It's been a long time since I've posted - and in the meantime, spring finally showed up!! Sunshine, warm breezes, green grass, the smell of things growing, daylight savings time, I love it all!! I told Emily today that soon it would be warm enough to go outside without a coat on, and she looked at me blankly for a second, then said, "Wear a coat outside." Okay, good plan, honey.
This morning, nearly everything she said to me was a one-liner worth reciting to others, although after a long day I can't remember any of them. She has me cracking up all the time, that is, when she's not driving me insane. I put Audrey down for a nap 4 times today, and 3 of those times I had to battle Emily saying, loudly, "Audrey awake!!" Audrey's eyes would fly open for a second, and I'd shush and bounce her back to half-sleep... then repeat. So frustrating!!
Also frustrating is this flirtation Emily is doing with skipping her nap. Today she laid down for a little while, but popped right back up once she heard me trying to Audrey to sleep (see above cycle, repeat. gah!) I just wanted to wait until Audrey was on a regular nap schedule, just so I could count on a break during the day, but I guess it's just going to be hard for a couple of weeks... or months...
Last week was spring break week, and Amanda had jury duty so I lined up alternate sitting for the girls. After a zillion changes in plan, the girls spent Monday with Grandma Sullivan, Tuesday with my aunt Janie, and Thursday back at Amanda's because she was done with jury duty by then. I am VERY glad last week is over, because with work-frustrations and the girls being out-of-whack due to the weird childcare, it was about more than I could take, especially after we JUST got everybody healthy again.
So we decided to go to Rockford for the weekend! It really felt like a nice little retreat. Mom is still recovering from twisting her knee on the ice a few weeks ago, and it's really frustrating her to be limited in mobility, but she had a great time with the girls. Dad is finishing the basement, so he and Travis got to bang around and use tools for a while, so they were happy. Emily was delighted to be there, and Audrey warmed up pretty quickly. We seem to be pretty good at taking this show on the road.
Let's see, about the girls. Audrey is ... a little stinker these days. She is still picky about taking bottles, and even nursing, depending on the noise level and excitement in the room, and all that. She laughs pretty heartily now, which is just awesome when it coincides with Emily's giggle. She also likes to stick her tongue out a little when she's smiling - kinda cute. She LOVES her baby bjorn!! She recognizes it as her wearer is putting it on, and then kicks and kicks and smiles and wiggles and kicks the whole time she's in it. Travis wore her for at least an hour at a St. Patricks' party a few weeks ago, and she was totally happy the whole time, and afterwards, too. I wore her at the grocery store today and we got lots of attention. Okay, she got lots of attention, but I enjoyed it too. Audrey seems to be very emotionally mature: she misses me when Emily and I leave her with her dad for a second, she is very uncertain in new situations with new sights, smells, sounds, and she actually cries tears! She seems to really know what's going on, and wants to be right in the middle of it - and therefore is hard to entertain, sometimes! She's not been the best sleeper lately, so I'm really worn out, but I'm going to darken her room a bit more tonight and hope that helps with the going back to sleep after eating.
I've been holding back in actually putting this in writing, but Emily is actually potty-trained now. Instead of relying solely on reminders, she will take herself when she has to go. There was about a week of accidents, which I commented to Amanda about one day while dropping them off, and since then, none! Even with being sick, she still did a great job going potty. Looking back, she always did seem to do better immediately after I had vented in frustration where she could have heard me. It's weird to think that she got the message listening to me whine about it to other people, when communicating to her directly didn't work?? Is that possible for a 2-year-old to pick up on? Anyway, I'm immensely proud of her, and don't mind the overnight pull-ups one bit. She'll get there soon, no doubt.
Have I mentioned what an amazing singer Emily is? She sings twinkle twinkle endlessly, but she can also sing Little Boy Blue, All the Pretty Little Horses, Rockabye Baby, Day is Done (Taps), and she's pretty darn good at her ABC's. She also helps me recite some of the poems that we like to read at night, and she chimes in with quotes from books. Sometimes I'll say a line from a book on purpose, to see if she picks it up, but sometimes she'll hear something randomly that happens to be from a book, and then the challenge is on me to figure out what the heck she's talking about! Amazing what she's stashed in her little head already.
Travis and I were playing with the girls tonight, laying on the floor of the living room and holding them up in the air on knees or feet. They were giggling, and it was just the best feeling. I have such a nice little family!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I swear I picked up the wrong girl from daycare today. Emily was absolutely crazy tonight. This morning, we were snuggled up in the chair reading books while Audrey slept, and she snuggled in close to me, saying, "I love you, Mom. You're a nice Mom." (I like to tell her she's a nice girl.) It was so sweet! But as we pulled into the driveway arriving home, she cried and cried and cried that she wanted to go back to Ms. Amanda's, which she sometimes says but today she just wouldn't stop wailing. Within the following hour's time, she ran around the porch making marks on the walls with crayons, she threw toys at her sister, and peed her pants on the couch. What happened?????? I guess it started before we left today: Shortly before we left, she ran from me when I told her not to play with garbage bags, and then promptly pooped her pants. She doesn't seem to think anything bad about time-outs, and having poop in her pants isn't enough of a negative to drive her to avoid the situation (can you imagine?), although she does ask me to clean her up right away. I can't get her attention in order to try to treat anything as a teachable moment. I'm just trying to keep Audrey alive and unharmed, and my house from being demolished. Except when she's singing her ABC's on pitch, doing puzzles, talking about her happy/sad/angry emotions, naming colors, kissing her sister gently, reciting lines from her favorite books, and volunteering to take her plate into the kitchen from the table. How can she be so mature and bright and then so completely impossible the next second? Why does she have to be so TWO?
Audrey is finding her hands, and she's in the zombie stage right now. The look of amazement on her face is so incredible, as she's reaching for something and realizing she can feel it and move it and watch it all at the same time. She's up once each night about 4 AM most days, which is fine with me. She's pretty predictable for sleeping throughout the day, and we may have gotten on to a solution for her bottle-aversion at daycare: she's just too distracted to eat! I tried feeding her before we left on Monday, and she wouldn't nurse until it got quiet, and today she ate pretty well from the bottle better when shielded from activity with a blanket. Yay! She's been a little needy lately, wanting to be held, but I think that's just because I have to leave her sometimes while I clean up / discipline her sister and she gets lonely and bored. Having a baby is easy - what was I thinking was so hard two years ago?
I have been feeling pretty stupid about taking the girls to daycare lately. I feel like I just can't get it right, and the last thing I want is for my sitter to be annoyed with me when she's looking after my precious girls. If I can't set her up for success, it's my girls who have a hard time. And besides, I like her a lot and don't want anyone to have a hard day because of something I did or didn't do. At least I haven't forgotten Audrey's milk yet (I did that with Emily - forgot her milk, forgot nipples, forgot bottles entirely), but I have forgotten to leave Emily's outdoor gear. I was late picking them up last week by about 10 minutes, and I showed up too early that same day. I haven't worked with Audrey and her bottles like Amanda would prefer, but it's just too much work when I have such an easy alternative available. I even feel guilty because I ate spicy food for dinner one night, which did not agree with Audrey the next day, leaving Amanda with a very fussy, gassy baby. Emily had a time-out there for not picking up her toys, which is something we haven't emphasized here at home much. I forgot to change Audrey before I took the girls today (due to the pooped pants), so the first thing on her daily sheet was to change a wet diaper. *sigh* One of these days, I'll get into the rhythm, right?
Last weekend, we went to a waterpark with some friends, and had a really nice time. Emily was pretty excited to go swimming, even though she was probably only in the water for half an hour or so. Travis had a good time on the water slide, which apparently was pretty wicked and even better after a couple beers. I got to talk to some other friends who are fighting the same terrible-two's-plus-infant things that I have been. It felt good to get out and be social, and yet come home, have bathtime, and have everyone sleep well that night. Plus we watched the ISU women win, and that's fun too.
I told my boss today that I am thinking of looking for a different position at IVS, but I don't really know how to begin because part-time positions aren't ever formally posted - you just have to come across something by word of mouth. He was pretty surprised and was really interested in why I would want to leave the department, and I told him I was tired of feeling like my work wasn't worthwhile. I have yet to be on a project where I have actually gotten to do design work from the ground up, although some projects have been better than others. All the projects, though, have included massive amounts of documenting others' work, annoyed objections to my review of things that were implemented without my input, and lots of being told that my job is easy that anybody can do it, and should be doing it, too. I will be thinking this over more in the next few months, but I guess the nice thing to take from today is that my boss was really wanting to keep me in the department. At least somebody thinks my work is valuable! Travis is fighting frustrations at work, too, and went to bed at 9 tonight because he couldn't sleep last night, frustrated with work. I know we'll both get through this, but these workplace transitions are always hard. Maybe this is the stress that's tripping Emily over the edge... but it's the only stress in our lives. We really have it pretty good!!
I got to sub for some friends' volleyball team the other night, and it was SO FUN. I had forgotten how good it feels to focus on something and work up a sweat and get my heart going. It took me several hours to wind down afterwards, and since it was a 9:00 game that was kind of a sleep-killer. I have been reeeeally stiff the past two days, but it was totally worth it. I think this weekend will be worth it, too, since my sister-in-law is turning 30 and Travis volunteered to stay home with the girls so I can go socialize. We'll see if I can stay awake and keep up with the party!
Audrey is finding her hands, and she's in the zombie stage right now. The look of amazement on her face is so incredible, as she's reaching for something and realizing she can feel it and move it and watch it all at the same time. She's up once each night about 4 AM most days, which is fine with me. She's pretty predictable for sleeping throughout the day, and we may have gotten on to a solution for her bottle-aversion at daycare: she's just too distracted to eat! I tried feeding her before we left on Monday, and she wouldn't nurse until it got quiet, and today she ate pretty well from the bottle better when shielded from activity with a blanket. Yay! She's been a little needy lately, wanting to be held, but I think that's just because I have to leave her sometimes while I clean up / discipline her sister and she gets lonely and bored. Having a baby is easy - what was I thinking was so hard two years ago?
I have been feeling pretty stupid about taking the girls to daycare lately. I feel like I just can't get it right, and the last thing I want is for my sitter to be annoyed with me when she's looking after my precious girls. If I can't set her up for success, it's my girls who have a hard time. And besides, I like her a lot and don't want anyone to have a hard day because of something I did or didn't do. At least I haven't forgotten Audrey's milk yet (I did that with Emily - forgot her milk, forgot nipples, forgot bottles entirely), but I have forgotten to leave Emily's outdoor gear. I was late picking them up last week by about 10 minutes, and I showed up too early that same day. I haven't worked with Audrey and her bottles like Amanda would prefer, but it's just too much work when I have such an easy alternative available. I even feel guilty because I ate spicy food for dinner one night, which did not agree with Audrey the next day, leaving Amanda with a very fussy, gassy baby. Emily had a time-out there for not picking up her toys, which is something we haven't emphasized here at home much. I forgot to change Audrey before I took the girls today (due to the pooped pants), so the first thing on her daily sheet was to change a wet diaper. *sigh* One of these days, I'll get into the rhythm, right?
Last weekend, we went to a waterpark with some friends, and had a really nice time. Emily was pretty excited to go swimming, even though she was probably only in the water for half an hour or so. Travis had a good time on the water slide, which apparently was pretty wicked and even better after a couple beers. I got to talk to some other friends who are fighting the same terrible-two's-plus-infant things that I have been. It felt good to get out and be social, and yet come home, have bathtime, and have everyone sleep well that night. Plus we watched the ISU women win, and that's fun too.
I told my boss today that I am thinking of looking for a different position at IVS, but I don't really know how to begin because part-time positions aren't ever formally posted - you just have to come across something by word of mouth. He was pretty surprised and was really interested in why I would want to leave the department, and I told him I was tired of feeling like my work wasn't worthwhile. I have yet to be on a project where I have actually gotten to do design work from the ground up, although some projects have been better than others. All the projects, though, have included massive amounts of documenting others' work, annoyed objections to my review of things that were implemented without my input, and lots of being told that my job is easy that anybody can do it, and should be doing it, too. I will be thinking this over more in the next few months, but I guess the nice thing to take from today is that my boss was really wanting to keep me in the department. At least somebody thinks my work is valuable! Travis is fighting frustrations at work, too, and went to bed at 9 tonight because he couldn't sleep last night, frustrated with work. I know we'll both get through this, but these workplace transitions are always hard. Maybe this is the stress that's tripping Emily over the edge... but it's the only stress in our lives. We really have it pretty good!!
I got to sub for some friends' volleyball team the other night, and it was SO FUN. I had forgotten how good it feels to focus on something and work up a sweat and get my heart going. It took me several hours to wind down afterwards, and since it was a 9:00 game that was kind of a sleep-killer. I have been reeeeally stiff the past two days, but it was totally worth it. I think this weekend will be worth it, too, since my sister-in-law is turning 30 and Travis volunteered to stay home with the girls so I can go socialize. We'll see if I can stay awake and keep up with the party!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Much better!
This weekend was much better than last. We had a really nice time together, all four of us, with no plans other than just having fun and doing a few things around the house. I feel especially bad now for being such a grump last weekend, but at least I got through it. Emily has only a slight remnant of her cough left and we're just finishing out the antibiotic. *phew!*
I captured a hilarious moment on camera tonight, and a super-sweet one this afternoon. After Emily woke up from her nap, she came over to Audrey on the floor and was giving her "snuffs" (little fake nibbles that I do to Emily's neck - her only hint of ticklishness!). Audrey almost giggled!! It was so adorable, because she was clearly having fun playing with her sister! and so was Emily, they were both just grinning and in stitches. I caught 2 seconds on video, and decided that was enough, just enjoy the moment. Tonight I snagged a picture of Emily as she tore through the dining room / living room / kitchen / hallway circle, being chased by Travis with a wrapping paper tube. They would each randomly shout out "hot dog!" and laugh their heads off. They must've done 50 laps, it was so funny. I guess that's one way to encourage distance running in your child - actual chasing??
And then I thought to myself, will I really want to go back and look at these pictures and videos?? I am finding each day to be bittersweet enough, realizing how fast this early-childhood parenting is going, and how much I will miss those giggles and smiles and snuggles. I think I might cry to look at all this captured joy, instead of reliving it!
Audrey was apparently quite demanding on Friday at Ms. Amanda's - when she was eating from her bottle (doing much better at that now that we've tried a new brand), she didn't like it at all when Amanda would make faces at the other baby who was waiting his turn to eat. She needed Amanda's full attention! Funny girl. And Emily sang her ABC's with me today -- right on pitch and with nearly every letter. I knew she could sing the song, because she sings strange combinations of it with twinkle, twinkle, and baa baa black sheep. But I had no idea she knew the letters in the song that well, because she usually says she can't do it and just listens to me. So today, she tried it, and she can do it! Amazing.
In one of Emily's books, there's a line about how "when the snow was gone, and wind was soft and warm again..." and it makes me hate winter a little more every time we read it. Someday, we'll be able to go outside without coats and boots. Someday, we'll see the sun after 6 PM. Someday we'll see green grass again... right??
I captured a hilarious moment on camera tonight, and a super-sweet one this afternoon. After Emily woke up from her nap, she came over to Audrey on the floor and was giving her "snuffs" (little fake nibbles that I do to Emily's neck - her only hint of ticklishness!). Audrey almost giggled!! It was so adorable, because she was clearly having fun playing with her sister! and so was Emily, they were both just grinning and in stitches. I caught 2 seconds on video, and decided that was enough, just enjoy the moment. Tonight I snagged a picture of Emily as she tore through the dining room / living room / kitchen / hallway circle, being chased by Travis with a wrapping paper tube. They would each randomly shout out "hot dog!" and laugh their heads off. They must've done 50 laps, it was so funny. I guess that's one way to encourage distance running in your child - actual chasing??
And then I thought to myself, will I really want to go back and look at these pictures and videos?? I am finding each day to be bittersweet enough, realizing how fast this early-childhood parenting is going, and how much I will miss those giggles and smiles and snuggles. I think I might cry to look at all this captured joy, instead of reliving it!
Audrey was apparently quite demanding on Friday at Ms. Amanda's - when she was eating from her bottle (doing much better at that now that we've tried a new brand), she didn't like it at all when Amanda would make faces at the other baby who was waiting his turn to eat. She needed Amanda's full attention! Funny girl. And Emily sang her ABC's with me today -- right on pitch and with nearly every letter. I knew she could sing the song, because she sings strange combinations of it with twinkle, twinkle, and baa baa black sheep. But I had no idea she knew the letters in the song that well, because she usually says she can't do it and just listens to me. So today, she tried it, and she can do it! Amazing.
In one of Emily's books, there's a line about how "when the snow was gone, and wind was soft and warm again..." and it makes me hate winter a little more every time we read it. Someday, we'll be able to go outside without coats and boots. Someday, we'll see the sun after 6 PM. Someday we'll see green grass again... right??
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Literary fun
My girls both have notable things to write about from a literary perspective. I think I already posted about how much Audrey likes looking at books. We've started setting them up at the dinner table so she can look at pictures in board books while the rest of us eat. It's pretty fun.
Travis pointed out tonight, after supper, that Emily was reading Knuffle Bunny by herself, and reading it out loud. It was adorable - and she had so many of the phrases right! "Dad, Trixie... through the park, past the school, in laundrymat!" So cute. After bath the other night, I was trying to get Emily's attention to put her pajamas on, so I started quoting from a book where a little girl is putting her pj's on. I said, "Where's the baby? Where's she gone? Is she putting her pajamas on?" She continued with, "Soft and comfy, warm and snug..." it wasn't even the line that rhymed, it was the next line! Tonight, from the same book, I said the line "Having supper, filling her cup," "Smacking her lips and eating it up!" she said. She's memorizing poetry!!
We've had a rough couple of days lately. I stayed home from work with Emily on Friday because she had a fever the night before. She was awake most of that night, slept til 10 AM, and slept a monster nap in the afternoon. We cancelled our obligations for Saturday, as she was still a little feverish, with a cough and bit of a runny nose. After being awake for an average of 2-3 hours in the middle of the night each night since then, with one girl or the other, I was about as ragged as I could possibly be. Last night was better, which was good because today she developed an ear infection. On the way home from teh doctor, she peed in her carseat. This morning - pooped pants. It's been a rough day, but with the sleep I had last night and the SUN FINALLY COMING OUT, I've been able to handle it much better than this weekend. Let's just say I was a little grumpy on Saturday.
Tomorrow is PJ day at Ms. Amanda's, so I'm sure Emily will be excited. She loves wearing her pj's - and did all day on Saturday. I sure wish I could wear pj's to work!!
Travis pointed out tonight, after supper, that Emily was reading Knuffle Bunny by herself, and reading it out loud. It was adorable - and she had so many of the phrases right! "Dad, Trixie... through the park, past the school, in laundrymat!" So cute. After bath the other night, I was trying to get Emily's attention to put her pajamas on, so I started quoting from a book where a little girl is putting her pj's on. I said, "Where's the baby? Where's she gone? Is she putting her pajamas on?" She continued with, "Soft and comfy, warm and snug..." it wasn't even the line that rhymed, it was the next line! Tonight, from the same book, I said the line "Having supper, filling her cup," "Smacking her lips and eating it up!" she said. She's memorizing poetry!!
We've had a rough couple of days lately. I stayed home from work with Emily on Friday because she had a fever the night before. She was awake most of that night, slept til 10 AM, and slept a monster nap in the afternoon. We cancelled our obligations for Saturday, as she was still a little feverish, with a cough and bit of a runny nose. After being awake for an average of 2-3 hours in the middle of the night each night since then, with one girl or the other, I was about as ragged as I could possibly be. Last night was better, which was good because today she developed an ear infection. On the way home from teh doctor, she peed in her carseat. This morning - pooped pants. It's been a rough day, but with the sleep I had last night and the SUN FINALLY COMING OUT, I've been able to handle it much better than this weekend. Let's just say I was a little grumpy on Saturday.
Tomorrow is PJ day at Ms. Amanda's, so I'm sure Emily will be excited. She loves wearing her pj's - and did all day on Saturday. I sure wish I could wear pj's to work!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Updates
I have several fun things to share about my girls, and I'm hoping that I can remember them all, now that I have a chance to sit and write. It's been pretty crazy around here since I started back at work last week. I'm pretty much as tired as I was back when Audrey was first born, except I have lots more to do now!! Today has been good, though, so I am starting to feel a little more caught up.
Audrey has the most beautiful baby smile! She smiles all the time, and she smiles really intently, like she's really conveying how joyful she feels. It's almost in two stages: the pleasant casual smile, and then she unleashes this incredible grin. A lot of times there's a little waist-wiggle with it, too. She's playing next to me in her fish gym right now, looking at a couple of fish as she kicks her feet. She seems to be as expressive with her feet as she is with her eyes. :) This morning, she and Emily and I were reading books on the floor, all laying in a row, and Audrey LOVED it. Emily was only half-interested, with a severe case of Can't Sit Still, but Audrey wasn't going anywhere. All the way through "The Little Engine That Could," she stared intently at each page, kicking, holding her little hands together almost in front of her face. I'd turn the page, and she'd let out another "Ggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!" It was great. The butterfly on the last page of the hungry caterpillar just about put her over the edge. :) She's had a little bit of trouble taking a bottle while at Amanda's during the day, so she had just been deciding to not eat at all until I came to get her, so I was pretty worried. But yesterday she had a lot of success with it, so I'm hoping she'll continue to do well. The next battle is getting her sleep and naps figured out. She seems to sleep so much at Amanda's that she's awake more often in the night, and not because she's hungry. I figure she doesn't like the noise there, and is fussy, so Amanda gives her her pacifier and she goes catatonic for a while. Not sure how to figure that one out; I'm sure she'll outgrow it, but I want to do everything I can to prevent her from being reliant on the pacifier. She generally never has one at home, but I will give her one when we're out and about if she's fussy.
Emily had us laughing this weekend, playing with her dolls. She'd come into the living room, announcing that "Baby went poopy in her diaper." she'd pick up a clean diaper, and leave to go put it on Baby. Then she'd come back in, say her line, take another diaper, and leave... and then I wondered where all these diapers were going. I found them, perfectly folded as used diapers are, in the garbage in the kitchen!! I convinced her that Baby wanted to learn to use the potty, so she took her doll and sat her on her "liddy" potty, and then left the bathroom and closed the door to give Baby some privacy, I guess. She entertained herself with baby for probably half an hour, at least. Her own progress in this area is still iffy sometimes, and other times she totally takes care of things herself. I would describe the whole process as "one step forward, 90% of that step back."
This weekend was a busy one, with BRR ride, the Super Bowl, and a visit from my grandfather and my cousin, unexpectedly. The girls and I spent Saturday in Ames at my sister's house, playing with cousins and friends while Travis and others biked, and then Sunday we went to a small gathering of Travis's co-workers to "watch" the game. There are two other babies Audrey's age and two other toddlers, so there was a lot going on besides the game!! And my extended family was here mostly because of weather that complicated their plans for attending a meeting here in Des Moines. Now that things have settled down, I've finally got the kitchen cleaned, I've got plans for supper, and I even picked up a few of Emily's toys. I may have as much as a full hour of naptime left, so who knows how productive Audrey and I will be in that time!
And since I have a minute, I'd like to voice my displeasure with "The Little Engine That Could." It's supposed to be all motivating, but the more I read it, the more I hate the little dolls and toys. Yeah, the passenger engine and the freight engine don't have to be so full of themselves, but their guilt-trip into "but the children will be sad if YOU don't help" just drives me nuts. How come it's the Little Blue Engine's fault that their train broke down? She didn't have anything to do with it. And how come all the other trains are male but Little Blue is female? Women have to help out, no matter how much it may hurt them, but men are exempt? They may be jerks, but at least they are still functioning trains. And they're important trains, too. I guess, after this weekend, I have found at least one reason to like it. Emily wanted my grandfather to read it to her while he was here, and he said he remembered his mom reading it to his little brother when he was about 12 years old. He said it was the same illustrations as the book we have, which I wrote my name on when I was probably 4 or 5. For Emily, that little memory goes back to her great-great-grandmother. How cool!
Here's another little something funny - Poppo remarked today at how well Audrey is able to shift her focus. I laughed and told him that's the first time she's ever received that compliment! He has spent the past 60+ years as an expert in child development, though, so he knows what he's talking about. :)
Audrey has the most beautiful baby smile! She smiles all the time, and she smiles really intently, like she's really conveying how joyful she feels. It's almost in two stages: the pleasant casual smile, and then she unleashes this incredible grin. A lot of times there's a little waist-wiggle with it, too. She's playing next to me in her fish gym right now, looking at a couple of fish as she kicks her feet. She seems to be as expressive with her feet as she is with her eyes. :) This morning, she and Emily and I were reading books on the floor, all laying in a row, and Audrey LOVED it. Emily was only half-interested, with a severe case of Can't Sit Still, but Audrey wasn't going anywhere. All the way through "The Little Engine That Could," she stared intently at each page, kicking, holding her little hands together almost in front of her face. I'd turn the page, and she'd let out another "Ggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!" It was great. The butterfly on the last page of the hungry caterpillar just about put her over the edge. :) She's had a little bit of trouble taking a bottle while at Amanda's during the day, so she had just been deciding to not eat at all until I came to get her, so I was pretty worried. But yesterday she had a lot of success with it, so I'm hoping she'll continue to do well. The next battle is getting her sleep and naps figured out. She seems to sleep so much at Amanda's that she's awake more often in the night, and not because she's hungry. I figure she doesn't like the noise there, and is fussy, so Amanda gives her her pacifier and she goes catatonic for a while. Not sure how to figure that one out; I'm sure she'll outgrow it, but I want to do everything I can to prevent her from being reliant on the pacifier. She generally never has one at home, but I will give her one when we're out and about if she's fussy.
Emily had us laughing this weekend, playing with her dolls. She'd come into the living room, announcing that "Baby went poopy in her diaper." she'd pick up a clean diaper, and leave to go put it on Baby. Then she'd come back in, say her line, take another diaper, and leave... and then I wondered where all these diapers were going. I found them, perfectly folded as used diapers are, in the garbage in the kitchen!! I convinced her that Baby wanted to learn to use the potty, so she took her doll and sat her on her "liddy" potty, and then left the bathroom and closed the door to give Baby some privacy, I guess. She entertained herself with baby for probably half an hour, at least. Her own progress in this area is still iffy sometimes, and other times she totally takes care of things herself. I would describe the whole process as "one step forward, 90% of that step back."
This weekend was a busy one, with BRR ride, the Super Bowl, and a visit from my grandfather and my cousin, unexpectedly. The girls and I spent Saturday in Ames at my sister's house, playing with cousins and friends while Travis and others biked, and then Sunday we went to a small gathering of Travis's co-workers to "watch" the game. There are two other babies Audrey's age and two other toddlers, so there was a lot going on besides the game!! And my extended family was here mostly because of weather that complicated their plans for attending a meeting here in Des Moines. Now that things have settled down, I've finally got the kitchen cleaned, I've got plans for supper, and I even picked up a few of Emily's toys. I may have as much as a full hour of naptime left, so who knows how productive Audrey and I will be in that time!
And since I have a minute, I'd like to voice my displeasure with "The Little Engine That Could." It's supposed to be all motivating, but the more I read it, the more I hate the little dolls and toys. Yeah, the passenger engine and the freight engine don't have to be so full of themselves, but their guilt-trip into "but the children will be sad if YOU don't help" just drives me nuts. How come it's the Little Blue Engine's fault that their train broke down? She didn't have anything to do with it. And how come all the other trains are male but Little Blue is female? Women have to help out, no matter how much it may hurt them, but men are exempt? They may be jerks, but at least they are still functioning trains. And they're important trains, too. I guess, after this weekend, I have found at least one reason to like it. Emily wanted my grandfather to read it to her while he was here, and he said he remembered his mom reading it to his little brother when he was about 12 years old. He said it was the same illustrations as the book we have, which I wrote my name on when I was probably 4 or 5. For Emily, that little memory goes back to her great-great-grandmother. How cool!
Here's another little something funny - Poppo remarked today at how well Audrey is able to shift her focus. I laughed and told him that's the first time she's ever received that compliment! He has spent the past 60+ years as an expert in child development, though, so he knows what he's talking about. :)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Ragbrai?
Overnight towns are announced, and they look like they might be conducive to me doing a few days. I'll have to think about it, I guess.
We had a little dinner party tonight, and it was nice to be a little bit social without leaving Emily's and Audrey's comforts of home. Our friends brought their little 5-month girl, and Audrey sure enjoyed looking at her. She was a pretty sweet little girl, but I like mine better. She was a real charmer tonight, and although it took her a while to calm down afterwards, it was worth it. And of course Emily did a super nice job and was sweet and charming as well. I have such nice girls! Now I've enjoyed my glass of wine and enjoying relaxing before the craziness of the next week begins.
I spent a few days at my parents house this week, and it was nice to get away for a little while. Travis was in Madison, so I wasn't going to even try to do this single-mom thing. Tomorrow, we're going to church up in Ames, and we'll consider having Audrey baptised in the church there (the same one we got married in). And then, Monday I go back to work. I cannot believe Audrey is 3 months old already. She's my baby!!!! I think she'll be fine at daycare, though, since she seems to really enjoy being around other kids and today she took her bottle with almost no complaint. She still didn't want to drink much of it, but she's at least got the idea, now. She settles down pretty well, and although she's not on a schedule, she's pretty agreeable. I have such nice girls... I try to just enjoy it, but sometimes it just makes me feel guilty for allowing myself to be so infuriated by Emily when she's being so very, very 2. *deep breath*
It's just hard to think that I have to add one more thing to my daily grind. work - bleh. I suppose it will seem less bleh-ish once I get into it, but I've been out long enough that I just do not care at all. I've got enough to keep track of in my life; can I really handle one more?? I feel like January has really been a restful month for me, and I'm sad that it's over. Don't get me wrong - I hate January as a whole, with its early dark nights and awful weather, but at least it's dark in the morning so Emily sleeps well, and there really hasn't been much going on. Without anything special going on, Emily has had a good chance to have several accident-free days, and that's worked well with her two-steps-forward-one-step-back approach to potty training. I'm sad to see it ending, but someday, someday, someday it will be warm enough for me to get outside and try to not be so fat, and I guess that's worth it. I went for a 1.5 mile walk the other day, and I was sore the next day. I really am itching to get moving again so I don't feel like such a blob!
Bedtime for me. I love sleeping!
We had a little dinner party tonight, and it was nice to be a little bit social without leaving Emily's and Audrey's comforts of home. Our friends brought their little 5-month girl, and Audrey sure enjoyed looking at her. She was a pretty sweet little girl, but I like mine better. She was a real charmer tonight, and although it took her a while to calm down afterwards, it was worth it. And of course Emily did a super nice job and was sweet and charming as well. I have such nice girls! Now I've enjoyed my glass of wine and enjoying relaxing before the craziness of the next week begins.
I spent a few days at my parents house this week, and it was nice to get away for a little while. Travis was in Madison, so I wasn't going to even try to do this single-mom thing. Tomorrow, we're going to church up in Ames, and we'll consider having Audrey baptised in the church there (the same one we got married in). And then, Monday I go back to work. I cannot believe Audrey is 3 months old already. She's my baby!!!! I think she'll be fine at daycare, though, since she seems to really enjoy being around other kids and today she took her bottle with almost no complaint. She still didn't want to drink much of it, but she's at least got the idea, now. She settles down pretty well, and although she's not on a schedule, she's pretty agreeable. I have such nice girls... I try to just enjoy it, but sometimes it just makes me feel guilty for allowing myself to be so infuriated by Emily when she's being so very, very 2. *deep breath*
It's just hard to think that I have to add one more thing to my daily grind. work - bleh. I suppose it will seem less bleh-ish once I get into it, but I've been out long enough that I just do not care at all. I've got enough to keep track of in my life; can I really handle one more?? I feel like January has really been a restful month for me, and I'm sad that it's over. Don't get me wrong - I hate January as a whole, with its early dark nights and awful weather, but at least it's dark in the morning so Emily sleeps well, and there really hasn't been much going on. Without anything special going on, Emily has had a good chance to have several accident-free days, and that's worked well with her two-steps-forward-one-step-back approach to potty training. I'm sad to see it ending, but someday, someday, someday it will be warm enough for me to get outside and try to not be so fat, and I guess that's worth it. I went for a 1.5 mile walk the other day, and I was sore the next day. I really am itching to get moving again so I don't feel like such a blob!
Bedtime for me. I love sleeping!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Goodbye, Crazy Lady
Audrey slept from 9:30 until 6:10 on Friday night, and I have had the most amazing weekend since then. I'm really not sure what to do with myself, but at least I feel like myself again! I don't default to worrying and being depressed about things when I get regular sleep. She's been up at around 5 the last two mornings, which is totally fine with me! I can't believe how different I feel now, with several good nights under my belt. It's really amazing - I am no longer crazy!!
I was nursing Audrey to sleep tonight, and I noticed that I was holding her hand the way I used to do with Emily, and I had totally forgotten that I had done that. It was such a familiar feeling, sleeping baby in one arm, little fingers clutching mine, just totally content. I hope there are lots of other things that I'll notice and remember to remark upon when going through this baby thing the second time.
Audrey is such a beauty. She definitely has Travis's eyes, and when she's tired, her eyelids get all pink and droopy just exactly like his do. Even her eyecolor is a different blue than mine and Emily's, darker with no hint of green. She makes such fantastic cooing noises and emphatic wiggles! So fun! She's pretty steady with her head now when she's vertical - a lot more so than even a week ago. She likes for me to carry her around so she can look over my shoulder, and I love having that little bundle snuggled up under my chin.
Emily is still struggling with one particular aspect of potty training, so I've been doing a lot of stain-sticking and toilet-rinsing lately. She also is too busy to take time for potty breaks, and protests incredibly if Travis or I suggest that she go. I have no idea when she'll work through that, but I'm deciding that she's potty trained so I have packed away all the size 4 diapers!! Only undies and pull-ups from now on - and hopefully not much longer on those, since she's generally dry after naps and overnights now. I'm so incredibly proud of her, it's hard to even put down in words!! She is also being much more specific in her language now, and although it sometimes takes some creativity, she can get across some pretty complex thoughts. But her sense of humor is definitely a 2-year-old's: just saying "Beep Boop" to her is hilarious, and she came home from Amanda's one day proclaiming that she wanted to eat bunny poop?? I doubt she's actually thinking about rabbit waste, and it's just something she thinks is incredibly silly. But I love that giggle, so I just enjoy the laughter.
We had a nice calm weekend as a family here, with Travis at home today because of the MLK holiday. I was actually bored for a little while! for about 5 minutes, actually, until Audrey woke up. But that was a weird thing, to wonder what to do with myself. I've been adding to my list of things I want to buy, everything from a double stroller to a syrup pitcher, so I am hoping that if I have it written down, I will not waste those spare moments and do online purchasing / research on those items. I went for a walk the other day before supper and even though it was less than a mile, I was sore the next day. I went again today while the girls were napping and we'll see how tomorrow feels. It's bizarre to be 20 lbs overweight. I jogged a few blocks of my route today and I felt like the "before" people on the Biggest Loser, all lumbering and jiggly. It's an awful feeling, but I'm certainly motivated now! I can't wait for it to get warm enough for me to take Audrey outside, so we can do walks to the park, and maybe it'll be light enough outside for me to get out without the girls after Travis gets home from work...
It's crazy how hard it is to feel good, isn't it?? I've gotta get enough sleep, get a little regular exercise, and continually keep my bloodsugar up. I've got to consciously let minor irritations go, and appreciate the moment. But it's worth all the work and mental sommersaults, because it will make my girls' childhoods happier and less stressful. And that's totally worth it!!
I was nursing Audrey to sleep tonight, and I noticed that I was holding her hand the way I used to do with Emily, and I had totally forgotten that I had done that. It was such a familiar feeling, sleeping baby in one arm, little fingers clutching mine, just totally content. I hope there are lots of other things that I'll notice and remember to remark upon when going through this baby thing the second time.
Audrey is such a beauty. She definitely has Travis's eyes, and when she's tired, her eyelids get all pink and droopy just exactly like his do. Even her eyecolor is a different blue than mine and Emily's, darker with no hint of green. She makes such fantastic cooing noises and emphatic wiggles! So fun! She's pretty steady with her head now when she's vertical - a lot more so than even a week ago. She likes for me to carry her around so she can look over my shoulder, and I love having that little bundle snuggled up under my chin.
Emily is still struggling with one particular aspect of potty training, so I've been doing a lot of stain-sticking and toilet-rinsing lately. She also is too busy to take time for potty breaks, and protests incredibly if Travis or I suggest that she go. I have no idea when she'll work through that, but I'm deciding that she's potty trained so I have packed away all the size 4 diapers!! Only undies and pull-ups from now on - and hopefully not much longer on those, since she's generally dry after naps and overnights now. I'm so incredibly proud of her, it's hard to even put down in words!! She is also being much more specific in her language now, and although it sometimes takes some creativity, she can get across some pretty complex thoughts. But her sense of humor is definitely a 2-year-old's: just saying "Beep Boop" to her is hilarious, and she came home from Amanda's one day proclaiming that she wanted to eat bunny poop?? I doubt she's actually thinking about rabbit waste, and it's just something she thinks is incredibly silly. But I love that giggle, so I just enjoy the laughter.
We had a nice calm weekend as a family here, with Travis at home today because of the MLK holiday. I was actually bored for a little while! for about 5 minutes, actually, until Audrey woke up. But that was a weird thing, to wonder what to do with myself. I've been adding to my list of things I want to buy, everything from a double stroller to a syrup pitcher, so I am hoping that if I have it written down, I will not waste those spare moments and do online purchasing / research on those items. I went for a walk the other day before supper and even though it was less than a mile, I was sore the next day. I went again today while the girls were napping and we'll see how tomorrow feels. It's bizarre to be 20 lbs overweight. I jogged a few blocks of my route today and I felt like the "before" people on the Biggest Loser, all lumbering and jiggly. It's an awful feeling, but I'm certainly motivated now! I can't wait for it to get warm enough for me to take Audrey outside, so we can do walks to the park, and maybe it'll be light enough outside for me to get out without the girls after Travis gets home from work...
It's crazy how hard it is to feel good, isn't it?? I've gotta get enough sleep, get a little regular exercise, and continually keep my bloodsugar up. I've got to consciously let minor irritations go, and appreciate the moment. But it's worth all the work and mental sommersaults, because it will make my girls' childhoods happier and less stressful. And that's totally worth it!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)