scooted Katie's cradle into our bathroom and then used the side of the tub as a stool to climb in... she even squeezed herself into the sleep positioner
unpacking a present we just received in the mail
Monday, August 31, 2009
Starting the Week Off Right
Well, Abby kicked the week off with a bang. While I was busy with Katie at different times today, she came up with two new mischievous adventures...
scooted Katie's cradle into our bathroom and then used the side of the tub as a stool to climb in... she even squeezed herself into the sleep positioner
unpacking a present we just received in the mail
scooted Katie's cradle into our bathroom and then used the side of the tub as a stool to climb in... she even squeezed herself into the sleep positioner
unpacking a present we just received in the mail
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Cousins
First playdate in Austin: getting to know each other
Who are you again? I'm not so sure about this...
Hmmm, well, you smell just like me and, of all the humans I have met so far, you are the closest to my size...maybe you aren't so bad afterall...
Yes, you are pretty cool, let's cozy up for nap time in your big chair...
Who are you again? I'm not so sure about this...
Hmmm, well, you smell just like me and, of all the humans I have met so far, you are the closest to my size...maybe you aren't so bad afterall...
Yes, you are pretty cool, let's cozy up for nap time in your big chair...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Priceless Conversations
So much has changed in the last few months... sometimes I feel like I don't recognize my life, and especially not my Abby. It's amazing how the arrival of a seven pound baby can make a two-year-old look so big overnight! Sometimes it makes me feel a little sad to see how quickly she is growing up... One day I was watching Abby draw "letters" on her chalkboard, and I asked her "when did you get so big?" and she looked at me with total seriousness and said "Friday". Thankfully, my sleep-deprived brain was able to hold onto that one long enough to write down... along with this list of other Abby-isms from the last few months...
1. I have found out that I can have some pretty great conversations with Abby now. Here's a clip from one... At the end of the day during cuddle time, I praised Abby for making good choices all day, and I explained that that her obedience made Mommy happy. Then I asked whether she likes making people happy, expecting a "yes" response that I could use to illustrate a point about obedience... instead, I got "No, I like making pizza and ice cream and cookies." One of our favorite mother-daughter bonding activities is cooking, so I have been intentional about having lots of cooking dates lately. So she has gotten to make homemade ice cream and pizza lately.
2. Abby learned about "dress up" from her friend, Jenna, yesterday and now walks around saying "I have dress-up on, Mommy"
3. We moved Abby out of her crib into a big girl bed the week after we brought Katie home from the hospital since I would not be able to lift her in and out of the crib. The first few days were rough, with lots of conflict and tears. But she has the hang of it now. However, she often plays behind her closed door before going to sleep. The other day I heard loud tears, and when I opened the door, Abby said "dress up backward"... "dress up stuck". She had removed her clothing and attempted to put on the dress up outfit all by herself.
4. Daddy told Abby that she needs to say in bed until the sun is up in the morning. So now she greets every morning by proclaiming loudly "Daddy, suns is up!!!"
5. Eating lunch at Mimi's and Popop's house... Mimi takes a bite of Abby's chicken to encourage Abby to have a bite too. Abby suddenly hollers, "Mimi, that's Abby's. Spit it out right now!"
6. She came out of my bathroom with an issue of Sunset magazine she found in a basket by the toilet, saying "I want to go swimming here, Mommy"... on the cover was a breathtakingly gorgeous resort swimming pool. Me too!
7. One night as I was running out the door, leaving Abby with Jake for the evening, I told him that she had eaten a fabulous dinner. The next morning we found salmon and broccoli in the bin of dog food.
8. When Katie cries, Abby sometimes says "what you need, Katie?"
9. When first home from the hospital, I had to tell Abby quite often that I could not pick her up because I had an "owie" on my tummy. At first she seemed upset that I could pick up Katie, but not her, so I went a step further by showing her my c-section scar so that she might understand even better. From then on, Abby constantly told us & strangers in stores that she had an "owie" as she lifted up her shirt to show them her tummy, saying "see, it's right here".
10. Abby does not miss a thing in my caring for Katie, as clearly demonstrated by her carrying her baby down the hall, patting her back, saying "don't cry sweetheart, I gotcha" or telling her baby every morning "good morning, sweetheart"
11. One day she walked into our office and looked at a pile of Jake's paperwork stacked on the floor and said, "what happened here?"
12. Instead of constantly saying "why" like a lot of kids do, Abby says "what doing?" and "what happened?" constantly... and I do mean constantly.
13. Abby sings twinkle twinkle constantly. Her favorite.
14. She is obsessed with Jake's shoes. She always tells him to wear his "chacos"... it kind of hurts my feelings that he will actually remove whatever shoes he is already wearing and replace them with whatever she suggests... he never did that for me! So I have been contemplating setting Abby up with a nice pair of preppy leather sandals for her to reccomend to Jake... I have had no luck so far!
1. I have found out that I can have some pretty great conversations with Abby now. Here's a clip from one... At the end of the day during cuddle time, I praised Abby for making good choices all day, and I explained that that her obedience made Mommy happy. Then I asked whether she likes making people happy, expecting a "yes" response that I could use to illustrate a point about obedience... instead, I got "No, I like making pizza and ice cream and cookies." One of our favorite mother-daughter bonding activities is cooking, so I have been intentional about having lots of cooking dates lately. So she has gotten to make homemade ice cream and pizza lately.
2. Abby learned about "dress up" from her friend, Jenna, yesterday and now walks around saying "I have dress-up on, Mommy"
3. We moved Abby out of her crib into a big girl bed the week after we brought Katie home from the hospital since I would not be able to lift her in and out of the crib. The first few days were rough, with lots of conflict and tears. But she has the hang of it now. However, she often plays behind her closed door before going to sleep. The other day I heard loud tears, and when I opened the door, Abby said "dress up backward"... "dress up stuck". She had removed her clothing and attempted to put on the dress up outfit all by herself.
4. Daddy told Abby that she needs to say in bed until the sun is up in the morning. So now she greets every morning by proclaiming loudly "Daddy, suns is up!!!"
5. Eating lunch at Mimi's and Popop's house... Mimi takes a bite of Abby's chicken to encourage Abby to have a bite too. Abby suddenly hollers, "Mimi, that's Abby's. Spit it out right now!"
6. She came out of my bathroom with an issue of Sunset magazine she found in a basket by the toilet, saying "I want to go swimming here, Mommy"... on the cover was a breathtakingly gorgeous resort swimming pool. Me too!
7. One night as I was running out the door, leaving Abby with Jake for the evening, I told him that she had eaten a fabulous dinner. The next morning we found salmon and broccoli in the bin of dog food.
8. When Katie cries, Abby sometimes says "what you need, Katie?"
9. When first home from the hospital, I had to tell Abby quite often that I could not pick her up because I had an "owie" on my tummy. At first she seemed upset that I could pick up Katie, but not her, so I went a step further by showing her my c-section scar so that she might understand even better. From then on, Abby constantly told us & strangers in stores that she had an "owie" as she lifted up her shirt to show them her tummy, saying "see, it's right here".
10. Abby does not miss a thing in my caring for Katie, as clearly demonstrated by her carrying her baby down the hall, patting her back, saying "don't cry sweetheart, I gotcha" or telling her baby every morning "good morning, sweetheart"
11. One day she walked into our office and looked at a pile of Jake's paperwork stacked on the floor and said, "what happened here?"
12. Instead of constantly saying "why" like a lot of kids do, Abby says "what doing?" and "what happened?" constantly... and I do mean constantly.
13. Abby sings twinkle twinkle constantly. Her favorite.
14. She is obsessed with Jake's shoes. She always tells him to wear his "chacos"... it kind of hurts my feelings that he will actually remove whatever shoes he is already wearing and replace them with whatever she suggests... he never did that for me! So I have been contemplating setting Abby up with a nice pair of preppy leather sandals for her to reccomend to Jake... I have had no luck so far!
9. Spanking has been a difficult topic for me. I am not a fan, but have discovered that it is necessary at times to get her attention... I have reluctantly accepted it as a tool in my toolbelt of helping Abby know what is right. One day she told me "big one" after I spanked her... I asked her "big what?" and she said "spankin". Then another time we were in the grocery store & she needed a small corrective swat & she said rigt after "little one."
11. She's currently into fake laughing (and crying)
16. In effort to train away the whining habit, I always respond by telling Abby that she does not need to whine, but can use her words in a happy voice and that Mom will say "sure, Abby"... so now one of her favorite words if "su-re" (2 sylables)
17. She loves to draw right now, especially letters and her flowers. Then she pretends to pick the object off the paper, hand it to one of us and then tell us to put it in our pocket.
18. tee tee coming.
23. mimi come see abby!
25. wearing my sweater
26. Mommy, I have no milk!
11. She's currently into fake laughing (and crying)
16. In effort to train away the whining habit, I always respond by telling Abby that she does not need to whine, but can use her words in a happy voice and that Mom will say "sure, Abby"... so now one of her favorite words if "su-re" (2 sylables)
17. She loves to draw right now, especially letters and her flowers. Then she pretends to pick the object off the paper, hand it to one of us and then tell us to put it in our pocket.
18. tee tee coming.
23. mimi come see abby!
25. wearing my sweater
26. Mommy, I have no milk!
Bath Junkie
My girl is a bath junkie just like her Mommy... her nightly bath is clearly her favorite time of the day. Now that she has made it very clear, I would not dream of depriving her of such a treat every night! Honestly, it is a treat for me too to watch her discover how to move her feet & arms and talk to me as she enjoys.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Windows of Opportunity
It took only one morning for Abby to figure out that the 20 minutes it takes for me to nurse Katie present just the perfect opportunity to open doors, cabinets & drawers that are typically off limits. It's amazing (& scary) how creative little minds can be! So, if you have a #2 on the way, put together a nursing box where you stash some new toys, books, activities that you pull out for your toddler to play with only when you are nursing... anything to keep his/her attention... also, I discovered that nursing in the toddler's room with a gate on the doorway is a great way to make sure that slippery little one does not slide right out of your sight into mischief. To illustrate my point, here are a few stories...
My first morning nursing Katie at home when Jake was in the backyard mowing, I realized it was awfully quiet in the house, so I hollered out to Abby "what are you doing?"
Abby's response: silence
Mommy: again, "what are you doing?"
Abby's response: again, silence
Mommy: "Abby, come see Mommy RIGHT NOW!"
Abby's response: little feet running down the hall...
Mommy: "Abby, what are you doing?"
Abby's response while standing in the doorway to my room: "standing"
Mommy: ughh, "No, what where you doing in the KITCHEN???"
Abby's response: a question instead of an answer (already!)... "what is Katie doing?"
Mommy: "Katie is eating breakfast! What is ABBY doing in the kitchen?"
Abby's response: "Eating dinner"
Mommy: "What are you eating for dinner?" (it is 10:30 am by the way)
Abby's response: "Stuff"
Mommy: ugh, "WHAT stuff?"
Abby's response: (after a long thoughtful pause and with her thoughtful finger in the air) "I go call Jake" "bye-bye Mommy. bye-bye Katie" and then she tears off in a hurry down the hall
So, I was forced to get up from nursing and investigate what "stuff" Abby was eating for "dinner" in the kitchen. Shockingly, I found that she had pushed a chair to the kitchen counter & pulled down a pan of cherry cobbler that Aunt Joyce had made, which she then perched on the windowsill so that she could eat it with her fingers while watching Jake mow the yard... wow! didn't see that one coming...
My first morning nursing Katie at home when Jake was in the backyard mowing, I realized it was awfully quiet in the house, so I hollered out to Abby "what are you doing?"
Abby's response: silence
Mommy: again, "what are you doing?"
Abby's response: again, silence
Mommy: "Abby, come see Mommy RIGHT NOW!"
Abby's response: little feet running down the hall...
Mommy: "Abby, what are you doing?"
Abby's response while standing in the doorway to my room: "standing"
Mommy: ughh, "No, what where you doing in the KITCHEN???"
Abby's response: a question instead of an answer (already!)... "what is Katie doing?"
Mommy: "Katie is eating breakfast! What is ABBY doing in the kitchen?"
Abby's response: "Eating dinner"
Mommy: "What are you eating for dinner?" (it is 10:30 am by the way)
Abby's response: "Stuff"
Mommy: ugh, "WHAT stuff?"
Abby's response: (after a long thoughtful pause and with her thoughtful finger in the air) "I go call Jake" "bye-bye Mommy. bye-bye Katie" and then she tears off in a hurry down the hall
So, I was forced to get up from nursing and investigate what "stuff" Abby was eating for "dinner" in the kitchen. Shockingly, I found that she had pushed a chair to the kitchen counter & pulled down a pan of cherry cobbler that Aunt Joyce had made, which she then perched on the windowsill so that she could eat it with her fingers while watching Jake mow the yard... wow! didn't see that one coming...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
1. ahI find myself sometimes struggling with a little sadness that my firs 1. what are you doing Abby? standing... what were you doing in kitchen? what is katie doing? no, abby, tell me what you are doing in the kitchen. eating dinner. (10:30am). what were you eating? stuff. what stuff? hmmm, bye-bye mommy. no, abby, tell me what you were eating. hmmm, I go call jake (with her finger in air)
Messy Milestones
Potty training continues forward in a relaxed kid-driven fashion around here... no pressure from Mom or Dad yet. On Saturday morning when I was on the phone with Mimi, Abby came running in with more than the typical amount of excitement to break some exciting news! She interrupted my conversation several times to holler at Mimi "come see Mimi"... Mimi told her to ask Mommy to take a picture to send to her (thanks a lot, Mimi!). When I followed her to the bathroom with the camera, I was stunned to see a large deposit in her potty. It turned out that there was a real reason for new excitement! After I did the potty victory dance with her, she insisted on calling everyone. Here is the clip from her report to Daddy! If you are thinking that this post is just too much information, please take note that I did not post the close-up photos we took for Mimi! :-)
Sisters
For two nights in a row now, Katie has slept through the night... so I am finally feeling awake enough to post a few blog updates. After a two-month blog hiatus, I have lots of good material. I could not wait to share this one! It is a pretty cute little peek into the blossoming sisterly love... The first Saturday home with Katie, Jake offered to take Abby "shopping". "Shopping" has a specific unique meaning to Abby... to her, the word immediately implies a trip to Whole Foods where she can push a toddler sized cart around the store loading up with her favorite things. As they were heading out the door, Abby came running back to our room to tell Katie good-bye and make sure she knows how much she is loved... all on her own initiative.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
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