Lydia... keeps calling the Wii nunchuck a "nutchuck." I love her mispronunciations and prefer not to correct her when they're especially funny. So, we're hearing a lot of, "Mommy, can you get me the nutchuck? Does this game use the nutchuck?"
Audrey... has had some particularly productive sneezes lately. The kind where you hear it and then turn to look at her to see a solid stream of snot from her nose down to her belly. She doesn't call it snot, though. She'll say, "Mommy, I got bless you all over myself." Yes, to Audrey, snot = bless you.
Charlie... loves impromptu dance parties. As soon as she hears the music on and me dancing, she comes running into the room, flailing her arms all over the place, ready to get down.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Night
On most weekdays, I've been out of the house for about an hour and a half by the time my kids wake up. I absolutely hate that I miss wake-up time. It's one of my favorite times of the day because the girls are at their absolute cutest. They crawl into our bed, their hair a mess and their eyes still puffy (I know, because I DO get to see this on the weekends). Their internal sleep meters are completely charged and they are at their sweetest, giving hugs and kisses to us and even each other. Sometimes, before coming upstairs, we can hear Lydia and Audrey talking on the monitor and then hear the thump of their feet as they run out of their room, down the hall, through the kitchen, through the living room, up the stairs, and into our room. A short time later, we hear Charlie yelling, "Daadaa! Mommy!" and go get her to discover her standing in her crib, holding all of her stuffed animals and blankets and asking us to put her socks on.
On the other hand, I will admit to sometimes being relieved when I miss bedtime. Not every time I have to miss it, but sometimes. When the week has been long and trying, and when Jayson has texted me that he needs a beer. Or three. Those are the days that I feel a bit of relief when I'm not there, but also a bit of guilt and a bit of sadness. Bedtime has been overall a fairly easy time for us. Well, except for when Lydia was about one and a half until two. During that time, we moved her to a "big girl bed" and she would NOT stay in it. Jayson and I made the new parent mistake of laying in bed with her. Then we were trapped. It took us months to finally be able to get her to sleep without us in the room. Then more months to get her to sleep without us in the hallway, sitting where she could see us, working on our computers or reading a magazine.
We did not make that mistake with the others. In fact, Audrey STILL won't get out of bed on her own most mornings. She yells for us to go in her room and get her, despite the fact that she is in a regular bed and could easily get out on her own. Bedtime now is pretty easy and brief. Jammies, teeth, book, hugs and kisses, draw a nightlight for them on their Crayola Glow Station, and then bed. There are definitely nights where they stay up giggling or yelling or crying, but those are getting more and more sparse.
It's not so much bedtime being stressful as it is that time between dinner and bed. One of my friends calls it "The Witching Hour," when it's too early for bed, but the kids are tired and cranky and their internal sleep meter is urgently flashing red. Sleep is required and it will come soon, but not yet. That is probably my least favorite time of day. When bedtime finally comes, and for us it is early because our kids don't nap (even Charlie is outgrowing her naps) and they get up early, it is a relief. The bedtime routine starts and ends and Jayson and I collapse on the couch.
Then the house quiets down. And then I start to miss them and wish they were awake and want to peek at them sleeping but don't want to risk waking up the cherubs that just an hour ago were devils. It is this part of the day when I want to just hold them and stroke their hair and put their cheek to mine and whisper songs in their ears and just love them. When they were babies, a cry in the night brought a grumble and ruined a good night's sleep. Now, on many nights, it's a special treat. One more kiss and hug in the night and they're back to sleep. Or with Charlie, who is by far the best snuggler, ten minutes of rocking under a blankie with her head tucked into my neck. Those are times I cherish.
On the other hand, I will admit to sometimes being relieved when I miss bedtime. Not every time I have to miss it, but sometimes. When the week has been long and trying, and when Jayson has texted me that he needs a beer. Or three. Those are the days that I feel a bit of relief when I'm not there, but also a bit of guilt and a bit of sadness. Bedtime has been overall a fairly easy time for us. Well, except for when Lydia was about one and a half until two. During that time, we moved her to a "big girl bed" and she would NOT stay in it. Jayson and I made the new parent mistake of laying in bed with her. Then we were trapped. It took us months to finally be able to get her to sleep without us in the room. Then more months to get her to sleep without us in the hallway, sitting where she could see us, working on our computers or reading a magazine.
We did not make that mistake with the others. In fact, Audrey STILL won't get out of bed on her own most mornings. She yells for us to go in her room and get her, despite the fact that she is in a regular bed and could easily get out on her own. Bedtime now is pretty easy and brief. Jammies, teeth, book, hugs and kisses, draw a nightlight for them on their Crayola Glow Station, and then bed. There are definitely nights where they stay up giggling or yelling or crying, but those are getting more and more sparse.
It's not so much bedtime being stressful as it is that time between dinner and bed. One of my friends calls it "The Witching Hour," when it's too early for bed, but the kids are tired and cranky and their internal sleep meter is urgently flashing red. Sleep is required and it will come soon, but not yet. That is probably my least favorite time of day. When bedtime finally comes, and for us it is early because our kids don't nap (even Charlie is outgrowing her naps) and they get up early, it is a relief. The bedtime routine starts and ends and Jayson and I collapse on the couch.
Then the house quiets down. And then I start to miss them and wish they were awake and want to peek at them sleeping but don't want to risk waking up the cherubs that just an hour ago were devils. It is this part of the day when I want to just hold them and stroke their hair and put their cheek to mine and whisper songs in their ears and just love them. When they were babies, a cry in the night brought a grumble and ruined a good night's sleep. Now, on many nights, it's a special treat. One more kiss and hug in the night and they're back to sleep. Or with Charlie, who is by far the best snuggler, ten minutes of rocking under a blankie with her head tucked into my neck. Those are times I cherish.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Girls' Weekend (or, 46 Hours of Hell)
OK, I shouldn't be so dramatic. I actually enjoy weekends alone with my girls, but his past one, two of them were sick and it seemed that anything that could go wrong did. Jayson went to Green Bay for the Packers game. He met his friend (and rid) at about 1:45 on Saturday. Lydia had been a little sick that morning, but as soon as Jayson left, she got exponentially sicker every minute. She was a snot machine. Plus, she was wailing dramatically (the only way Lydia really does anything) about missing her Daddy. Snot. Everywhere. Then Charlie started to get sick too. The kind of sick where she can't breath through her nose and just stares at you with her mouth open.
So, when we got home from dropping Jayson off, it was nap time for Charlie and quiet time for Lydia and Audrey. We laid in my bed and watched Elf. Only one of us napped, and it was not the 3 year-old or the 5 year-old. And it wasn't exactly restful. The snot ball was accumulating a collection of used tissues on Jayson's nightstand and the other one was not interested at all in sitting still.
After naps, we had our traditional trip to get Chinese food when Daddy is gone. Jayson hates Chinese food. First we ran to the craft store because I needed new knitting needles for a scarf I wanted to make. Lydia was hell on wheels (Well, I guess minus the wheels? Where did that expression even come from? Oh, thank you, Wikipedia.). I spend almost the entire trip telling her to quit touching everything and if she did not stop right now, there would be no Chinese food, which I knew was a lie, because there was no way I was going to give up my Chinese food, much less cook.
So, the Chinese food. Several months ago, a new building was being constructed down the street and we waited eagerly to find out what it was. I asked the cashier at the grocery store next to it what it was going to be, and she said it would be some Chinese restaurant. This excited me. I told the girls it was going to be a new Chinese restaurant for us to try. Every time we passed it, Audrey would excitedly say, "There's our new Chinese restaurant!" Then the Panda Express sign went up. Panda F-ing Express. They were already set on trying it, so that's where we headed Saturday night. Panda Express is expensive. They must use real Panda. I ordered our food, and we went home to eat it, and even the girls, who have eaten grass, food off the ground, and their own toes, said it was not good. Lydia told me, "Next time, let's go back to our old place. It's good to try new places, but only once."
After dinner, I asked Lydia if she wanted to try the neti pot. She had seen Jayson use it a lot, and at first was pretty against it, but then decided to give it a shot. I was pretty surprised at how well she did with it, and it cleared out her nose so she could get some sleep. Then the girls went to bed, and they went down pretty easily. I stayed up and graded some quizzes. Then I started my knitting project and watched a movie. At about 10:00, Charlie was up coughing, so I brought her downstairs to cuddle while I watched my movie and then got her back down. I went to bed shortly after midnight. At 2:30, Charlie was up again and back in my bed. She flopped around, and eventually fell asleep. At 4:30, Lydia was up in my room, coughing away. Charlie woke up, but went back down in her crib. Lydia slept in my bed with me.
In the morning I was supposed to teach Sunday school, but called the coordinator to tell her that I wouldn't be able to make it in with two sick kids. I made the girls cinnamon rolls and Lydia sacked out on the couch, miserably sick. I took a shower and had her sit in the bathroom with me to get the steam in her nose. I called Jayson to tell him I didn't think Lydia would be able to go to school the next day. His mom was supposed to watch the girls on Monday along with their baby cousin and we agreed we didn't want him to get sick too. So, Jayson's mom came over to watch the girls while I ran to school and got sub plans ready.
We took it easy the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Lydia was supposed to have a Christmas concert at church and I told her if she felt better, we could go. She did start to feel a bit better, so we got ready to go. I went upstairs to change and came back downstairs to find Lydia unraveling my knitting project. I freaked out a little bit, but was able to rescue it.
The concert went pretty well. I was very nervous about going solo with the girls. We brought a bag of toys and I had my toddler lock app (genius!) on my phone ready to go. I told Lydia, "If Charlie gets loud, I will take her to the back of the church. You either stay here with Audrey or come with me, but either way, make sure Audrey is with you." After about twenty minutes, Charlie started crying and I leaned over to tell Lydia I was taking her back, and started to speed down the aisle. I heard Lydia say, "Audrey, let's go!" and they ran down the aisle after to me to the chuckles of the people within earshot.
After Charlie quieted down and it was Lydia's turn to sing, we went back to our seats. To my relief, the people behind us weren't annoyed by us. It was an older couple and the woman kept playing with Charlie, giving her toys, and laughing as she danced in the aisle. After the concert was over, the woman took my hand in both of her's and said, "You deserve an award!" I explained to her that Jayson was out of town and she told me how great the girls did and how fun they were. Such relief.
I took the girls out for corndogs and then we shared a banana split with four spoons. I tried to feed Charlie, but she grabbed the extra spoon and dug in herself. I let her happily dribble custard all over herself because really, there was no other option. If you know Charlie, you know things are done HER way. Bedtime was again easy, and I again settled in with my knitting and a movie.
Luckily, everybody slept through the night. In fact, Charlie slept 14 hours straight. Lydia wanted to go to school when she woke up, so I let her and told her that if she got to school and didn't feel well, she should have the school call me and I would get her. At 9:30, Charlie woke up 100% better and going about 100 mph. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was laughing and playing. I felt a little bad about taking a sick day when the girls were on the road to recovery, but I still wouldn't have wanted Mason to get sick, and I was still recovering from a rough Saturday night.
When Jayson got home, the girls were excited to see him, but I think I was the happiest. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.
So, when we got home from dropping Jayson off, it was nap time for Charlie and quiet time for Lydia and Audrey. We laid in my bed and watched Elf. Only one of us napped, and it was not the 3 year-old or the 5 year-old. And it wasn't exactly restful. The snot ball was accumulating a collection of used tissues on Jayson's nightstand and the other one was not interested at all in sitting still.
After naps, we had our traditional trip to get Chinese food when Daddy is gone. Jayson hates Chinese food. First we ran to the craft store because I needed new knitting needles for a scarf I wanted to make. Lydia was hell on wheels (Well, I guess minus the wheels? Where did that expression even come from? Oh, thank you, Wikipedia.). I spend almost the entire trip telling her to quit touching everything and if she did not stop right now, there would be no Chinese food, which I knew was a lie, because there was no way I was going to give up my Chinese food, much less cook.
So, the Chinese food. Several months ago, a new building was being constructed down the street and we waited eagerly to find out what it was. I asked the cashier at the grocery store next to it what it was going to be, and she said it would be some Chinese restaurant. This excited me. I told the girls it was going to be a new Chinese restaurant for us to try. Every time we passed it, Audrey would excitedly say, "There's our new Chinese restaurant!" Then the Panda Express sign went up. Panda F-ing Express. They were already set on trying it, so that's where we headed Saturday night. Panda Express is expensive. They must use real Panda. I ordered our food, and we went home to eat it, and even the girls, who have eaten grass, food off the ground, and their own toes, said it was not good. Lydia told me, "Next time, let's go back to our old place. It's good to try new places, but only once."
After dinner, I asked Lydia if she wanted to try the neti pot. She had seen Jayson use it a lot, and at first was pretty against it, but then decided to give it a shot. I was pretty surprised at how well she did with it, and it cleared out her nose so she could get some sleep. Then the girls went to bed, and they went down pretty easily. I stayed up and graded some quizzes. Then I started my knitting project and watched a movie. At about 10:00, Charlie was up coughing, so I brought her downstairs to cuddle while I watched my movie and then got her back down. I went to bed shortly after midnight. At 2:30, Charlie was up again and back in my bed. She flopped around, and eventually fell asleep. At 4:30, Lydia was up in my room, coughing away. Charlie woke up, but went back down in her crib. Lydia slept in my bed with me.
In the morning I was supposed to teach Sunday school, but called the coordinator to tell her that I wouldn't be able to make it in with two sick kids. I made the girls cinnamon rolls and Lydia sacked out on the couch, miserably sick. I took a shower and had her sit in the bathroom with me to get the steam in her nose. I called Jayson to tell him I didn't think Lydia would be able to go to school the next day. His mom was supposed to watch the girls on Monday along with their baby cousin and we agreed we didn't want him to get sick too. So, Jayson's mom came over to watch the girls while I ran to school and got sub plans ready.
We took it easy the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Lydia was supposed to have a Christmas concert at church and I told her if she felt better, we could go. She did start to feel a bit better, so we got ready to go. I went upstairs to change and came back downstairs to find Lydia unraveling my knitting project. I freaked out a little bit, but was able to rescue it.
The concert went pretty well. I was very nervous about going solo with the girls. We brought a bag of toys and I had my toddler lock app (genius!) on my phone ready to go. I told Lydia, "If Charlie gets loud, I will take her to the back of the church. You either stay here with Audrey or come with me, but either way, make sure Audrey is with you." After about twenty minutes, Charlie started crying and I leaned over to tell Lydia I was taking her back, and started to speed down the aisle. I heard Lydia say, "Audrey, let's go!" and they ran down the aisle after to me to the chuckles of the people within earshot.
After Charlie quieted down and it was Lydia's turn to sing, we went back to our seats. To my relief, the people behind us weren't annoyed by us. It was an older couple and the woman kept playing with Charlie, giving her toys, and laughing as she danced in the aisle. After the concert was over, the woman took my hand in both of her's and said, "You deserve an award!" I explained to her that Jayson was out of town and she told me how great the girls did and how fun they were. Such relief.
I took the girls out for corndogs and then we shared a banana split with four spoons. I tried to feed Charlie, but she grabbed the extra spoon and dug in herself. I let her happily dribble custard all over herself because really, there was no other option. If you know Charlie, you know things are done HER way. Bedtime was again easy, and I again settled in with my knitting and a movie.
Luckily, everybody slept through the night. In fact, Charlie slept 14 hours straight. Lydia wanted to go to school when she woke up, so I let her and told her that if she got to school and didn't feel well, she should have the school call me and I would get her. At 9:30, Charlie woke up 100% better and going about 100 mph. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was laughing and playing. I felt a little bad about taking a sick day when the girls were on the road to recovery, but I still wouldn't have wanted Mason to get sick, and I was still recovering from a rough Saturday night.
When Jayson got home, the girls were excited to see him, but I think I was the happiest. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Little Sports Fans
Audrey likes to say she's a football fan. She claims she likes the Packers. She can name a few of the players. But, when it comes down to it, once the game has been on for two minutes, she's done. She's hungry. She wants to watch Dora. Lydia has never shown any interest in football. She will happily sit on the couch and color in her journal while we watch, and she likes to know names of the people on the team, but she couldn't care less about the game. Charlie is happy just running around and doing whatever her sisters do.
Until this past Sunday. The Packer game was good. It was close. It was the kind of game that makes you jump off the couch and yell at the TV. Audrey said she wanted to watch it and intently asked us who everybody was and told us to let her know when Aaron Rodgers was on. Lydia sat on my lap and watched and when things got tense, she actually paid attention. When I yelled, "First down!" she yelled, "Touchdown!" (Hey, at least it was close.) At one point, when a Packers receiver dropped a pass, she even groaned. SHE GROANED! She had an inkling of what was going on. We taught Charlie to throw her arms in the air and yell, "TOUCHDOWN!" All three of them were into the game!
When it was all over, Lydia said to Jayson, "Daddy, can we watch football every Sunday?" I think it was one of his proudest fathering moments.
Until this past Sunday. The Packer game was good. It was close. It was the kind of game that makes you jump off the couch and yell at the TV. Audrey said she wanted to watch it and intently asked us who everybody was and told us to let her know when Aaron Rodgers was on. Lydia sat on my lap and watched and when things got tense, she actually paid attention. When I yelled, "First down!" she yelled, "Touchdown!" (Hey, at least it was close.) At one point, when a Packers receiver dropped a pass, she even groaned. SHE GROANED! She had an inkling of what was going on. We taught Charlie to throw her arms in the air and yell, "TOUCHDOWN!" All three of them were into the game!
When it was all over, Lydia said to Jayson, "Daddy, can we watch football every Sunday?" I think it was one of his proudest fathering moments.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Twinkle Twinkle
Charlie has started to put words together at an alarming rate. I thought she was saying "tickle tickle" the other day, and realized she was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
Monday, November 28, 2011
Chompers
I've always been a little obsessed with my teeth, which have always been pretty big and white. Growing up I had a big space between my two front teeth and a bit of an overbite. After years of orthodontic work, the overbite is gone and the space has been reduced from "large enough to park a car between" to what I like to thinking of as an endearing imperfection. It seems the girls have a similar obsession with their teeth.
Luckily, Jayson's sister, Robyn, is a dental hygienist, and we take the girls to her for their cleanings, starting when they were just about a couple years old (and now Charlie, at 1.5 years). They were each a little fearful on their first visit, but have grown to love going. They like picking out their flavors for toothpaste and fluoride and Lydia loves seeing the pictures of her teeth on the screen. Lydia asks when she can go again and would like to go every day.
Charlie went for her first visit this past week and she was not really digging it quite yet, but did love having Robyn brush her teeth. When Robyn told her all the flavors of toothpaste (mint, bubblegum, strawberry, cookie dough, etc.), Charlie immediately yelled, "COOKIE!" and sat patiently as Robyn brushed. Charlie loves brushing her teeth. Often we will put toothpaste on each of their brushes and tell them to go brush their teeth and Charlie will yell, "TEETH!" and run into the bathroom and suck the toothpaste off of everybody's brush. If we leave the bathroom door open, it's inevitable that we will discover Charlie walking around the house brushing her teeth with at least two brushes, neither of which is her own. Charlie won't let the dentist look at her teeth yet, but the other two have become very comfortable with letting Dr. Mike count their teeth and rave about how shiny and beautiful they are.
Luckily, Jayson's sister, Robyn, is a dental hygienist, and we take the girls to her for their cleanings, starting when they were just about a couple years old (and now Charlie, at 1.5 years). They were each a little fearful on their first visit, but have grown to love going. They like picking out their flavors for toothpaste and fluoride and Lydia loves seeing the pictures of her teeth on the screen. Lydia asks when she can go again and would like to go every day.
Charlie went for her first visit this past week and she was not really digging it quite yet, but did love having Robyn brush her teeth. When Robyn told her all the flavors of toothpaste (mint, bubblegum, strawberry, cookie dough, etc.), Charlie immediately yelled, "COOKIE!" and sat patiently as Robyn brushed. Charlie loves brushing her teeth. Often we will put toothpaste on each of their brushes and tell them to go brush their teeth and Charlie will yell, "TEETH!" and run into the bathroom and suck the toothpaste off of everybody's brush. If we leave the bathroom door open, it's inevitable that we will discover Charlie walking around the house brushing her teeth with at least two brushes, neither of which is her own. Charlie won't let the dentist look at her teeth yet, but the other two have become very comfortable with letting Dr. Mike count their teeth and rave about how shiny and beautiful they are.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday Sillies
I love my job, but I cherish the time I get to spend at home with my family. Sunday afternoons are one of my favorite times of the week. This Sunday after lunch Jayson watched football, Charlie napped, and Lydia and Audrey laid in my bed with me and watched Finding Nemo. The intent was to get Lydia to take a much-needed nap, and it worked. And I got to sneak one in to. Until I woke up to Audrey in Lydia's face whispering her name and trying to wake her up. Luckily, I woke up first and shooed her away.
Often, Jayson and I will just sit back and watch all three of them run around like crazy. Today, Lydia and Audrey were playing some game where they ran from the living room to the play room and back to the living room over and over again, giggling and squealing. Charlie followed them with one dress-up shoe on, clomping down the hall once as they made their rounds at least three times to her one.
We also love to hear them talk to each other and to us. I could go on and on about the funny things they said this weekend. Audrey is obsessed with brussel sprouts and begs for them with every meal. She likes to pick out the smallest one she can find and say in a high-pitched voice, "Look at this cute little baby one!" Charlie says "NO!" to everything and has started repeating many, many words and phrases. Lydia is hilarious. She has been giving her phone number out to boys at school. Today a bunch of people walked past our house and we talked about where they might be going and Audrey suggested they were going to the fair, to which Lydia replied, "The fair? Fair's over, kid." Lydia also asked me yesterday if I wanted to hear all the bad words and I said I would, so she said, "STUPID!," and I replied, "Oh yeah, that's one is really bad!" Then she said, "HATE!," and I said, "Yes, you're right, another bad one!" Then she said, "SHIT!" and I suggested it might be best not to repeat that one.
Often, Jayson and I will just sit back and watch all three of them run around like crazy. Today, Lydia and Audrey were playing some game where they ran from the living room to the play room and back to the living room over and over again, giggling and squealing. Charlie followed them with one dress-up shoe on, clomping down the hall once as they made their rounds at least three times to her one.
We also love to hear them talk to each other and to us. I could go on and on about the funny things they said this weekend. Audrey is obsessed with brussel sprouts and begs for them with every meal. She likes to pick out the smallest one she can find and say in a high-pitched voice, "Look at this cute little baby one!" Charlie says "NO!" to everything and has started repeating many, many words and phrases. Lydia is hilarious. She has been giving her phone number out to boys at school. Today a bunch of people walked past our house and we talked about where they might be going and Audrey suggested they were going to the fair, to which Lydia replied, "The fair? Fair's over, kid." Lydia also asked me yesterday if I wanted to hear all the bad words and I said I would, so she said, "STUPID!," and I replied, "Oh yeah, that's one is really bad!" Then she said, "HATE!," and I said, "Yes, you're right, another bad one!" Then she said, "SHIT!" and I suggested it might be best not to repeat that one.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Updates...
Lydia is a drawing and writing machine. She was writing on random sheets of paper and leaving them all over the house, so Jayson gave her a notebook to use as her journal. She loves it. She draws pictures and writes word and does math problems. She likes to ask me math problems that she doesn't know (like 18 plus 18) and tells me she wants to remember them so she can ask the other kids in her class and she'll know the answer. She must be the life of the party.
Audrey has finally let us change her earrings. We went to Claire's and she picked out three cards of earrings for a total of about 20 pairs and she has worn new ones every day. She walks up to people with her hair pulled back and leans into them smiling until they notice. She was very picky about the earrings too. I figured she'd just pick out the first three cards she saw, but she really pondered the decision. We went to Sear's first and they had some kids character earrings and she wanted nothing to do with them. I asked her, "I thought you liked Dora?" and she told me, "Yes, to watch. Not for earrings."
Charlie is talking up a storm. She spouts out new words every day and has even started saying "I love you ____________" to people. She loves her sisters and yells for "Audie and Id-ya." She grabs the Roku remote and yells, "Roku!" I think her favorite word is "No."
Audrey has finally let us change her earrings. We went to Claire's and she picked out three cards of earrings for a total of about 20 pairs and she has worn new ones every day. She walks up to people with her hair pulled back and leans into them smiling until they notice. She was very picky about the earrings too. I figured she'd just pick out the first three cards she saw, but she really pondered the decision. We went to Sear's first and they had some kids character earrings and she wanted nothing to do with them. I asked her, "I thought you liked Dora?" and she told me, "Yes, to watch. Not for earrings."
Charlie is talking up a storm. She spouts out new words every day and has even started saying "I love you ____________" to people. She loves her sisters and yells for "Audie and Id-ya." She grabs the Roku remote and yells, "Roku!" I think her favorite word is "No."
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Horrible Mom Award
The other night Lydia and Audrey were running around being goofy. I was sitting on the loveseat in the living room, which backs right up to a shared wall with the kitchen. The girls walked around the corner from the kitchen into the living room and I peeked around the corner and said, "Boo!," giving them a little scare and they laughed a lot. Then they kept asking me to scare them again, and I kept telling them that if they knew I was going to do it, it wouldn't be a surprise, and they wouldn't be scared.
Later that evening, Lydia was in her room on Audrey's bed. They have bunk beds that are T-shaped and Audrey's bed (which is on the bottom) is flanked on each side by a dresser/bookshelf and a desk. So, she it's a cozy little nook. Lydia was looking for a book on the shelf. I took this opportunity to sneak into the room without her seeing me and hide by the dresser. She was yelling for me to come help her find the book she was looking for. I peeked around the corner and yelled, "Boo!"
Certain things hit the fan. She looked at me with a look of shock and terror, screamed, and started crying uncontrollably. I immediately picked her up and hugged her and apologized about 1,382,976 times and tried to calm her down. She sobbed as she begged me never to do that again.
The next day, I asked her, "Hey Lyd, remember when I scared you last night? It was pretty good, right?" That was a definite no.
Later that evening, Lydia was in her room on Audrey's bed. They have bunk beds that are T-shaped and Audrey's bed (which is on the bottom) is flanked on each side by a dresser/bookshelf and a desk. So, she it's a cozy little nook. Lydia was looking for a book on the shelf. I took this opportunity to sneak into the room without her seeing me and hide by the dresser. She was yelling for me to come help her find the book she was looking for. I peeked around the corner and yelled, "Boo!"
Certain things hit the fan. She looked at me with a look of shock and terror, screamed, and started crying uncontrollably. I immediately picked her up and hugged her and apologized about 1,382,976 times and tried to calm her down. She sobbed as she begged me never to do that again.
The next day, I asked her, "Hey Lyd, remember when I scared you last night? It was pretty good, right?" That was a definite no.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween!
Lydia really looks forward to Halloween. This year, she decided pretty early in the year that she wanted to be a mummy, and shockingly, she stuck with it. Lucky for me, Audrey wanted to be a pumpkin just like she was last year and Charlie really had no choice, so she was a dinosaur just like Lydia and Audrey were when they were one and a half. Jayson's mom made both the pumpkin and the dinosaur costumes and they've held up well.
I made the mummy costume. It took way longer than I had anticipated. I got the cheapest white sheet I could find and I ripped it into strips. I hand-sewed it onto a white sweatsuit, being careful to put a nice edge along the zipper, hood, and pockets. I left long strips on the hood to wrap around her face (I know, not exactly safe, but it looked great). Unfortunately, the stitches weren't strong enough and easily broke, especially on her butt when she sat down. So, I reinforced everything with machine-sewn stitches. Unfortunately, I could only sew the top and bottom of the legs because there was just too much material to try to get to the middle of the legs. So, the top held up well, but the legs kind of unraveled. Luckily, mummies aren't exactly tidy, so as things unraveled, I could just re-wrap them and tie them in whatever way worked.
We live right on the border of two cities. One has trick-or-treating from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and the other has it from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. SCORE! While Charlie napped, I took Lydia and Audrey in the afternoon. It was rainy, but not too cold, and it was bearable. The weather kept a lot of people home. We barely saw anybody out. One of the first houses we went to held their bowl out and told the girls we were the only ones they had all afternoon and they could take as much candy as they wanted. Audrey very delicately picked out two pieces. No, no, no. We had a little huddle and I explained to them that if they are offered as much as they want, they grab a handful. And go for the brown, orange, and red wrappers. Stay away from that fruity stuff. They got a pretty good haul and despite the how miserable it was, they happily thanked people and skipped back down the driveways yelling, "Happy Halloween!"
We went home to eat some healthy food and then went back out in our neighborhood with all three girls. By then, the rain was coming down a bit more, the temperature had dropped, and it was windy. Charlie didn't even get out of the stroller. We definitely had to make it at least to the house that gives away king size candy bars every year. Then the girls started to get tired. They fought over who got to ring the doorbell (or ding bell as Audrey says). Audrey got tired, but Lydia insisted we keep going. Finally, we made our way home and changed out of our cold, wet clothes and took inventory. The girls got a nice selection of candy and no junk. They don't normally eat candy, so it's a special treat for them and Jayson and I help them out. Yesterday they got three pieces each and bedtime was an absolute nightmare, so we'll scale that back. Overall, a successful Halloween!
I made the mummy costume. It took way longer than I had anticipated. I got the cheapest white sheet I could find and I ripped it into strips. I hand-sewed it onto a white sweatsuit, being careful to put a nice edge along the zipper, hood, and pockets. I left long strips on the hood to wrap around her face (I know, not exactly safe, but it looked great). Unfortunately, the stitches weren't strong enough and easily broke, especially on her butt when she sat down. So, I reinforced everything with machine-sewn stitches. Unfortunately, I could only sew the top and bottom of the legs because there was just too much material to try to get to the middle of the legs. So, the top held up well, but the legs kind of unraveled. Luckily, mummies aren't exactly tidy, so as things unraveled, I could just re-wrap them and tie them in whatever way worked.
We live right on the border of two cities. One has trick-or-treating from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and the other has it from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. SCORE! While Charlie napped, I took Lydia and Audrey in the afternoon. It was rainy, but not too cold, and it was bearable. The weather kept a lot of people home. We barely saw anybody out. One of the first houses we went to held their bowl out and told the girls we were the only ones they had all afternoon and they could take as much candy as they wanted. Audrey very delicately picked out two pieces. No, no, no. We had a little huddle and I explained to them that if they are offered as much as they want, they grab a handful. And go for the brown, orange, and red wrappers. Stay away from that fruity stuff. They got a pretty good haul and despite the how miserable it was, they happily thanked people and skipped back down the driveways yelling, "Happy Halloween!"
We went home to eat some healthy food and then went back out in our neighborhood with all three girls. By then, the rain was coming down a bit more, the temperature had dropped, and it was windy. Charlie didn't even get out of the stroller. We definitely had to make it at least to the house that gives away king size candy bars every year. Then the girls started to get tired. They fought over who got to ring the doorbell (or ding bell as Audrey says). Audrey got tired, but Lydia insisted we keep going. Finally, we made our way home and changed out of our cold, wet clothes and took inventory. The girls got a nice selection of candy and no junk. They don't normally eat candy, so it's a special treat for them and Jayson and I help them out. Yesterday they got three pieces each and bedtime was an absolute nightmare, so we'll scale that back. Overall, a successful Halloween!
Monday, October 24, 2011
I'm here, really I am...
So, my plan to post on my blog a couple of times a week has hit a wall. A wall called teaching, coaching, and parenting when I can. Luckily, this is a three day week so I have less planning to do, and the cross country season ended on Saturday with a very disappointing conference meet. I finally have more time with my family and even got to see Lydia get off the bus today! We went to Lydia's conferences tonight and were happy to learn that she's smart and is doing fine socially. She talks too much, but no more than any other five year-old. Lydia's teacher showed us a grid with 20 squares on it that they filled in with as many numbers as they knew, and Lydia got all the way to 20 and her teacher asked her if she could do more, and she said yes, so she gave her another grid and she just started with 101, 102, 103, etc. Ha! Just skipped 21-100 and started over with a 1 in front of each of them.
So, here are some things we've been up to...
I finally ran my marathon. After months of training, including long weekend runs, I accomplished something pretty huge, and was happy to be done and have more time for the girls. They came to support me at the finish.
We went to the Elegant Farmer and rode the train to East Troy.
The girls and I visited the Milwaukee Public Market, and then walked to the lighthouse on Lake Michigan.
So, here are some things we've been up to...
I finally ran my marathon. After months of training, including long weekend runs, I accomplished something pretty huge, and was happy to be done and have more time for the girls. They came to support me at the finish.
We went to the Elegant Farmer and rode the train to East Troy.
Audrey waved the whole time.
The girls and I visited the Milwaukee Public Market, and then walked to the lighthouse on Lake Michigan.
We walked along the river on our way back to the 3rd Ward and the girls loved looking through the cracks at the water.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Our First Scar
We have never taken any of our kids to the ER or urgent care. I know we've been lucky. We came close this summer when Charlie fell off the couch. Lydia and Charlie have both fallen down the stairs. Lydia made it to the doors of the ER when she was about two. I was convinced she had meningitis. She had a fever and hadn't been feeling well, then complained that her neck was sore. I immediately called our doctor's after hours number and the doctor on call told me that if she couldn't put her chin to her chest, I should bring her to the ER. I asked her to put her chin to her chest and she couldn't and complained it hurt too much. Now, you have to understand that Lydia has always been an actress. I wasn't entirely convinced, but after several more attempts to get her to put her chin to her chest without luck, I called Jayson, who was at softball, and told him to get home and watch Audrey while I took Lydia to the ER.
We got in the car and she seemed to cheer up quite a bit. I kept asking her to put her chin to her chest, but then she would start to get more morose and wouldn't do it. We finally got to the ER, and knowing that if we went in there it would be possible she would need a spinal tap, I asked her one more time to put her chin to her chest. Nope. So, we got out of the car and headed to the doors of the ER. Then I had an idea. I pointed to a monkey on the front of her pajama shirt and said, "Look at this silly monkey! What's he doing?" She giggled and looked down at her shirt, putting her chin to her chest. I swooped her up and we headed home.
This weekend, my insurance plan changed. I went from a $300 family deductible to a $4000 family deductible. There is a wellness program that will be put in place to reimburse a large part of the deductible, but it won't start until January 1. Also, our deductible starts over January 1. We were told that our best bet is to just not need a doctor until next year. So, on Saturday evening, the first day of our new insurance, I was going upstairs to put Charlie to bed and Jayson was getting Audrey to bed. Lydia was brushing her teeth. I heard a loud thump and Jayson yelled, "Holly! Get down here now!" I threw Charlie in her crib and ran downstairs to find Lydia screaming and crying and Jayson holding a rag to her chin.
Lydia had somehow fallen off the bathroom stool and hit her chin on the bathtub, busting it open. She later told me she was goofing off and had forgotten to calm down for bedtime. I held her in my arms and held the rag to her chin. When I pulled it away, I saw a 1 cm cut that was spread open pretty wide. I put the rag back on and told Jayson, "I think she needs stitches." I'm pretty certain that had we taken her to the ER or urgent care, she would have gotten a couple stitches or they would have at least used that fancy glue. Jayson pointed out the fact that we would be paying in the neighborhood of $1000 or more if we went. We opted to call his mom and she brought over butterfly bandages.
After she fell as I calmed her down, she was making a gurgling noise and I couldn't figure out why. I thought maybe she was bleeding in her mouth, but looked inside and saw lot of spit and no blood. I told her to swallow, but she refused. I held a towel for her and she spit into it and yelled, "I was using your minty toothpaste and I'm not supposed to swallow it!" While I held Lydia and calmed her down, Audrey gave her kisses on her head and Lydia asked her to stop, so Audrey just stroked her arm, and Lydia said, "Audrey, will you please stop touching me?" Awww... she was very concerned about her big sister.
So far, we can't tell how it's going to heal. The butterfly bandage held it shut, so I'm glad we didn't go to the ER (I also ran a marathon on Sunday and was dreading the thought of Jayson spending the night in the ER with her and me being up all night worrying). I'm sure she'll have a little scar, but I think it will make her look pretty tough and give her a little character.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Baby No More
In the past month, Charlie has been replaced. With a toddler. You see, just last month, she was scooting around on her knees and pointing at things and grunting. Now, she walks. She talks. She knows what she wants. It seems almost over night, she has transformed from a baby into a toddler. When she's done eating, she throws her arms in the air and yells, "All done!" As people leave the house, she casually waves and says, "Bye." She asks for her baby, her bike, her shoes, and crackers. She runs up to us and hands us random items and says, "Thank you!" She yells for Mommy. She yells for Dada. She's also very feisty. If she doesn't get her way, she gets angry. Very angry. When her sisters take toys from her, she screams and holds on for dear life. When we ask her if she wants to go to bed, she gets a disgusted look on her face and yells, "Nooooo!!!" When we ask her if she wants to brush her teeth, she toddles to the bathroom and puts the first toothbrush she can grab into her mouth. You better not lay down on the floor anywhere near her because she'll jump on you and bounce up and down.
This week, I switched the girls' clothes over. Summer out, winter in. Anything less than size 12 months got put away. No more baby clothes. No more tiny little onesies. No more socks that seem impossibly small. We also put away some old toys, ready for a rummage sale. No more play mat. No more walker. No more bouncing swing.
No more baby.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear to my eye. I'm so excited to see what they become, how they grow, watch them learn. But, sometimes I just wish it could all stop. I want to kiss boo-boos, rock sick little babies to sleep, come home to shouts of excitement and giant bear hugs. But I also want them to go to bed without it being a huge ordeal, feed themselves without making a giant mess, and I'm ready to be done with diapers.
It is definitely bittersweet.
This week, I switched the girls' clothes over. Summer out, winter in. Anything less than size 12 months got put away. No more baby clothes. No more tiny little onesies. No more socks that seem impossibly small. We also put away some old toys, ready for a rummage sale. No more play mat. No more walker. No more bouncing swing.
No more baby.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a tear to my eye. I'm so excited to see what they become, how they grow, watch them learn. But, sometimes I just wish it could all stop. I want to kiss boo-boos, rock sick little babies to sleep, come home to shouts of excitement and giant bear hugs. But I also want them to go to bed without it being a huge ordeal, feed themselves without making a giant mess, and I'm ready to be done with diapers.
It is definitely bittersweet.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Mean Girls... and So it Begins
Last year, for K4, Lydia picked out a Disney princess backpack. I wasn't too excited about it. I tried to steer her towards Toy Story or Dora, but she insisted on princesses, and if that's what she wanted, fine with me. Of course, being a backpack that cost less than $10, it was looking pretty ragged by the end of the year.
This year, we looked online for one, and my aim was to spend a little more money on a decent backpack that would last several years. Maybe even get her name embroidered on it. As we searched online, though, we came across a Phineas and Ferb backpack that came with a matching lunch box. OMG! She was smitten. Had it been another princess backpack, I would have shot her down, but I admit, I loved the fact that she was drawn to a "boy" backpack and not another Disney princess one. Today, Phineas and Ferb. Tomorrow? Social advocate! Awww... my little feminist. We found a Perry the Platypus water bottle to go with it, and completed our order.
When her backpack came, it was a pretty big deal. She immediately ran to get her school supplies to put in it. We opened the box with the water bottle and discovered they accidentally sent us three! Christmas in August! I quickly claimed one as my own to bring to school. (Scroll down to the previous post to see her wearing the backpack).
Then, it happened. Lydia told me girls at school were bullying her because she didn't have a princess backpack. They told her Phineas and Ferb was for boys, and she should have a princess backpack. I asked her who was saying that, and she said all the girls in her class except for her friend who had a monkey backpack. My heart broke. My first instinct was to talk to her teacher. Well, actually, my first instinct was go to her class before school and find those girls and tell them through gritted teeth that the needed to leave my daughter alone and their stupid Disney princess backpacks were ugly. Alas, I refrained.
Instead, I talked to Lydia about bullying and why girls do it. I helped her come up with something she could say back to them, which she has memorized. I talked to her about sticking up for her friend with the monkey backpack too. I hope that the girls forget about the backpacks and she doesn't have to worry about her comeback, but I'm also kind of looking forward to her asserting herself if they don't forget.
This year, we looked online for one, and my aim was to spend a little more money on a decent backpack that would last several years. Maybe even get her name embroidered on it. As we searched online, though, we came across a Phineas and Ferb backpack that came with a matching lunch box. OMG! She was smitten. Had it been another princess backpack, I would have shot her down, but I admit, I loved the fact that she was drawn to a "boy" backpack and not another Disney princess one. Today, Phineas and Ferb. Tomorrow? Social advocate! Awww... my little feminist. We found a Perry the Platypus water bottle to go with it, and completed our order.
When her backpack came, it was a pretty big deal. She immediately ran to get her school supplies to put in it. We opened the box with the water bottle and discovered they accidentally sent us three! Christmas in August! I quickly claimed one as my own to bring to school. (Scroll down to the previous post to see her wearing the backpack).
Then, it happened. Lydia told me girls at school were bullying her because she didn't have a princess backpack. They told her Phineas and Ferb was for boys, and she should have a princess backpack. I asked her who was saying that, and she said all the girls in her class except for her friend who had a monkey backpack. My heart broke. My first instinct was to talk to her teacher. Well, actually, my first instinct was go to her class before school and find those girls and tell them through gritted teeth that the needed to leave my daughter alone and their stupid Disney princess backpacks were ugly. Alas, I refrained.
Instead, I talked to Lydia about bullying and why girls do it. I helped her come up with something she could say back to them, which she has memorized. I talked to her about sticking up for her friend with the monkey backpack too. I hope that the girls forget about the backpacks and she doesn't have to worry about her comeback, but I'm also kind of looking forward to her asserting herself if they don't forget.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Back to School
Last week, Lydia and I returned to school. Just like last year, I didn't get to see her get on the bus, but Jayson took plenty of pictures for me. I think it's probably better that I wasn't there because I think both Lydia and I would have been in tears.
Audrey really wanted to go to school with Lydia, and we talked to her about it and told her that when she turns four, then she gets to go to school with Lydia. On the night before school started, we were getting Lydia's backpack ready and Audrey asked if she could use her old one. I told her she could and then realized she meant immediately. She wanted to get it packed and wanted to go to school too. I reminded her that she would go to school when she was four, and then realized she thought that would be happening in a matter of days, not almost ten months. It was very sad, but for now, she's happy getting to go to the gym with Daddy every day.
Last year, Lydia was in K4 and did great. This year, we told her K5 would be the same, except she would eat lunch at school and she would have quiet time. I was worried the most about quiet time because she stopped napping shortly after she turned two. As it turns out, quiet time wasn't what I should have been worried about. She returned from school on her first day and told us she hated it, she was scared of the lunch room, and she wanted to go back to K4. She also barely touched her lunch. So, I did that thing I hate and wrote a note to her teacher on the second day of school to let her know about Lydia's apprehension and to ask if she could please make sure she had a friend to sit with at lunch. The next day, she returned to tell us lunch was much better, she got to sit next to her friend, she ate most of her lunch, and she wanted to get hot lunch. She even had her five-digit code memorized.
She also asked me if she could go to the after school program and I pointed out to her the fact that both her parents are home after school. So, that was a no-go.
Today Lydia again asked to get hot lunch, so I figured out how to put money in her account (I hope) and discussed with her the idea of a "balanced meal." She knows what healthy food are, and I told her she needs to eat more healthy foods than unhealthy foods. I also told her no chocolate milk and she looked at me and said, "That's all they have. Chocolate milk." I assured her they would have white milk too. I'm very interested to see how she does.
Here are some pictures of her first day:
New Phineas and Ferb backpack and lunch box, and Perry water bottle.
Ready to go!
Audrey and Charlie had to get in on the action too.
Heading out to the bus.
Watching for the bus.
One last hug.
Off to K5!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Babies Holding Babies
This week the girls got a new playmate! Their cousin Mason was born on Sunday. They are absolutely in love with him and fight over who gets to hold him. Audrey keeps calling him "Little Baby Mason."
Jayson was excited to be the first in our family to hold him. He was only 6 lb. 14 oz., a whole pound smaller than any of our girls ever were!
So tiny and so perfect!
Lydia and Audrey both loved holding him.
...and poking him.
Charlie was by far the funniest. We thought that with how much she loves her dolls, she would be all over Mason, but she really wasn't that interested. In fact, she found a shelf that was just her size and hung out in there and got really angry if we tried to get her out, so we just let her hang out in her shelf. It was kind of weird.
But, once Lydia and Audrey were done holding Mason, Charlie climbed right into the chair, grabbed the Boppy, grunted, and pointed at Mason. She wanted to hold him! So, we let her. But, she was very suspicious of him. At first she refused eye contact. I LOVE this first picture. Look her just eyeing him up out of the corner of her eye.
She was so weirded out by him.
Finally, she looked at him, and then she started crying.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Pretty Girls All in a Row
When I was younger, my mom dressed my sisters and I in matching dresses and outfits. I'm not sure what their feeling were on it, but I actually loved it. I loved how special it was to wear coordinating dresses. So, of course, I do the same with my girls, and they love it too. It's not every day, because I don't have that kind of money, and sometimes it's just outfits that are similar but might be different in color. However, I do love putting them all in identical dresses. I quickly realized that 1) It can be hard to find matching dresses in the sizes I need. Sometimes I could just find two in the smaller sizes or two in the larger sizes, but not all three. 2) Dresses can be expensive.
So, this summer, I set out to make dresses. It was surprisingly easy, and I definitely got better with practice. I also made matching diaper/underwear covers because my girls tend to sit like...well, not girls.
Here was my first attempt, a pillowcase dress. I had to mess around with the pattern a bit to increase/decrease the measurements as needed, but the dresses were pretty forgiving.
Here is the pattern:
http://www.nancysnotions.com/text/pdf/LittleDressesforAfrica_pattern.pdf
And a youtube video with instructions that I found easier to follow than the pattern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQJwdEEsLog
And the diaper cover:
http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/06/diy-diaper-cover-tutorial-with-free.html
My next attempt was a little more difficult. I found that the smocking was easier than I expected, but it was hard to figure out how big to make the dresses before the smocking, and then what I wanted to cut off would have made the skirt too narrow, but it worked out OK.
Here's the directions I followed for these:
http://www.marthastewart.com/266202/smocked-sundress?lnc=38f9cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=search_tv
Finally, my wonderful friend Jenni made the girls dresses as well. First of all, they're black. GENIUS! I really don't care if they spill on their dresses because I know that happens and they won't last forever anyway, but it's nice to know that they can last just a little bit longer. Second of all, who the hell makes three handmade dresses for kids that aren't even theirs? I very good friend, that's who. Thanks, Jenni! The girls love these.
I'm done making new dresses this year, but I'll be back at it next summer. I'll be back at it until they're 18, actually.
So, this summer, I set out to make dresses. It was surprisingly easy, and I definitely got better with practice. I also made matching diaper/underwear covers because my girls tend to sit like...well, not girls.
Here was my first attempt, a pillowcase dress. I had to mess around with the pattern a bit to increase/decrease the measurements as needed, but the dresses were pretty forgiving.
Here is the pattern:
http://www.nancysnotions.com/text/pdf/LittleDressesforAfrica_pattern.pdf
And a youtube video with instructions that I found easier to follow than the pattern:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQJwdEEsLog
And the diaper cover:
http://www.prudentbaby.com/2010/06/diy-diaper-cover-tutorial-with-free.html
My next attempt was a little more difficult. I found that the smocking was easier than I expected, but it was hard to figure out how big to make the dresses before the smocking, and then what I wanted to cut off would have made the skirt too narrow, but it worked out OK.
Here's the directions I followed for these:
http://www.marthastewart.com/266202/smocked-sundress?lnc=38f9cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=search_tv
Finally, my wonderful friend Jenni made the girls dresses as well. First of all, they're black. GENIUS! I really don't care if they spill on their dresses because I know that happens and they won't last forever anyway, but it's nice to know that they can last just a little bit longer. Second of all, who the hell makes three handmade dresses for kids that aren't even theirs? I very good friend, that's who. Thanks, Jenni! The girls love these.
I'm done making new dresses this year, but I'll be back at it next summer. I'll be back at it until they're 18, actually.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Fabulous Biking Werras
Jayson and I took up biking when I was pregnant with Lydia. Or, I should say, he took up biking and I watched because let's just say that no part of me that makes contact with the actual bike and is not my hands or feet was ready to get on a bike. Once I had Lydia, I joined him. We had biked before, but not seriously, and we now do some pretty major road biking, including the Leukemia Lymphoma Society Scenic Shore 150 bike ride that is a 150-mile bike ride that occurs over the course of two days. Leading up to that ride, we go on some nice training rides.
We have always been eager to get our girls interested in biking too, so we started with a Burley when Lydia was one. A Burley is basically a cage that you attach to your bike so you can pull around your screaming, crying toddler as she Houdinis her way out of her helmet. The first summer did not go so well, but the next summer she was two and handled the helmet much better. Unfortunately, I was also recovering from the birth of Audrey, and not touching the bike. The next summer Lydia was ready to go, but Audrey was only a year old and going through the screaming-crying-ripping-of-the-helmet stage. The next summer (are you sensing a pattern here?), I was recovering from Charlie's birth, and also, we had three kids, which do not fit into a Burley without some strategic stacking.
Which brings us to this summer. We got a Trail-a-Bike for Lydia. It is a contraption that attaches to my bike and has one wheel and some pedals. Don't be fooled - her little legs may be moving, but it's all cosmetic - I could strap a bowling ball to the seat and get the same results. This of course, doesn't stop me from telling her she needs to pedal super hard for the next hill or we're not going to make it up! The inaugural Trail-a-Bike ride in our driveway involved a lot of tears and clutching the handlebars with white knuckles asking one of us to hold her on the bike while the other one rode in front of her. After running up and down the driveway next to her, I had enough. Bribery goes a long way though, and we told her that as soon as she could ride the bike, we could go anywhere she wanted and she picked the ice cream store. That prompted her to quickly pick up the necessary skills to keep her butt on the seat while I did all the work.
However, Charlie is one. Which means she's in the screaming-crying-pulling-of-the-helmet stage. We went on our first big ride today and Charlie was pretty miserable. Finally, on the way home, we let her sit up a bit. The Burley is designed in such a way that the harness kind of pulls the girls back into more of a reclining position, and having their head back kind of pushes the helmet forward. We let Charlie sit with the straps under her arms instead of over them, and she loved it. I guess if we had to choose between the harness or the helmet, the helmet wins.
So, the trip was fairly successful. We still need to work on a more stable ride with the Trail-a-Bike. It kind of feels like Lydia is doing the Y-M-C-A back there while I try to balance. I'm scared that she'll make a sudden movement and we'll hit the pavement. I refuse to clip my bike shoes into the pedals so I can act quickly in the case of an emergency. But, we're getting there.
We have always been eager to get our girls interested in biking too, so we started with a Burley when Lydia was one. A Burley is basically a cage that you attach to your bike so you can pull around your screaming, crying toddler as she Houdinis her way out of her helmet. The first summer did not go so well, but the next summer she was two and handled the helmet much better. Unfortunately, I was also recovering from the birth of Audrey, and not touching the bike. The next summer Lydia was ready to go, but Audrey was only a year old and going through the screaming-crying-ripping-of-the-helmet stage. The next summer (are you sensing a pattern here?), I was recovering from Charlie's birth, and also, we had three kids, which do not fit into a Burley without some strategic stacking.
Which brings us to this summer. We got a Trail-a-Bike for Lydia. It is a contraption that attaches to my bike and has one wheel and some pedals. Don't be fooled - her little legs may be moving, but it's all cosmetic - I could strap a bowling ball to the seat and get the same results. This of course, doesn't stop me from telling her she needs to pedal super hard for the next hill or we're not going to make it up! The inaugural Trail-a-Bike ride in our driveway involved a lot of tears and clutching the handlebars with white knuckles asking one of us to hold her on the bike while the other one rode in front of her. After running up and down the driveway next to her, I had enough. Bribery goes a long way though, and we told her that as soon as she could ride the bike, we could go anywhere she wanted and she picked the ice cream store. That prompted her to quickly pick up the necessary skills to keep her butt on the seat while I did all the work.
However, Charlie is one. Which means she's in the screaming-crying-pulling-of-the-helmet stage. We went on our first big ride today and Charlie was pretty miserable. Finally, on the way home, we let her sit up a bit. The Burley is designed in such a way that the harness kind of pulls the girls back into more of a reclining position, and having their head back kind of pushes the helmet forward. We let Charlie sit with the straps under her arms instead of over them, and she loved it. I guess if we had to choose between the harness or the helmet, the helmet wins.
So, the trip was fairly successful. We still need to work on a more stable ride with the Trail-a-Bike. It kind of feels like Lydia is doing the Y-M-C-A back there while I try to balance. I'm scared that she'll make a sudden movement and we'll hit the pavement. I refuse to clip my bike shoes into the pedals so I can act quickly in the case of an emergency. But, we're getting there.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Our Daughters Turned into Fish
One thing that has always been important to me is that my kids know how to swim. All three were exposed to pools at an early age, and started swim lessons as babies. Charlie tends to get the shaft as the third child. Some days she's lucky she has pants on. But, swimming wasn't something I was going to let slip through the cracks with her.
From the start, Lydia and Audrey enjoyed lessons, but didn't take to the water immediately. They were a bit cautious. Not Charlie. Charlie squeals with delight as soon as she sees the pool and the slide and squirms and kicks until we let her in. She crawls into the zero-depth pool until her head goes under water and then looks up at us from under the water with huge eyes and an even bigger smile until we pull her out by one arm. She scrambles to the top of the kiddy slide and throws herself down as we cautiously spot her. She gets a mischievous look on her face and then lays down on her back and if the water is too deep, her face goes under and she flails her arms and sits back up, laughing. She puts her face in the water and blows bubbles, then inhales what I'm sure adds up to be gallons of water each time we swim. When we have lessons, she screams, and splashes and claps as we sing "The Children on the Bus" and "The Hokey Pokey."
Lydia and Audrey have been making progress with lessons, but tonight they both amazed me with how well they are doing. Audrey started the night by jumping from the side of the pool into my arms and as she landed, I would dunk her under. She loved it and asked me to do it again and again. I kept backing up, and she eventually started jumping in by herself without me catching her. She was ecstatic with her progress. Lydia showed me how she could "swim" under water, which really just consisted of flailing her limbs around and waving her head from side to side, but she did keep her head under the whole time! She sits on the side and does a little half dive thing into the water and tries to glide under the water. It's nice to feel confident that she could play in the pool by herself without me having to constantly keep an eye on her. The first five weeks of lessons, Lydia has had her's first and then we make her sit on the side while we have lesson with Audrey and Charlie, but today we let Lydia play in the pool and she did great and I didn't worry about her.
We have been trying to get Lydia and Audrey to go down the bigger slide at the pool, but both have been afraid. Tonight, we resorted to bribery, starting with Lydia. We offered ice cream, candy, even money and she wouldn't take it. Then Jayson offered her gum, and she was ready. Gum? Seriously? Definitely Jayson's genes. She nervously went down and of course, she loved it and couldn't get enough. Audrey also took the gum bait. It took a bit more cajoling to get her down, but she went! I was a little nervous as I saw her little arms splashing around and Jayson rushing to grab her and bring her to the surface, but she wasn't deterred! She went down several more times, with Jayson having to pull her little smiling wide-eyed face up to the surface, but she loved it.
The best part? They went to bed with barely a peep. Swimming kids are tired kids.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
What We've Been Up To...
Lemonade Stand!
Lydia begged me to let them have a lemonade stand. I was hesitant because we live on a busy road. I finally agreed, and warned her, "Just so you know, it's possible nobody will stop." They were able to scam some money from our extended family we had over for dinner, but really wanted somebody they didn't know to stop. Thankfully, a former coworker whom I hadn't seen in years drove by and saw the girls and stopped. She bought two cups and paid them extra, so we were set!
Tattoos!
Grandma Deb watched the girls while we went to a Brewers game. We came home to them covered in temporary tattoos. Temporary tattoos that don't come off even if you scrub their entire bodies with rubbing alcohol. Did I mention they had a doctor appointment too? I think they keep a separate file in a special place for our family. (Yeah, sorry, Audrey was naked. I had her cover her lady parts).
Butterflies!
We went to Family Night at the Zoo with some friends. Lydia really, really wanted a butterfly to land on her. She finally got one.
Charlie really, really did not want any butterflies to land on her, but the butterflies didn't seem to care.
Ice Skating!
It was ridiculously hot this week, so we took the girls ice skating. It was their first time and there was this awesome lady there with her kids who has been a skater and a coach for a long time. She asked us if it was OK to help the girls out a bit and she showed us all kind of tricks to help them learn. She was so, so helpful. The girls had so much fun and made such great improvement that we decided to sign them up for skating lessons in hopes that they'll like it better than dancing. We've been looking for a way out of dancing (neither of us are big fans of it), and told them they can decide between skating and dancing. They have a six-week session that starts next week and we're hoping it goes well.
Look at the little ice skates!
Lydia begged me to let them have a lemonade stand. I was hesitant because we live on a busy road. I finally agreed, and warned her, "Just so you know, it's possible nobody will stop." They were able to scam some money from our extended family we had over for dinner, but really wanted somebody they didn't know to stop. Thankfully, a former coworker whom I hadn't seen in years drove by and saw the girls and stopped. She bought two cups and paid them extra, so we were set!
Tattoos!
Grandma Deb watched the girls while we went to a Brewers game. We came home to them covered in temporary tattoos. Temporary tattoos that don't come off even if you scrub their entire bodies with rubbing alcohol. Did I mention they had a doctor appointment too? I think they keep a separate file in a special place for our family. (Yeah, sorry, Audrey was naked. I had her cover her lady parts).
Butterflies!
We went to Family Night at the Zoo with some friends. Lydia really, really wanted a butterfly to land on her. She finally got one.
Charlie really, really did not want any butterflies to land on her, but the butterflies didn't seem to care.
Ice Skating!
It was ridiculously hot this week, so we took the girls ice skating. It was their first time and there was this awesome lady there with her kids who has been a skater and a coach for a long time. She asked us if it was OK to help the girls out a bit and she showed us all kind of tricks to help them learn. She was so, so helpful. The girls had so much fun and made such great improvement that we decided to sign them up for skating lessons in hopes that they'll like it better than dancing. We've been looking for a way out of dancing (neither of us are big fans of it), and told them they can decide between skating and dancing. They have a six-week session that starts next week and we're hoping it goes well.
Look at the little ice skates!
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