Thursday, March 31, 2011
New Tricks
A few days ago I went to retrieve Lilly from her afternoon nap. She awoke seeming so much older. First she pointed out her "boo-boo" on her left pointer finger. I asked her "is that your boo-boo?". She replied by enthusiastically nodding her little head up and down. She did this so vigorously, her entire upper torso wiggled. She has been doing this often ever since. "Lilly, would you like grapes?" Head bobbing. "Are you all done?" More head bobbing. It is so cute! I am not even sure where she picked it up. With the weather warming, the kids and I take leisurely walks to look for "signs of Spring". At the end of our road, neighbors fly an American flag in their front yard. Every time Christopher sees Old Glory, he requests "Mommy, sing the American flag song!". Since I love our National Anthem and since it is a difficult song to sing and I can't sing a lick, I love to belt it out loudly when it is only my kids that will hear. Surprisingly the other day I heard Christopher quietly playing in his room then start singing to himself "oh say does thaaat star spangled baaaaaner yet waaaaave....". He can now sing it from start to finish! I love hearing his little voice attempt to stay in tune, it is so sweet.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Dr. Christopher
Christopher loves going to the doctor. When he walks in the waiting room he greets the assistants with a smile and a hug, even saying "I'm so happy to see you!". He is very well behaved and obedient. He observes what the doctor does to Lilly or himself. So after his 3 year check up on Saturday (weighing in at 32lbs), he has really perfected his pretend doctor play. It is so realistic, Ryan and I have to stifle laughter. It goes something like this:
"Are you not feeling well, Mommy? Here let me see what's wrong." (Takes stethoscope) "Let me listen to your heart.... hmmm, ok now take a deep breath.... and again... and again.... GOOD JOB! Let me look in your ears. Ok, open your mouth, say 'ahhh'. Now, we're almost done. I just have to give you a needle. Where would you like it? Ok, here you go!" (Sticks me with needle). "Wow, you are so brave! Let's go get a sticker!".
He has the poise and mannerisms of a doctor. It is just too cute.
"Are you not feeling well, Mommy? Here let me see what's wrong." (Takes stethoscope) "Let me listen to your heart.... hmmm, ok now take a deep breath.... and again... and again.... GOOD JOB! Let me look in your ears. Ok, open your mouth, say 'ahhh'. Now, we're almost done. I just have to give you a needle. Where would you like it? Ok, here you go!" (Sticks me with needle). "Wow, you are so brave! Let's go get a sticker!".
He has the poise and mannerisms of a doctor. It is just too cute.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Zoo With Grandmom and Granddad
Saturday the kids and I met the cousins and Grandmom and Granddad at the Baltimore zoo. It was a perfect day. Even though it was overcast, the temperatures reached the 60's. The cloud cover must have kept people away, for I have never seen the zoo so empty. The kids all enjoyed themselves and we made it without any meltdowns. It was one of those days that isn't planned til the last minute, but yeilds the best memories. I love watching the cousins hang out.
Granddad holds up Sophia and Christopher to see the lion.
Christopher watches the Penguins get their lunch. This exhibit was Lilly's favorite. She laughed every time the penguins shook their bottoms.
Me and my sweet Lilly.
More of the same.
The zookeeper shows the kids an antler and a horn.Growing Lilly Pains
Lilly-Chick, Lilly-Bean, Lil' Bit...
Lilly-kins. Lilly Pad. Lil' P.Any way you call her, she is quite a character.
These past two months have been a bit rough for me. January left us without a car while Ryan's truck was getting fixed. Being stuck in the house with two energetic kids in the dead of Winter is not my idea of fun. On top of this, Lilly became colicky. You read that right, colic at one year of age. The poor girl cut three teeth at once which explained alot. Her one year check up revealed a double ear infection. I'm sure that didn't help. But even when things seemed like they were ok, she'd walk up to me and cry. ALL THE TIME! It has been driving me a bit crazy especially when she doesn't do this to anyone else. Last week I had a thought that made me sad: I'm not enjoying her. And as sad as that made me, it helped me begin to fix what is wrong. I've backed away from Christopher. Its easy for me to focus on Christopher because he gives me so much feedback and I love it. But I realized poor Lilly may have been sitting on the sidelines a bit too much. So I left alone the laundry and housework. I laid on the floor and really watched Lilly. We played on a level like never before. I've always been big on playing with the kids, but this was different. I tried to read her thoughts, and respond appropriately. I taught her signs or words to help reduce the screaming. I grew more patient. I gave her more independence, like letting her feed herself. The result? Things have gotten a bit better, or I've become more tolerant, its hard to tell which. Perhaps its both.
Lilly is so smart. Lately her words/signs are: hand washing, brush teeth, phone, "more", "all done", "dank" (thanks), cut (food), "see", "duck", "soap". She loves "trying on" Christopher's shoes, dancing to music, being silly, playing her keyboard, and playing pretend, especially with a phone. She has learned to stand up in the middle of a room without assistance. Ryan likes to play soccer with her downstairs. At her one year check up she weighed just shy of 21 lbs and was 29 1/2 inches. This past week she decided she doesn't really want to nurse anymore. I nurse her 1-3 times a day, when she'll let me. Fortunately she has started taking regular milk through a sippy cup. Her night sleep has recently been rocky, with a waking around 4-5am, but we are working on that.
There is one thing that is absolutely certain. Lilly is no longer a baby, and I find it amazing, scary, sad and delightful all at the same time. She has a smile that melts my heart and I can say, now I am really enjoying her everyday.
These past two months have been a bit rough for me. January left us without a car while Ryan's truck was getting fixed. Being stuck in the house with two energetic kids in the dead of Winter is not my idea of fun. On top of this, Lilly became colicky. You read that right, colic at one year of age. The poor girl cut three teeth at once which explained alot. Her one year check up revealed a double ear infection. I'm sure that didn't help. But even when things seemed like they were ok, she'd walk up to me and cry. ALL THE TIME! It has been driving me a bit crazy especially when she doesn't do this to anyone else. Last week I had a thought that made me sad: I'm not enjoying her. And as sad as that made me, it helped me begin to fix what is wrong. I've backed away from Christopher. Its easy for me to focus on Christopher because he gives me so much feedback and I love it. But I realized poor Lilly may have been sitting on the sidelines a bit too much. So I left alone the laundry and housework. I laid on the floor and really watched Lilly. We played on a level like never before. I've always been big on playing with the kids, but this was different. I tried to read her thoughts, and respond appropriately. I taught her signs or words to help reduce the screaming. I grew more patient. I gave her more independence, like letting her feed herself. The result? Things have gotten a bit better, or I've become more tolerant, its hard to tell which. Perhaps its both.
Lilly is so smart. Lately her words/signs are: hand washing, brush teeth, phone, "more", "all done", "dank" (thanks), cut (food), "see", "duck", "soap". She loves "trying on" Christopher's shoes, dancing to music, being silly, playing her keyboard, and playing pretend, especially with a phone. She has learned to stand up in the middle of a room without assistance. Ryan likes to play soccer with her downstairs. At her one year check up she weighed just shy of 21 lbs and was 29 1/2 inches. This past week she decided she doesn't really want to nurse anymore. I nurse her 1-3 times a day, when she'll let me. Fortunately she has started taking regular milk through a sippy cup. Her night sleep has recently been rocky, with a waking around 4-5am, but we are working on that.
There is one thing that is absolutely certain. Lilly is no longer a baby, and I find it amazing, scary, sad and delightful all at the same time. She has a smile that melts my heart and I can say, now I am really enjoying her everyday.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
"3" Alarm Fire
Don't be concerned... that's the kind of birthday Christopher had this weekend. Apparently Lulu asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted. He responded "A Firetruck one". Well Lulu took the idea and ran with it (as usual). The result was a cake containing several of Christopher's favorite things. Our green house with the house number on it. A pond made of blue jello with little fish swimming in it. Some late winter snow and a snowman holding a "slow sign". Heavy equipment making a road. A race car in an accident with requested firetrucks rushing to the scene. In all, it was perfectly Christopher. He loved it. Unfortunately, we had to cut it to eat it. The next day he requested another piece of his cake. When I sat a slice down in front of him he asked despairingly "where's the firetruck?". I guess this was his first lesson in not "having your cake and eating it too".
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