the blankets around her, kissed her on the cheek, and turned off the light. All I needed to do was kiss Audrey and say goodnight! three hours later, she called for me, but Emily beat me to it and went upstairs and helped her get her undies back on, and by the time I got there she was almost ready to come back downstairs.
Aren't they nice girls?? :)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
We have movement!
Time to post about a new kid. :) I can feel the baby moving now!! It's pretty weird, but I've gotta say that I like it. I'm big enough now that it's more likely that my belly is actually a baby and not just that I had too much lunch. today, I wore maternity pants to work for the first time, and it's evident that I'm going to need different ones because they're a good 2" too short. Story of my life with pants, but even harder to fix with maternity pants. It's really getting real now.
We've made our Christmas plans, and got the presents all wrapped, pretty much. There are a few things left to get for the girls, and I still need to finish the chocolates for neighbors/friends/babysitters.
There are so many sweet things that the girls do throughout the day, and when I have time to sit and blog, I can't think of specifics. When one girl is upset, it's not uncommon for the other to come over and give her sister a hug, which is sometimes well-received and other times infuriates the other. I can't believe how much they love Christmas lights! They were both disappointed tonight when our neighbors across the street forgot to turn theirs on.
Audrey was so delighted with herself tonight because she put together a puzzle of a horse. i remember Emily worked on these same puzzles when she was Audrey's age, almost exactly, because I was tied up nursing my newborn and she would work on them while my hands were busy. Audrey hadn't ever done them before, and she was so thrilled, taking pieces and seeing what it turned out to be. She was jumping and clapping and squealing!
Emily has memorized the Bunk Beds book. It's been her favorite for at least a week, every night, and now she's gotten to the point where she recites page after page of it. Then she picks out W's for Willie and M's for Molly, and follows along with words. It's pretty cool.
And they both have been singing "sweet and low." It's amazing to hear Audrey keep pitch with Emily. Audrey loves her lullaby book at bedtime, and sings all kinds of songs along with me. It's a pretty nice way to tuck them in each night. No matter how rocky the day gets to be throughout the day, keeping up with owies (running headlong into a shopping cart and smacking one's nose, slipping on the floor and bruising ones head, etc.), I always feel good about hugging and snuggling with them while we sing and read together.
We've made our Christmas plans, and got the presents all wrapped, pretty much. There are a few things left to get for the girls, and I still need to finish the chocolates for neighbors/friends/babysitters.
There are so many sweet things that the girls do throughout the day, and when I have time to sit and blog, I can't think of specifics. When one girl is upset, it's not uncommon for the other to come over and give her sister a hug, which is sometimes well-received and other times infuriates the other. I can't believe how much they love Christmas lights! They were both disappointed tonight when our neighbors across the street forgot to turn theirs on.
Audrey was so delighted with herself tonight because she put together a puzzle of a horse. i remember Emily worked on these same puzzles when she was Audrey's age, almost exactly, because I was tied up nursing my newborn and she would work on them while my hands were busy. Audrey hadn't ever done them before, and she was so thrilled, taking pieces and seeing what it turned out to be. She was jumping and clapping and squealing!
Emily has memorized the Bunk Beds book. It's been her favorite for at least a week, every night, and now she's gotten to the point where she recites page after page of it. Then she picks out W's for Willie and M's for Molly, and follows along with words. It's pretty cool.
And they both have been singing "sweet and low." It's amazing to hear Audrey keep pitch with Emily. Audrey loves her lullaby book at bedtime, and sings all kinds of songs along with me. It's a pretty nice way to tuck them in each night. No matter how rocky the day gets to be throughout the day, keeping up with owies (running headlong into a shopping cart and smacking one's nose, slipping on the floor and bruising ones head, etc.), I always feel good about hugging and snuggling with them while we sing and read together.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Partied out
Trav and I hosted a gathering of friends last night for a holiday party. We invited several of our co-workers and friends and neighbors, and while not everybody knew each other all that well, the kids melded just fine and we had a really, really nice evening. I made cold sandwiches and cranberry/apple salad and hot cheesy potatoes, with bread pudding and pear sauce for dessert. People brought snacks and wine and Travis served some sort of apple brady / whiskey concoction, to go along with egg nog and apple cider. It was really, really fun! Possibly the best part was the gingerbread house decorating. I had constructed them earlier in the week, and made frosting and put it into ziplock sandwich bags for the kids to use like pastry bags, and stashed gumdrops and candycanes and m&m's onto the kids' table on the porch. It was really, really fun! Those kids were SO entertained! The 2-year-olds on up to Julie, who's almost 10. Audrey was stuffing gummy bears in her mouth as fast as she could, and another 2YO named Sophie picked up the entire gingerbread house and took a bite out of it. Emily was shaking sprinkles on hers, with no wet frosting for them to stick to, so they just went all over the place, while later I caught her sucking the frosting directly out of the bag. They were on quite the sugar high! Audrey was able to stay up until almost 9:00, but Emily played with her cousins until nearly 11:00!!! I don't think she has ever stayed up that late before! She did pretty well today, but you could see the sleepiness in her eyes all day, and she was happy to be in her bed at 7:30 tonight.
I think the reason for hosting and entertaining is that it forces one's home to be less of a private stash-my-stuff hole. I had piles of things all over the house that I hadn't even realized were there because they weren't imminent to take care of, and the space it was taking up wasn't valuable real-estate like countertops or similar. Once I looked through my house with hostess's eyes, I realized there was crap everywhere. Even this morning, with beer bottles and paper plates and gingerbread house decorations scattered all over, it still looks better than before, and probably better than we've ever had it. Travis and I really worked hard Saturday morning, and throughout the week, getting the house ready. It's nice to have that payoff last longer than the hangover, metaphorically speaking, of course. :)
Audrey is getting much braver with repeating words to try them out. Now, in her babbling, I catch a lot more words. It's funny that her strings of emphatically-spoken nonsense are now containing real words, if you listen closely enough! She is fully potty-trained now, and is really in charge of her own functions, unless the slime comes back, which it does every 2-3 weeks or so. It's really devastating to her, and now she's hypervigilant about running to the potty whenever she feels any sort of lower intestinal activity, which is great, but depressing to see a 2YO try to deal with. I've started a food diary online to help try to narrow down what is making her tummy flip out (candidates include apples, onions, corn, and canned tomatoes), and to take to a doctor once 2012 starts, because our healthcare for 2012 will meet the high deductible and that means it's a good time to make expensive doctor's appointments! The food diary is kinda funny, because the best free site I could find to help with that is a weight-loss site, so it asked me what the weight goal was, and what her starting weight was. I guessed that she's probably 27 pounds, and wants to be 32 by next spring? :) Then the site scolds me each day for the low number of calories, because I always leave that part blank, and says that starvation is not a healthy diet method. Anyway, last night when I was putting her to bed during the party, she was really distracted by all the noise going on, even though she was super, super tired, and I sang some lullabies with her. Man, what a good singer she is! She sang Twinkle Twinkle (of course), Lullaby and Goodnight, Rockabye Baby, and Golden Slumbers, and they were really, really on-pitch!! It's so fun to sing through our lullaby book together at night, with Emily belting out her current favorites (Sweet and Low and Peace Attend Thee, which is her name for All Through the Night). It's so fun. She cracks me up all the time, with her expressiveness. She loves to jump-dance, and she'll start the little Mozart music cube that plays little 15-second tunes, and jump like crazy, and then as the end of the ditty approaches, she runs back and hits the button again. She loves to take care of dolls, and she insists on dressing herself every day, which often results in backwards shirts but if she doesn't care, I don't either! She gets her own fork and glass for meals, and helps herself to cereal in the cupboard whenever she's hungry (which is a bit too independent, if you ask me!). But, she will even hang up her own coat when we get inside the house!
Emily is such an easy 4-year-old. She now makes her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, and all I need to do for her is get the jelly from up high in the fridge, and then cut the sandwich in half when she's done. I always offer to do it for her in case she's tired of the exercise, but so far, she is having a great time with it! She even made her own lunch the other day, getting out the ham, cheese, and tortillas from the fridge and putting them together, ready to be microwaved and rolled up! She is starting to get a little mouthy at times, but it's just whatever her favorite phrase happens to be that she's picked up from whoever. Lately it's been: Audrey! DO NOT do that... But most of the time she says things like, "Mom could you get that for me?" It sounds lovely, and I don't force the "please" because I forget to do it myself when asking her for favors, and it seems like it would be rude of me to reject such a lovely, pleasant request from her. Anyone would be charmed by her, and never miss the please, I figure! She still fits nicely on my lap, and we snuggle lots and read book after book after book during Audrey's nap. She's been bringing home activities from Ms. Teri's that say they're Kindergarten curriculum at the bottom of the page, so, gosh, I sure hope she's ready for that in a year and a half! We constantly struggle with fingers in her mouth, especially while reading books, and with her personality I am figuring that a nailbiting habit will replace the thumb, whenever that occurs. Yet another thing I wish wasn't available in my genetic material to be passed along, but, well, like I said, she sure can sing! I'm sure she gets the enthusiasm with which she sings from Travis, but I'm totally taking credit for her excellent pitch!
They really are getting to be so independent. I just read an article about how parents tend to hover, over-priase, and offer primarily structured activities, leaving not much free-play time for kids to play and experiment, fail, and try again. In the article, the author said she was asked what her favorite moments were as a kid, and then to recall if any adults were present. The general response rate for "adults present" was about 10%! I feel like my kids are little electrons - my mere presence deteriorates their kid experience! Well, not right now, of course, and not across-the-board and forever, but it's a good reassurance that if they're in the basement being wild and silly with friends, I don't need to supervise, until I hear a crash or something. :) And, I'm sure that when the baby comes next spring, I will be again impressed and grateful for the independence they've been developing. What great kids they are!
This afternoon, they were both sitting on my lap, under a blanket, kicking each other's feet, wiggling their toes together and giggling like crazy. I wish I could capture that moment and re-live it when they're off to college and I'm a lonely old lady. *sigh*
I think the reason for hosting and entertaining is that it forces one's home to be less of a private stash-my-stuff hole. I had piles of things all over the house that I hadn't even realized were there because they weren't imminent to take care of, and the space it was taking up wasn't valuable real-estate like countertops or similar. Once I looked through my house with hostess's eyes, I realized there was crap everywhere. Even this morning, with beer bottles and paper plates and gingerbread house decorations scattered all over, it still looks better than before, and probably better than we've ever had it. Travis and I really worked hard Saturday morning, and throughout the week, getting the house ready. It's nice to have that payoff last longer than the hangover, metaphorically speaking, of course. :)
Audrey is getting much braver with repeating words to try them out. Now, in her babbling, I catch a lot more words. It's funny that her strings of emphatically-spoken nonsense are now containing real words, if you listen closely enough! She is fully potty-trained now, and is really in charge of her own functions, unless the slime comes back, which it does every 2-3 weeks or so. It's really devastating to her, and now she's hypervigilant about running to the potty whenever she feels any sort of lower intestinal activity, which is great, but depressing to see a 2YO try to deal with. I've started a food diary online to help try to narrow down what is making her tummy flip out (candidates include apples, onions, corn, and canned tomatoes), and to take to a doctor once 2012 starts, because our healthcare for 2012 will meet the high deductible and that means it's a good time to make expensive doctor's appointments! The food diary is kinda funny, because the best free site I could find to help with that is a weight-loss site, so it asked me what the weight goal was, and what her starting weight was. I guessed that she's probably 27 pounds, and wants to be 32 by next spring? :) Then the site scolds me each day for the low number of calories, because I always leave that part blank, and says that starvation is not a healthy diet method. Anyway, last night when I was putting her to bed during the party, she was really distracted by all the noise going on, even though she was super, super tired, and I sang some lullabies with her. Man, what a good singer she is! She sang Twinkle Twinkle (of course), Lullaby and Goodnight, Rockabye Baby, and Golden Slumbers, and they were really, really on-pitch!! It's so fun to sing through our lullaby book together at night, with Emily belting out her current favorites (Sweet and Low and Peace Attend Thee, which is her name for All Through the Night). It's so fun. She cracks me up all the time, with her expressiveness. She loves to jump-dance, and she'll start the little Mozart music cube that plays little 15-second tunes, and jump like crazy, and then as the end of the ditty approaches, she runs back and hits the button again. She loves to take care of dolls, and she insists on dressing herself every day, which often results in backwards shirts but if she doesn't care, I don't either! She gets her own fork and glass for meals, and helps herself to cereal in the cupboard whenever she's hungry (which is a bit too independent, if you ask me!). But, she will even hang up her own coat when we get inside the house!
Emily is such an easy 4-year-old. She now makes her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for breakfast, and all I need to do for her is get the jelly from up high in the fridge, and then cut the sandwich in half when she's done. I always offer to do it for her in case she's tired of the exercise, but so far, she is having a great time with it! She even made her own lunch the other day, getting out the ham, cheese, and tortillas from the fridge and putting them together, ready to be microwaved and rolled up! She is starting to get a little mouthy at times, but it's just whatever her favorite phrase happens to be that she's picked up from whoever. Lately it's been: Audrey! DO NOT do that... But most of the time she says things like, "Mom could you get that for me?" It sounds lovely, and I don't force the "please" because I forget to do it myself when asking her for favors, and it seems like it would be rude of me to reject such a lovely, pleasant request from her. Anyone would be charmed by her, and never miss the please, I figure! She still fits nicely on my lap, and we snuggle lots and read book after book after book during Audrey's nap. She's been bringing home activities from Ms. Teri's that say they're Kindergarten curriculum at the bottom of the page, so, gosh, I sure hope she's ready for that in a year and a half! We constantly struggle with fingers in her mouth, especially while reading books, and with her personality I am figuring that a nailbiting habit will replace the thumb, whenever that occurs. Yet another thing I wish wasn't available in my genetic material to be passed along, but, well, like I said, she sure can sing! I'm sure she gets the enthusiasm with which she sings from Travis, but I'm totally taking credit for her excellent pitch!
They really are getting to be so independent. I just read an article about how parents tend to hover, over-priase, and offer primarily structured activities, leaving not much free-play time for kids to play and experiment, fail, and try again. In the article, the author said she was asked what her favorite moments were as a kid, and then to recall if any adults were present. The general response rate for "adults present" was about 10%! I feel like my kids are little electrons - my mere presence deteriorates their kid experience! Well, not right now, of course, and not across-the-board and forever, but it's a good reassurance that if they're in the basement being wild and silly with friends, I don't need to supervise, until I hear a crash or something. :) And, I'm sure that when the baby comes next spring, I will be again impressed and grateful for the independence they've been developing. What great kids they are!
This afternoon, they were both sitting on my lap, under a blanket, kicking each other's feet, wiggling their toes together and giggling like crazy. I wish I could capture that moment and re-live it when they're off to college and I'm a lonely old lady. *sigh*
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