L's Birth Story

I started dilating with L at 29 weeks. I had a lot of pre-term labor contractions. I was in the hospital once a week (overnight) , every week in January 2010. Once because I didn't feel her move for 24 plus hours. Once because of a potential blood clot. Once because I had slid on some ice on the interstate while I was driving (and started crazy contractions right after). Lots of things. I didn't always go into the hospital from home; Sometimes I was sent there from a weekly OB appointment. I wasn't exactly on bed rest, but I had restrictions. No shopping, no excessive walking, no housework, things like that. This was to keep me from dilating more. Towards the end of my 35th week, I was taken off of those restrictions and I was so ready to have her. Thirty-six weeks was considered the safe zone (since then, this has changed to 37 weeks). At this time, I was given the go ahead to do whatever I wanted, if it made me dilate or put me into labor, it was okay at that point!

Saturday, February 20, 2010
Daddy and I went power walking at The Mall. We walked 3 times around the mall, as fast as I could go. Honestly, I think we did this Friday too, but I know for sure we did it Saturday. Saturday night I was a bit uncomfortable. Daddy was watching some UFC fights on TV and as the night went on, everything was getting worse for me. At one point I was sitting on the couch crying while he was watching the fights. There was nothing he could do for me, I don't want this to make him sound bad. He was concerned and offered to do things. There just wasn't anything that was making it better. I really didn't have anything to tell the doctor if I was to have called them. It was so uncomfortable for me to sit down. I had so much pressure. The only place I felt comfortable sitting was on the toilet, and I think this was because there wasn't anything directly underneath me. BUT every time I sat down, liquid would come out. I knew it wasn't pee. We googled so many things. I knew my water didn't break, although I thought I was leaking (and it was. I should have called the doctor and I'm very lucky nothing happened)!

Eventually we went to bed. I was able to get a little bit of sleep, but I spend most of the night sitting on the toilet (fully clothed, I was just using it as a seat, but with the top up). My pillow was on the sink counter and I laid my head on it and tried to sleep there. Finally about 6 am Sunday morning, I woke Daddy up, I couldn't take it anymore, nothing was any better, things weren't really worse, they just weren't much was different. At that point though, I for sure knew the liquid coming out wasn't pee and I was thinking my water really was leaking and I didn't want anything to happen from it, infection, etc. I woke Daddy up, I told him that I knew that when I told the doctor what was going on, she would tell me to go in. So I thought that we should get ready. Our bags were packed, but I had a list of last minute things that needed to go into them (that I absolutely didn't want to forget). I knew we weren't coming home without a baby this time. I knew this was it!!

Sunday February 21, 2010
I called the doctor right after I woke him up, knowing we would have to wait for a return call. We ate, showered, made sure we had everything we needed. We weren't rushing. Everything was very calm. I was excited.

We made it to the hospital about 9:30 am. We did go ahead and call my mom and tell her what was going on and that we were there. She came on up (we held off a little bit on calling everyone else). They did a test to see if it was amniotic fluid that was leaking. The results were questionable at first so they repeated the test and it was fluid. I was leaking. I WAS HAVING A BABY!

Not knowing any better, not knowing how long this was really going to take, we made the calls to everyone that I was in labor ... well sort of in labor.

I was leaking, I wasn't contracting at all, they hooked me up to Pitocin. There was a specific time frame that they were supposed to wait before they would increase the amount of Pitocin I was getting. Since nothing was happening in the way of contractions, they began to increase the amount I was getting to every 30 minutes until I got to 18 something or other.(maybe ml's I don't know how they measured that) ... All of our families were there, in and out of the room. I was happy to see everyone and I know they were excited to meet our little girl. I know they were also excited to find out her name; This is one part that we kept to ourselves and were planning to introduce her to everyone when she was born! I appreciated everyone BUT I really just wanted my mom and my husband, especially once the contractions started coming.

Once we got to 18 (maybe ml's) they wanted to insert the internal monitor. Well AS SOON AS THIS WAS INSERTED MY WATER BROKE.  The nurses said I went from zero contractions to moderate/severe contractions in the blink of an eye. The contractions were back to back with no break between them for 3 1/2 hours.

At that point I hadn't had any medication for pain. They asked several times but I really really wanted to try to do it without an epidural. I DID go into it with an open mind, saying I wanted to have her naturally, that I would try my best to do so. I would always say ... If at any point told me L was in danger and I needed it, there wouldn't have been any question!!

During all of this time, it was just my Mom and Daddy in the room with me. It was right under 4 hours of breathing through these horrible contractions with no break between them what so ever! I looked at my mom and asked her if she thought I could continue like I was. Her reply was, "You are doing good. Your breathing through them good". I asked my husband the same thing, his reply was the same as my moms. I was crying a bit at this point, the contractions were one after the other LITERALLY NO BREAK between them at all (I think I've stressed that part enough). I asked the nurse if she thought I could continue like I was. Her reply was, "This could go on for an hour, 5 hours, 10 hours, 24 hours. You just don't know how long it's really going to take". At that point I had to get the epidural. The contractions were so intense and I had a lot of back labor. My mom and my husband were amazing! A nurse showed them where to push on my back to help ease the pain I was having. I remember them taking turns, giving each other breaks. I'm sure it wasn't easy doing that part either. When they would switch off the one that was replacing the other had to put their hand on my back and start pushing before the other one could take their hands off or my pain would go through the roof!

I was so scared of the epidural. I was scared of being paralyzed from it. Not to mention my fear of needles and I knew how long the needle was that was going into my back. My medical background didn't help this process. I think I knew too much for my own good. I asked a lot of questions. I was trying to keep myself from being scared. Right before they put it in my back. I seriously looked at my husband and asked him if he would stay with me if I was paralyzed. I'm so glad they let him stay in there with me while they were putting it in. Once I had it, I was able to sit back. I had a bit of a break!

Family started coming in and out again. Pictures were taken. We found some movies on TV. I remember we watched Hitch. I can't remember what else. Mom and Husband were in there with me most. I felt a bit uneasy if both of them weren't in the room with me. I don't know if I was afraid something was going to happen and one, or both of them wouldn't be there. I got the chills really bad. I don't even know if you could call them chills. I was shivering like I don't think I ever have before. Mom would rub my chest and it would help. Shivering that bad was so uncomfortable. Nurses said this was a normal side effect of the epidural and I think I slept a little but not much.

Monday February 22, 2010
Once it was time to push, I was so excited. I didn't think this part of bad (I'm sure because of the epidural). The worst part was the 3 1/2 hours of those intense contractions, then the shivering. But the pushing, I don't think was bad at all. In between pushing, I would joke around saying how much closer I was to having a diet coke!! I pushed for, right under 4 hours. L was born at 3:40 am 6 lbs 12 oz 18 inches long.

We knew early on that that there was miconium and the Neonatologist would have to examine her as soon as she was born. Everything was great with the examination. Apgar scores were good! No nicu stay!!!! So we were very grateful about that. They could not put her in my arms fast enough! But as they were handed her to my husband there was a little bit of blood (I want to say it came out of her nose). They took her back quickly, suctioned her and all was well from that point on on. I had to get 22 stitches (because of the episiotomy). I was holding her and loving life as they were stitching me up!! We tried breastfeeding and had some issues with latching. We were told it was most likely because she was a bit early as well as the suctioning (she was suctioned twice). The lactation consultant worked with us A LOT! (this requires it's own blog post)

That hour in the delivery room that we had after she was born was incredible. I was smiling, I was crying, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I couldn't stop kissing my husband. L was very wide eyed and very alert during this time! I can't find the words to describe the way I felt ... But as I'm sitting here typing this, 3 years later, I am getting teary eyed. I can't explain it, but it's like I'm right back there in that moment and I can feel that feeling and all of those emotions once again ... My Mom and my Mother-in-Law were the only ones of our family that stayed through the night. They couldn't wait to come in and meet our sweet girl!

They transported L to the nursery (temporarily) and they transported me to my room. At this point, I had been up for 24+ hours and there wasn't one part of me that was sleepy. There wasn't one part of me that was in pain. Everything was perfect. So much adrenaline! My Mom and my Mother-in-Law only stayed for a few more minutes... I remember them saying they would head out so we could get some rest. All I wanted was my baby. Everyone would make comments that I looked great, they couldn't believe I wasn't sleepy but at some point, I was going to crash. Believe it or not, that didn't happen until 11:00 pm that night.

It was a wonderful day! I was a MOMMY!!!

Toddlers Flossing

Later on after our dentist appointment we took a trip to Target. Really we were only going for floss sticks (the curved ones seem to work best for us). 

When it was time to brush and floss that night, L was all for it. But my little one wasn't really on board with this. I didn't push her, I told her to let me know when she wanted me to floss her teeth. But I knew I had to come up with something. Later that night, Daddy said to me, she's 2 and if she doesn't want to do it, could we start it when she's 3 like L?? I see the point he's making, BUT we did just go to the dentist and they DID say we should. We had that talk, all of us together, and they were told that we should start doing this. I know L wouldn't understand why M wasn't doing it (or why she didn't have to) since we were told by the dentist that we should. I didn't want her to think that it was okay NOT TO DO IT!

The following day after we finished at soccer, we made another trip to Target. To get some stickers! I let them both pick them out. When we got home I started making 2 sticker charts. One with M's name and one with L's name. While I was making it I explained to her how it would work (of course M was right there hearing it all). She could choose a sticker in the morning after we flossed and at bedtime when we flossed and when the chart was full of stickers with no empty blocks, she could choose to either go to Chuck E. Cheese or Puzzles Fun Dome. After I finished, we went into the bathroom to hang the charts. L asked me why I had 2 and I replied, "One day M will be ready and she'll ask me to floss her teeth, when her chart is full, she can choose one of those two places to go as well." I never said anything to M about flossing her teeth. 

That night I brushed and flossed L's teeth. L started brushing her teeth after I was finished and while I started brushing M's teeth. When I finished brushing M's teeth, she took my face into her hands pulled me close to her. We were nose to nose and she said, "Floss my teeth Mommy!" We celebrated, made a big deal and she's been flossing ever since!!

Toddlers at The Dentist

The morning of the girls first dentist appointment, they were so excited! They woke up, ate breakfast, and in the process of getting dressed they must have asked me a million times what time the dentist opened. They were ready to go!

The girls don't watch a lot of TV, when they do watch, it's typically Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or a Disney movie. In the last several weeks, one of the things that came on right before each episode of MMCH was a small commercial (in a sense) about going to the dentist. Each time we would see this, we would always celebrate that fact that we were going to get to go there soon. In this "commercial" there are cool things on the wall there and things like that. I would ask them if they thought the dentist office that we were going to had cool things on the wall. I had them excited about every part of this appointment. Nothing about the disappointed them!

Excitement brewed as we got out of the car. Walking into the office building we had to go down a pretty cool staircase. This was a pediatric dentist that we were going to, so even the sign on the door was exciting for them! We opened the door COOL THINGS ON THE WALL, squeals of excitement! The fish tank, the train table, books, they had it all! Luckily Daddy showed up pretty quickly and was able to help me with the paperwork! The girls were so excited, wanting to show me everything, that it was hard to concentrate on what I had to do. THEN THEY CALLED OUR NAME!!

As we walked back, each of them were able to choose a new toothbrush and were shown the magical treat/toy corner that they would be able to choose a toy and a sticker after we were finished. L went first, she sat in the chair and started talking a mile a minute to the dental assistant, Mrs. Sheila. Mrs. Shelia was amazing! L is very talkative, Mrs. Sheila listened to her and showed her each one of the tools, explained in perfect terminology what it was for and what she was going to do with it, and she would let L touch whatever she was talking about. Before moving onto the next tool, she would touch that one to each of L's fingers (so she could feel it and know it doesn't hurt)!  L laid back in the chair and was given some some glasses to put on. Mrs. Sheila made sure her glasses were okay, that she could see in the mirror and ask if she was ready before just getting started! 

There was a girl in the area next to us just screaming. I was so nervous that this was going to set one of the two of mine in a frenzy. M asked a few times what was the matter, but we were able to divert her attention! L did have to have an x-ray (on the tooth that she hit on our bed, I explained this in the last blog post). She sat there like such a big girl, she sat still. I was so proud of her! I stood there watching her, seeing how brave she was being, she looked so big. It was hard not to cry! (I say that as I start to tear up)...

It was M's turn and seriously everything went just the same. Even though M watched as Mrs. Shelia went through all of the tools, Mrs Sheila went through them all again (the whole bit) with M! M did hold my hand as she got her teeth cleaned. I think it made her a little nervous, but she did incredibly well! Daddy and I were both so impressed. They even did well when the actual dentist came in. The dentist saw M first (since she was already in the chair). The funny thing, both girls had recently learned how to say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, as the dentist walked in M looked at her and began to say it. To listen to a 2 year old say that word, not only is it the cutest thing ever, it also takes a few minutes! They also thought it was the cutest thing ever, they brought multiple people to hear both of them hear it! It was very cute and very funny!

Both girls had a great check-up! I was happy to hear that we are doing such a great job with their teeth. The dentist was happy to hear the things the girls eat and don't eat/drink! Together we had conversations with the girls about some changes we were going to make to our bedtime routine (this needs it's own blog post). One thing we were going to start is flossing. They did well with Mrs. Sheila flossing them at the dentist office. I wasn't sure how it was going to go at home!

On the way out of the office, they got a goodie bag with their new toothbrush, some floss sticks and I don't remember what else was in there. As we walked out, there were able to choose their prize. I think this may have taken as much time as their actual appointment. As Daddy and I were praising them on how well they did, Mrs. Sheila was doing the same. L asked when we get to come back again. Mrs. Sheila whispered to me not to expect the next appointment to go as well??!! Really?? 

The next appointment is scheduled! We'll start talking it up once again as the time gets closer and hope for the best!!

What kind of experiences have you had with your little ones at the dentist? If you haven't been yet, how do think it's going to go? Please share your thoughts!

Preparing Toddlers for Their First Dentist Appointment

Going to the dentist has always been traumatic for me. A shot or two of Novocaine didn't numb me like it did other people. As a kid I would tell the dentist I could still feel what he was doing; I don't know if it was because I was young and he thought I was "just saying" it hurt, BUT IT HURT! It hurt and no one would do anything to fix it. As I grew older, I just didn't want to go to the dentist anymore. In my late 20's I found a dentist that listened to me. I had to have a wisdom tooth removed; it took 13 shots of Novocaine to numb me, a few hours later I was back to normal. I get sick to my stomach can't sleep at night scared when I know I have to go there! 

Of course when you have kids, you want to take all of their hurt and fears away the best you can. I will do everything I possibly can to make sure they take good care of their teeth and make sure they have the best experiences they possibly can when going to the dentist.  

Both of my girls started teething early. As soon as I saw the first bit of white poke through their gums (about 5 months old for L), we began brushing. I honestly think brushing this early has helped us, as we don't have any issues with brushing, no battles, no arguments about it (at this point anyway, I just hope this continues)!

They make toothbrushes for 3+ months as well as training toothpaste. We would sing songs while brushing. I got a couple of tooth brushing song ideas from the internet. But their favorite, is one I made up. We still sing sometimes while we are brushing. I would tell them that "I am brushing the sugars out of their mouth. If I didn't get the sugars out, those sugars would work on their teeth and make cavities." As they learned how to count, before we would brush, they would open their mouths and I would "count how many sugars they had" before I brushed. They would do the same to me. They had to let me brush their teeth good, then they could brush their own. L would tease me and tell me that I missed a sugar (she, to this day, says this every time we brush). 

When reading about taking little ones to the dentist for the first time, the recommended age ranges from 2-3 years old for their first visit. I was planning to go when M turned 2 and L turned 3. As I had been taking good care and there wasn't any known issues. 

The beginning of December 2012, L was running in our bedroom. No sooner then I said, "You need to stop running, you're going to get hurt," she fell and hit her mouth on the corner of our bed. Our bed is a very large, wooden king size bed and there is a dent in the wood where she hit her front left tooth. She cried for a bit and of course, told me her tooth hurt! Within a week her top front left tooth was visibly darker than the rest of her teeth. That was my cue that it was time to call to make their appointment. 

I called several dentists before I found the one that I was comfortable making an appointment with. I was so surprised to hear that some dentist WOULD NOT LET THE PARENTS GO BACK WITH THEIR TODDLERS! I wasn't okay with that at all. Multiple receptionist that I talked to tried to tell me that doing it this way was better. Maybe better for some, but NOT FOR ME OR MY KIDS! I found one that would let my go back but wasn't happy with the call itself. The next phone call I made was the one I chose. She didn't rush me off the phone, she answered my questions, I could go back with my kids AND my little one could go back with me and watch the big one for her appointment! SCORE! 

I called in December, our actual appointment wasn't until February. Randomly in the previous months, I had been telling both girls that we were going to have to go to the dentist soon. That there are doctors for everything. We talked about their pediatrician, the ENT (when M was having so many ear infections, the eye doctor (when L had to get her eyes examined) and that the Dentist was a doctor for their teeth. Once the appointment was made, we didn't talk about it every day, but a few times a week. 

I tried to prepare them for every part of the appointment (as best that I could). The "big cool chair" that moved up and down, the dentist would have pointers and tools that they had to look inside their mouths to tell them what a good job they were doing taking care of their teeth and getting the sugars out! I explained to L that they may want to take a special picture of her hurt tooth. 

They were ready for their appointment and they were actually excited.

My next post will be about their actual appointment.

How are you/did you prepare your little ones for their first dentist appointment?

Kids on The Internet

I don't judge anyone! I think when it comes to parenting there isn't an absolute right way. I think whatever works for you and your family is the right way for you!

There is something I struggle with all of the time. It's pictures of kids on the internet. I should rephrase this ... I love seeing pictures of kids on the internet! I love seeing the instagram pictures posted on twitter! I love seeing everyone's pictures of their little ones in their blogs! In fact, I'm a bit jealous (in a sense) that everyone isn't looking at pictures of my kids like that. My girls are beautiful and we take a ton of pictures (and there are so many that I'd love to share).

 I think I'm one of the few people left in the world that doesn't have a face book page and I've asked, and been pretty stern with my family about not posting pictures of my girls on face book (not just face book, all social media)! I honestly don't know that I have any valid reasons, other than I just don't want pictures of them on the internet! I've conjured up thoughts in my head (from watching too much news) that someone can track us down and kidnap them, some pervert could get a hold of the pictures (you know all things that you hear, THAT COULD HAPPEN).  Then there's the privacy of my kids. Anyone can take those pictures and do whatever they want with them. It's easy to save an image ... then it's someone else's forever. Those are my babies. Our pictures! I know there are privacy settings everywhere and I can put those in place. It's just something I'm not comfortable with yet! Maybe one day! 

I am so torn about this and struggle with this issue all of the time. Not in respect of anyone else and what they do. I wish I could get this out of my head and just share everything with the world. I know there are at least five pictures that I've taken today that I would share in a split second ... if I wasn't so crazy about this!

My blog would be better and I could make everyone smile with the antics that goes on here. This is nothing more then maybe a brief explanation of why there aren't any pictures on my blog. As well as, the possibility of working this out in my brain (although this didn't happen). I'm sure I will continue to struggle with this. Some say I'm extreme (and I know I am about this) ... it's just something I can't help. 

Thank you for listening to my rambles on this and I'm sorry I don't share pictures on here :(

I keep telling myself ... maybe one day! Never say never (just not right now).

Birthdays with two so close in age

M's second birthday was in December. She seemed to really understand what was going on. She knew we were going to Chuck E. Cheese for her party (and she was so excited), she knew she was going to get presents, family was coming because it was HER DAY! She loved looking the different cakes and picking out which one that SHE wanted. This WAS HER DAY COMING UP, AND SHE KNEW IT!

L on the other hand (although she is older), it had been ten months since her birthday, so she didn't quite understand "get it". We did our best explaining that HER birthday was coming up, that she would have all of the same things happening! She would have her party, family would be coming to see her, she would get to pick her cake and what she wanted on it. I told her I was also going to give her two options and that she would be able to pick where she would have her party. She was getting excited for this! I think talking about her party at the same time was helping.

It was the day of M's party. Things couldn't have went any better! The party was suppose to be from 11-1:00, and it was over at one (but we still had tokens left, the girls and myself ended up walking out of the door at 3:00). Of course the fun wasn't over, at that point we were going home to the presents that M had unwrapped and now it was time to play.

Something we really haven't ever experienced was things being "MINE". L was excited about the presents as well and couldn't wait to play with everything and there were plenty of new things to go around! As excited as L was, I explained to her that it was M's birthday and when I would open something, I would hand it to M to get to play with it first, then they could share it. This was reasonable to us and seemed to be going okay. Until these words came out of M's mouth, "That's my present," she didn't want L playing with anything. I then explained to M that L was born before her and there were a lot of toys that are here that belonged to L before M was born and that L shares everything with her so nicely. I named some of her favorite toys, told her that they really belonged to L and how would she feel if she wanted to play with them and L wouldn't let her because they were initially L's presents. M then understood and things seemed to once again be okay.

Things were okay on the toy and sharing front, but off and on throughout the day and evening, L would bring up her party, she would tell me that she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese, just like M did. She wanted a Tinkerbell cake, just like M had. I don't know if she just had a good time and wanted to "make sure" that her party was just as fun, or what the reasoning was. I told her, if those were the things she wanted for her party, that would be perfectly fine but we could make the final decisions once her birthday was getting closer.

Towards the middle of January we started talking about themes etc. She was getting excited that HER DAY was coming. She made the decision to go to Chuck E. Cheese and she chose a Madagascar theme for her cake and things. We talked about all of this often (she was excited and brought it up several times a week). With this, M started talking about it being her birthday. Explaining to a two year old that her birthday had past and now this was L's day, over and over, was tiring (and not always easy). She became territorial of her presents again, not wanting to share. I explained that L would be getting things for her birthday and asked her how she would feel if L didn't share things with her. We had this conversation often.

Daddy and I decided the girls didn't really "need" anymore toys. With Christmas and M's birthday having both just passed. We decided to get something BIG that they would be able to use for quite sometime! We decided on a 14' trampoline with a safety enclosure. We bought it and it was put away (waiting for warmer weather).

We were having L's birthday party on Sunday, February 17, 2013 and the Saturday night before, I started thinking... L is very smart and doesn't forget a thing! When it was M's birthday, she paid attention to EVERYTHING and pointed out many times that she wanted her party to be just like M's. I started talking to my husband, saying that M came home with all kinds of presents and L has a trampoline. A trampoline (that she knows she's getting). A trampoline that is sitting in the shed in the backyard, that she's not going to open at her party and she's not even going to see until the weather is warmer. I told him the presents that she was going to open from family (I knew what everything was) and what she would be bringing home. I'm not saying in the least that any of this is about the presents, but at the same time, I didn't want my baby to be disappointed with the few things she would be bringing home and remembering ALL THE THINGS that her sister came home with. She turning 3, she's not going to understand that trampoline is in the shed... He agreed and after I got the girls to bed that night I went power shopping. I did not go crazy. But I got several small things that I knew would make her happy! She had a good amount to open and she came home with presents, she was happy! Her party was so fun and a big success!!

Toddlers Playing Soccer

January 10, 2013

This was the first day of soccer. L was so excited as we got ready to leave. She just kept asking one question though... "Is M going to play too?" I didn't know how to answer. I was hoping there would be a chance before and after that they could play together. But as for the actual soccer session (it was for 3 year olds), I wasn't planning on M playing. This was a tough situation because they are used to doing everything together!

We got there about 45 minutes early. (I thought it was going to  take longer to get there) They played a lot on the bleachers AND on the soccer field! They had so much fun! When I actually filled out the paperwork, I was asked if M would be playing too. Well, I wasn't planning on it. With them saying it was alright, I was all for seeing how she would do! I was excited then! If she liked it and if she participated, I was all for signing her up. I asked about their ages. The soccer club knew L was a month away from turning three. But at that point, M had just turned 2 a few weeks ago. They said with siblings, it's often surprising how well the younger one does. It's a lot of monkey see monkey do! My girls are already like that anyway. I was hopeful!

I was so proud of both of them both! They listened to Coach Nick, they participated, followed directions, they tried everything, and they had so much fun! Oh, and the excitement when they received their soccer jerseys. It was so cute! 

We had planned on meeting Daddy at Chili's when we were finished with soccer to tell him all about it! Chili's (at the moment) is their favorite restaurant! There was so much excitement about it all. They talked about it from the time we buckled up in the car to the time we walked into the restaurant. BUT as soon as they saw Daddy, it was like it never happened! 

Every week I think soccer gets better and better! Tomorrow will be their 4th week. We've also made friends there. We had our second play date with Mrs. Meg, Ben (another soccer player) his sister Ellie and little baby Joseph. Last week we met after soccer and went to lunch, then today at the zoo.


They are so cute running around out there. There are also certain activities that I notice that each of them like better than others. I think I look forward to soccer just as much as they do!

At the present time, our plans are to finish out this soccer session. Doing a music class in the summer. Then soccer again in the fall and winter sessions.

TANTRUMS

Tantrums ... This is new for us!

January 29, 2013

Today was, I think the 3rd of L's ultimate tantrums!

 The first one happened in the women's family locker room at the YMCA. We were in the shower area changing our clothes. L already didn't want to leave, then on top of that, she became frustrated with the shirt she was trying to put on. She asked for my help and as I was attempting to help her, she began to yell, "Mommy don't touch me! Don't touch me Mommy!" When I would stop and not "help her", she would get upset because I wasn't doing anything! I was in a no win situation! There was no calming her! Normally I can talk her down from these moments. But not this time. I was afraid someone was going to some "Check on us" ... I had to walk out of the shower stall. I tried to call Daddy to see if he could try to talk to her ... he was at work and not able to answer. I went back into the shower because her screams turned into "Don't leave me Mommy" ... She was totally naked with her shirt half way on. I tried to help again and things got worse. There was another mom that came over. She tried to comfort me with what was happening. She was like an angel! Telling me that she had been there, etc. She asked if I wanted help. I needed help. It wasn't working at first. But with a little bit of time, this woman, Mrs. Runkle, was able to distract L with her cell phone and pictures of her kids while I got her dressed. This was horrible. At one point, I thought I was going to cry. There hasn't been many situations that has come up with these girls that I have felt like this.

A couple of nights ago, this happened once again. It was about 11:00 pm. She was so sleepy. Yelling "Hold me Mommy!" One second pushing my hands away and the next, she would be wrapping my arms around her telling me to hold her. She wasn't feeling good ... was it that? Or was this a tantrum. Either way, this was the milder one of the bunch.

That brings us back to today.... We woke up this morning, had breakfast, did our calendar, baked some banana bread and got ready to do to the zoo. We had a play date there and it was great! The girls were wonderful on the play ground. Following directions. Just listening so good. Interacting with the other kids! It was awesome. THEN IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE ... L did not want to leave at all! She was so tired! Borderline not feeling well. She has been complaining of a sore throat for the last few days (but overall seemed fine. The other mom knew this by the way)... She whined and cried the whole way out of the zoo. THEN WHEN WE GOT IN THE CAR ... the kicking started. She kicked the back of the passenger seat so much and so hard that she made her sneakers come off. Of course she fell asleep when we were less than 5 minutes from the house. I was seriously dreading waking her up. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty ... and it wasn't.

She came into the house kicking and screaming. I went to the bathroom and she kicked and screamed in the hallway the whole time. She wanted me to hold her but she didn't want M in my lap at the same time. M was just as fussy, although not as dramatic! I tried to get her to talk to Daddy on the phone, that didn't work. I tried to get her to talk to Mamaw on the phone. She did for a second, then made it very clear that she didn't want to talk on the phone. THEN SHE PICKED UP HER BABY DOLL AND HER LAPTOP AND THREW THEM ... THREW THEM OFF THE COUCH. She threw them pretty far. Immediately I picked her up and took her to her room. I explained to her that the way she was acting was not okay. I told her that throwing ANYTHING is never okay! That she could hurt someone OR break her things ... and that was not how she wanted to treat her things. I told her that she had to sit there until she stopped yelling and screaming and she could act like A BIG KID!!! About 20 minutes or so went by and it was actually worse.

At this point I seriously thought that I was in a crazy house! M was sitting on the couch eating some raisins, then she began to yell at Monkey (her favorite stuffed animal), "Monkey don't eat my raisins" ... What the heck was going on with my littles? That was when I knew that the night was not going to get any better. It was time for bed. L kicked and screamed all through changing her clothes, going to the bathroom, and getting into bed! (They needed a bath, but that just wasn't happening). Neither of them had ever seen me be stern like this for such an extended period of time. I didn't raise my voice, but I was very matter of fact!

I felt a little bad, because I really do like snuggling in bed at night time every night BUT tonight  there wan't anything enjoyable about it! I just wanted them to be asleep! I don't like that. BUT I NEED TO GET A HOLD ON THESE TANTRUMS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER!

I really hope both of them get a good sleep tonight and we have a great time tomorrow with soccer and then day in general!

Catching up ...

December 19, 2012 

I have fallen behind with blogging. There are so many things happening these days, I hope I can think of everything to include. I suppose I'll start with today and work my way back. This morning we worked on writing capital letters. This was only the second time we have done this in the last month. The first time, it didn't go so well. Today watching L write, you would have thought she had done it several times. It is new to her and she is excited about it! She concentrates so hard while she is working on her letters!! She wants to do good and she is so proud of herself when she does it well!

THEN HER FOOT FELL ASLEEP... that's never happened before!  While we were sitting at the kitchen table writing her letters, at one point, L was sitting on her knees. All of a sudden she tells me there is something moving on  her foot. I looked at it and didn't see anything. She insisted something was moving all over, I still didn't see anything. I asked her if she was just sitting on her knees, when she confirmed what I was thinking, I gently squeezed her foot and tried to explain to her that her foot fell asleep and what she was feeling was her foot tingling!! Not such an easy thing to explain. She didn't like this feeling at all!

Yesterday L looked at M before we ate lunch and said, "I want you to eat your vegetables for you to be healthy and grow big like me. I'm going to eat my vegetables and be big like Mommy. I want you to grow big because I love you!" I thought this was the sweetest thing! L has been openly expressing her love lately. Saying things like, "I love you more than all the times for always!" (I always tell her that I love her more than I could ever tell her... Her way of saying it is, "I love you more than all the times for always"... I LOVE THIS!!

Yesterday L told me that she loves when I teach her things. I asked her if there was something that she wanted me to teach her, she said, "Yes, Santa Claus is Coming To Town". There is nothing I love more than hearing them sing! I could listen to them sing all day!

L loves to know the schedule and what we are going to be doing throughout the day... she likes to know this ahead of time. I like we may have a little planner on our hands, just like her Mommy!

They are both very excited for Christmas. Counting down (We have a nutcracker and a snowman that we change the numbers daily to countdown). They are very excited about Santa! All of the fears of being scared of him in the past is long gone! They have specifically seen him 3 times (not counting the times that we've just walked passed him in the malls). 

Driving to see Santa the morning after Thanksgiving, Daddy asked me how I thought it was going to go. I wasn't sure at the time. But from the get go, they were both in awe. Smiling from ear to ear, talking nonstop, and not wanting to leave him! Poor M couldn't get a word in... They were so excited after as well. When they would look at the picture of them with Santa, they tell me is it their favorite picture. I love it. That night, we brought out our Elf of The Shelf. 

L named our Elf on the Shelf Tutu. Tutu was doing some fun things. The first light she was hanging on a swing from the ceiling fan (and she brought presents), then she laid on top of a ceiling fan blade (they did not like this), Tutu rearranged their rooms, getting rid of the cribs and transforming them into toddler beds... and then Tutu wrote on the bathroom mirror. L was very serious about the mirror and said, "Mommy, Tutu is bad or somepin     (this is the way she says "something"), Tutu doesn't make good decisions. We should talk to Santa and Santa can talk to her when she goes to the North Pole tonight. Can we talk to Santa? Can we go see him?" ... so I took them to go talk to Santa about Tutu. I do wish I had this on video. It was so incredibly cute! I did walk up to Santa before this conversation to give him a heads up... I'm sure this isn't a normal conversation for the average Santa at the mall. 

I've been wanting to baby journal/blog for days, thinking that I need to put some things down so we won't forget. Even today while we were driving, things were coming to mind. I'm going to have to start making myself notes again because now that I'm sitting here doing this, my mind is drawing a blank!

Their First Trip to Kings Island

July 29, 2012

Daddy and I were both so excited for them to be at Kings Island! This was also a bit emotional for me. I remember how exciting it was to go to Kings Island when I was younger ... And here we were with our babies! The day started off kind of rocky. After I parked the car, started to get the stroller and the girls out, I realized that M had thrown up all over herself (we had to do a full outfit change before we even made it into the park. The funny part was Daddy cleaning M's baby doll. I had him use a wipe to get the puke off, then hand sanitizer to actually clean the baby off. (I was putting sun block on M at this point) while some people were walking by, a lady asked him, "Are you putting sun block on that baby doll?" So funny! 

We had some pictures taken, then found our way to Snoopy Town. Daddy and I were so excited to get them on an ride that we stopped at the first one we came across (this was such a bad "not thinking" decision). It was a haunted house type thing, with a crazy long like. The line itself was horrible (I was totally rethinking why I agreed to bring them here at this age). Several times I wanted to get out of the line and do something else (Daddy didn't want to). They were both fussing and wanting to be held through the entire line. There were times when both of them wanted me to hold them (I was thinking this wasn't going to be a fun day). This ride itself was a bit scary, L was crying and plugging her ears. I covered her eyes and sang songs right into her ear through most of it. Coming out of this ride, the first thing they saw was the swings. They were both excited, L couldn't wait to get on and M wasn't tall enough! This started more fussing... and L was actually bummed out that M wasn't on the ride with her!! Despite everything, L did have a lot of fun on the swings. She looked so big! So happy! I was so happy for her, although this is really the beginning of my baby growing up!!

Trying to get away from those swings, we found some airplanes. L wasn't happy that I couldn't ride with her (she was sleepy) and M wasn't happy that she couldn't ride with L! Daddy and M got in the line of another ride, so off he went with a crying M. Everyone was fussing for one reason or another. No one was happy!

The line that M and Daddy were in was so extremely long as well. We joined them in line after the airplanes and it was a miserable time. Something had to turn this day around! I just had to figure out what it was! After we got off of this helicopter ride, I'm not sure why, but L and I walked off toward a sign I noticed for a character meet and greet. When I saw Schroeder in the store, I knew M would love him. I was calling Daddy trying to get M in there. They were on the carousel and M had just fallen asleep. I had Daddy take her off so she could come and see Schroeder. And she hugged him for about 8 minutes! She wouldn't let go. It was the cutest and the most pitiful thing all at the same time... in all of the pictures, her face was so splotchy and red from crying!! But hugging him made her so happy! She didn't want to let go! I didn't know how I was going to get her to. So sweet!!

After this looooong hug, we had some BLUE ice cream. It was, honestly, the best ice cream I have ever eaten.... I was happy, this was the trick I needed. It worked! The ice cream turned it all around!  

There were some rides they liked more than others. There was one ride they absolutely loved and they were able to ride it A LOT BEFORE THE INCIDENT HAPPENED!! It was the Ladybug Coaster.

 

 The story I'm about to tell happened much later in the day. We left around 6:30, I would say "the incident" happened around 5:30ish. But they were on this ride. I got them situated in their car every time (like every parent was). But one particular time, (this was after I had won stuffed animals for them and M had her stuffed dog on the ride with her), so this one time when I put the black bar across them, her dog was in the way and I didn't see M's hand. I closed the big steel bar down on her hand and smashed her hand between that bar and the metal of the car. She screamed the worst scream that you have ever heard, it took me a second to realize what had happened. I was able to open the bar to release her hand. She held her hand up in the air, she wasn't moving it, and she wouldn't let me touch it. I honestly thought her hand was broken. She was sitting there screaming. The seat belts on the little kids rides locked and you needed a key to unlock it (I love that they are like this, except in this situation). My baby was screaming her head off, I thought her hand was broken, I yelled for the ride operator FOUR times, I got louder every time I yelled and I just couldn't get her attention! I stepped across the middle of the ride and fell right through! Straight down, Daddy said I went down 2-3 feet. I heard everyone gasp although I never skipped a beat. THIS got her attention, She was headed over and I got right up and out of the hole I fell in. I got M out and she was screaming for her Daddy who was so embarrassed that he walked so far away and wouldn't come back. They made everyone get off the ride for like 5 minutes just to put the cover the middle of the ride (that I stepped through and bent). It was operating again in five minutes. It was their favorite ride and Daddy wouldn't go back over there with us for them to ride it anymore. Her hand was fine. Although I found all of my bruises the next day. I did change my shirt after this happened (I had grease on me in multiple places. I'm very lucky I didn't get hurt, I think I fell into the gears that made the ride work). 

Daddy was so embarrassed, and of course it's very funny after the fact! But I stand firm on the fact, that I reacted the way any mother would who thought their little one was hurt!

All in all the day was a success. It had a rocky start and a glitch right before the end. But we stayed longer that I anticipated and the ride home was rough. M cried just about the entire way. I even stopped once to make she she hadn't gotten sick again like she did on the way there. I can't believe I didn't think about this until we were just about 10 minutes from getting on the Watterson Expressway ... but this is when I thought to turn on the Oompa Loompa song (from Willy Wonka). As soon as I turned this on, the screaming immediately stopped! A quick bath when we got home and they went to sleep so quickly!!

All in all, it was a great day and we'll take them back to Kings Island in 2013!

The Perfect Pacifier Replacement

Goofy ... The Perfect Replacement!

She was very excited to head out to The Disney Store! But no one, not even Mommy, knew what kind of bond she would develop with Goofy! I am so happy this all turn out the way that it did!

I let her out of the stroller by the big mound of stuffed animals in the back of The Disney Store ... she went straight to Goofy, held him up to show me and said, "This in living room." I said, "Of course he can go home with us. We came here just to get him. Put him in the stroller and if you wanted to look around some more you can!"

She did put Goofy in the stroller, although she tried out some other things to see if she wanted them instead. I would ask her if she wanted those things and she would tell me that she wanted Goofy in our living room.

When we got home, she held him up to show him the living room. She showed him (and told him the names of our dogs) ... it was like she was showing him his new house. There was a time when she slept with Llama Llama, then she went through 8+ months where she would take Owl in the car when we went places and she would also sleep with him. BUT THIS IS SO DIFFERENT! s

She doesn't just snuggle Goofy while sleeping, she spends her day with him. She rarely puts him down! If she doesn't have him and doesn't see him. She'll say, "Where's Goofy?" She will look and look for him, but he's never far away! 

There was one day that he got dirty from playing outside and when I was going to give him a bath (Put him in the washer, she cried and cried)... we now have 2 ( a very much needed back-up Goofy) She doesn't do much without him. If we go someplace and she has to leave him in the car, sometimes she will say, "Bye bye Goofy, See you next time!" or sometimes she will put him to the side (face down) and say, "Nite nite Goofy." 

She falls asleep with him ... Sometimes she'll hold him up to show him where we are going while we are driving in the car ... He goes for walks with us (often she carries him around by his ear) ... She "teaches" him to do everything (from sliding down a slide to walking) ... It is so cute, after he slides, she'll go around to the front, bends over, claps her hands for him and says, "YEAH GOOFY!" I am so happy she has this bond, a snuggling security buddy. It's not her special lovey that I had handmade, but I think this is even better!

Getting Rid Of The Pacifier

Getting Rid of THE PACIFIER

I had been putting a lot of thought about how I was going to get rid of L's pacifier for quite sometime! When pregnant and thinking about these things, I had thought I would get rid of it around 1 year old. Plans changed when we decided to have another baby right away. When L was 1 year old, M was 2 months old, of course M would also have a pacifier and that would just not be fair! So we waited. The new plan was when M was 1... then it got pushed to when L was 2. I had a plan after her 2nd birthday that involved an Owl (she loves owls)... but there were 2 year molars coming and I think I was finding reasons to continue to put it off. Although for the last 2-3 months she would only get her pacifier during nap times and at bedtime.

March 4 2012, it started as a normal weekend day. When we woke up we decided to go out to breakfast. While we were there, the girls were being so good that we decided to drive to the Newport Aquarium. The drive up there was fun. M slept and we talked to and sang with L. We had fun at the Aquarium, as always! (So glad we decided to get a membership)

The drive back was a bit rough to say the least. M slept the majority of the way but L cried, pretty much the entire way. About half way home, we realized she was crying (well partly because she was sleepy), but also because the sun was in her eyes. I tried to get her to wear sunglasses, etc and nothing! It was pretty miserable. Once we got home, Daddy had to tun up to the store. While he was gone, the perfect idea came to me! 

Today was the  day!! I cut a pretty good size hole in L's pacifier (I knew she was about to start asking for it, because it was getting close to bedtime). When she did ask for it, it was in the basket that it is always in. I let her get it herself and she found it, BROKEN, WITH A BOO BOO! She sat there and rubbed over the hole for a couple of minutes, the conversation went like this:
L: "Mommy look, it has a boo boo".
Mommy: "Oh no, what should we do with it? That's a pretty big boo!"
L: "Mommy fix it"
     I knew she didn't know the words sew, but she has seen me fix many things.
Mommy: "Should I sew it, like I sewed M's Monkey and your doll's stroller?"
L: "Yes, Mommy do it"
     So, I sewed it and I sewed the heck out of it. I felt horrible the entire time! The whole time I was sewing it, I was talking about it.
Mommy: "I don't know how good this is going to work, but I'm doing my best to fix it for you"
     She was sitting right next to me, watching closely. I explained to her that it may not be the same as it was before. That it may not really work anymore. But that I was trying. After I finished, she took it and put it in her mouth, she made the worst expression and said, "YUCKY" She told me it was broken. I asked her what we should do with it, and her reply was, "Mommy throw it away". I told her I would throw it away in a little bit. I was thinking that I may need to keep it in case she asked for it, that I would still have it, that I would be able to show it to her to remind her that it was broken ... and yucky!

Soon Daddy came home and this is how the conversation went:
Mommy: "Oh no Daddy look! L found her pacifier with a boo boo. She asked me to fix it and I fixed it, I did the best that I could. But I told her that I didn't think it would be the same.
Daddy: With a questionable look like, (TODAY is the day???) "Oh no let me see"
L showed it to him, made the horrible face with a scrunched up nose and said, "It's yucky! Pacifier has a boo boo. It's broken. Daddy throw it away"
He took it, said he would throw it away in a little bit. She talked about it a lot. She went to sleep fairly easy that night because she was so sleepy from the day. She fell asleep about 7:30ish. She woke up at 9:15 and cried for a little over an hour while I rocked her telling her she was so brave and strong and that she would get through this. That I knew it was going to be hard. I asked her if she knew that Mommy had a pacifier when I was her age and the same thing happened to me. That one day my pacifier got a boo boo. I told her a story basically the exact thing that happened to her. I told her when I wanted my pacifier I would just snuggle my lovey. I told her that you get a pacifier when you are a baby and it only last for so long. I asked her if she remembered when I started only giving her pacifier to her for naps and bedtimes. I told her I did that, because I knew it was getting close to the time that it was going to break and get such a bad boo boo and that I was trying to make it last as long for her as it could. I told her that is why Lovey recently showed up at the house, to help her through.
     

I seriously think after this, she truly believed it was her loveys fault and she tossed it off of the bed, never to really show it any attention anymore... I asked her if she would like me to get her OWL to snuggle. She said yes. I did. Eventually she fell asleep. I left the room and cried. I felt like I had deceived her! Straight out lied to her. I know it is something that needed to be done. But I still felt horrible.

Approx 11:00 she woke up again, screaming. She asked for Llama Llama ... that didn't work. She asked for  Minnie Mouse ... that didn't work. At midnight she asked for Goofy. I told her we didn't have Goofy and that we would go get him in the morning. This round of crying lasted for 45 minutes. She slept until 6 am which is an hour and a half to two hours earlier than she normally wakes up every morning.
     

She remembered about going to get Goofy. We had breakfast, got dressed and headed out in the snow to The Disney Store.

Ending an Amazing Year...

Saturday, December 31, 2011

It's been a four weeks since I've blogged last. Ladybug is talking like crazy! Just a few weeks ago I was transferring videos from my phone to cd's so we have them forever and I couldn't believe some of the early videos of Ladybug talking. In June/July she was just saying "YES" and "OWL" and things like that. I love the way her words come out when she's first learning them, then to hear the changes as she says those things more often and they become more clear.
Now she's repeating everything and one of my favorite things is when she says, "Oh my goodness", and she knows I get a kick out of it when she says it. It was out of the blue when she first said it too. She uses the fact that I get a kick out of hearing her say that, she uses that against me when it's bedtime and she doesn't want to go to sleep. I can't help but to smile and laugh a little. The other thing she does to keep herself awake is count. She also knows I can't help but to praise her when she does a good job counting. She can count to 8 by herself (at 22 months old), she knows all the numbers up to 13 but sometimes skips numbers when she counts this high.
It's amazing the things she pays attention to that I do. Well starting with repeating phrases like, "Oh my goodness", to today she was playing with her cozy coupe that Hannah got for Christmas, and before she opened it's door to get inside, she sat her juice cup on top of the car. I do this every time I open her door to put her into her car seat. It's amazing!
She also is so good with her animal noises!  She knows what animal says what and their sounds. She can do it backwards too (I mean she can also make the noises and tell you what animal makes those noises). At the moment, Owl still remains her favorite! But Elephant runs a close second! (along with Llama Llama, he's never lost it, although he is a little less popular since she's learned her love for Owls!) (I'm talking about stuffed animals that she likes to snuggle).
She talks about "wearing panties" and is interested in the potty, although isn't always interested in sitting on the potty.
THIS WILL NOT MEAN ANYTHING TO MOST PEOPLE: Right now her favorite dvd is So Smart House (she calls it Iggy Bath), with the So Smart Music and Sounds dvd a close second,  (she calls this Elephant water on back).
 Her favorite movie, I would say "Zookeeper" (She calls this one Animals). Her favorite book is, "A View at the Zoo".
 Owl is her favorite stuffed animal with the elephant pillow pet and the rocking elephant a close second!
Her favorite toy is the Cozy Coupe and her Kitchen would be the second favorite. There are some things that gets her so excited, she gets this excited tone in her voice and will say, "LOOK MOMMY LOOK!! I still need to get that on video.

Monkey... she's walking and looks so big when she does. We celebrated her birthday on Dec 10th. She had a great time. She was very into her cake. Ladybug's birthday, Ladybug was real dainty with her cake, but not Monkey, (Ladybug got this from me, but she will say, "Monkey is grabby grabby, it comes out gabby gabby. LOL). But Monkey got her hands right in her cake! She tried to feed Daddy and smashed cake all over his face, it was all so cute. We lowered the high chair as close to the ground as it could go. Ladybug was helping her eat her smash cake too, it was all so awesome! Monkey was really interested in opening all of her presents!! Such a great day!

M took her first step the day after Thanksgiving and really didn't do much walking after that. But now she's up and walking quite a bit! She understands so much and is so smart. I can talk about putting lotion on and she rubs her hands together like she has some lotion on them. I can ask her what an elephant says and she throws her arm in the air like we do when we make the sound like a trumpeting elephant (sometimes she makes a sound and sometimes she doesn't, but she knows)! She says bye bye and waves, she says ma ma, da da and hi. She repeats sounds like La la la la, etc, She has amazing dexterity. She loves bath time and loves to stack and un-stack the cups/bath toys we have. She still likes to climb (although it has calmed down a bit) ... and she loves rocking on her Caterpillar and the rocking elephant. Oh and I can't forget her Rocking chair that she got for Christmas. She can climb in and out of it BUT she always sits in it backwards! She can rock easier in it that way. I always have to throw a pillow down behind her when she sits in it (fear of her falling over). But she loves it! She follows Ladybug around and wants all the toys Ladybug plays with (although this goes both ways). She loves to give us kisses and she even makes kissing noises. Her kiss is her leaning toward you with an open mouth! It one of the cutest things EVER!

I can't forget to mention HER monkey. We were in Kohl's one day and she reached out for this  monkey as we passed by it. I gave it to her to play with while we were in the store like I do lots of things and put them away before we leave. Well this monkey, she snuggled like nothing she's ever snuggled before, so I had to buy it. The thing about it was that it was big, but meant to be a Christmas Ornament. I had to re-sew the arms and legs to it. She would always squeeze the ball at the tip of it's nighty-night hat and once when I was washing it, it came off and I had to sew that back on too. I had to go back and get a second monkey just in case something happened to this one (because of it being a Christmas ornament, if something ever happened to it, I knew I wouldn't be able to find another one), so I went ahead and bought another one. I learned this lesson from already having to have had to buy another of Ladybugs Owl's. There isn't any other owl that she likes that this one!!!

The Monday before Christmas at 3:30 the three of us were taking a nap on the love seat and Monkey woke up kind of choking then started throwing up. She did this six times then laid her head down and went right back to sleep. I sat there for a second not knowing what to do. I knew if I woke them both up to clean us all up, everyone would be screaming. Daddy coudn't leave work and Mamaw was about to get off wk. I called her, she came over and poor Monkey was throwing up and dry heaving like crazy! At 10:30 that night Ladybug started doing the same. On Wednesday I started doing this, Thursday Daddy started. It was horrible! Took them both to the doctor Thursday, came to find out that Monkey also had ear infections in both ears. Poor thing and her first Christmas was just around the corner, not to mention her actual birthday (I'm glad we celebrated early!) From throwing up, to ear infections, straight to getting three teeth at the same time!!! She was in a great mood Christmas morning (which is what I wanted)! But from Christmas afternoon even until today (new years eve), she's still really fussy (I say teething is evil!) I hope this is over soon.

I almost forgot, The Friday before Christmas I was explaining to Ladybug the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. At the end I would tell her this and she would repeat it word for word. We would say, "Christmas is Jesus Birthday"... she would repeat this. Then I would say, Ok, so who's birthday is it, and she would point to herself and say, "Ladybug's". LOL I thought it was so funny!!

All the things that have happened this year, all of the changes, growing and learning these girls have done has been totally unbelievable! Being able to be with them everyday and watching every little thing, seeing the changes, I just can't describe the what it all makes me feel. My husband is amazing and words can't explain what a good Daddy he is! I'm so glad I'm sharing all of this with him and I can NOT ever thank him enough for giving me the GIFT of being able to stay home with these girls everyday. I never thought I would want to be a stay at home mommy, but I seriously wouldn't want anything else! I can't imaging anything else! He is amazing, they are amazing and beautiful and my life, all the good times, bad times, fussy times, funny times, all of it is such a blessing and a gift to me. I love my life and I love my little family!
I'm ending this blog entry at 11:30 pm on New Years Eve. Going to watch the ball drop with Daddy who is laying on the couch snuggling a sleeping Monkey, then eventually I'm going to Lay down with Ladybug, give her a kiss and fall asleep as happy and content as I could ever possibly be!!!
Happy New Year!

The Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The day started with Ladybug asking over and over if we were going to the zoo and us saying over and over that we were going to the pumpkin patch! Yesterday she started saying "Pumpkin Patch" out comes out pun-kin of course and I love it!! The four of us looked back at our Shutterfly book from last fall. Unbelievable how small she was, how pregnant I was, and how cute she was in her Ladybug Halloween costume!
Daddy went to sleep for another hour and we were going to leave as soon as I woke him up and he got ready. Fifty minutes later, lunches and snack were made, babies were dressed, I was ready, I walked out of the room for less than a minute (now I don't even remember for what) When I walked back in, Monkey is holding an opened teryaki bottle Ladybug had the lid, brand new shirts were stained, a baby doll and a small part of the carpet was covered with the sauce (that I didn't even realize was left in the living room)! I abruptly woke Daddy up, 10 minutes early, with a "You have to get up RIGHT NOW!!" He's cleaning the carpet, I'm getting the stains out of the shirts. I rarely dress the girls alike, But those WERE the shirts they were going to wear!!!
Ladybug had a huge melt down when we first got to the Orchards. We were trying to get some of the same pictures that we took last year (because they are still some of our favorites). But it wasn't happening. I beat myself up for a few minutes because I forgot the oragel. I'm normally supermom when it comes to packing! But today I forgot something so important. For a minute I wanted to cry, because I was looking so forward to this day, and I was sure at that point, that it was going to be horrible. She had a melt down and her teeth were hurting and there was nothing I could do. Daddy helped make me less stressed, we took a few minutes, sat down, had lunch, played in lots of leaves, had fun taking some pictures and from that point on, the day was SO SO MUCH FUN!!
We fed some goats. Ladybug was feeding them leaves, she was loving it! Monkey was laughing, squealing and just loving the interaction with the animals! Then came the the poopy... a bird pooped on Mommy... It was PURPLE! Gross! Thank goodness for wipes and sanitizer! Ladybug ran around and around all over was having a blast. Then we got to the giant slides. I went down with Ladybug the first time, then with Daddy waiting at the bottom, I let her slide down by herself. She kept wanting to do it over and over. Daddy guesses the slide was about 50 feet, I guessed about 75 feet, so somewhere in there! I went down with Monkey, she was a little indifferent. But she'll love it next year.
Next, on to the Bamboo Maze... We got pretty lost in it last year. Believe it or not, Ladybug led the way and she got us to the end, not lost at all! Of course that's the way it goes! :)
Then to the pony rides (which was a full grown horse) but I couldn't get on with them??? I don't understand that. The sign said you havce to be 70 lbs or less??BUT IT WAS A FULL GROWN HORSE. Well at first Ladybug wouldn't get on the "pony" ... But our fearless Little Monkey sat right up there and just smiled! We got some pictures. After seeing Monkey do it, maybe Ladybug felt like she was missing out, and she sat on the horse, we did our photo shoot and moved on. I knew Ladybug wouldn't ride it. I think Monkey would have but it would have made me nervous.
On to the Pun-kin Patch we go. They were both getting sleepy at this point, but once we got off the wagon that took us out to the Pumpkin Patch, Ladybug got a second wind. She walked all over the place saying "Pun-kin" pointing to them, patting them, she hugged a couple, tried to pick some up. She was drawn to the white pumpkins for some reason. Monkey was having a lot of fun in the Pumpkin Patch too, pulling on vines, she was standing herself up next to the pumpkins, trying to walk around one of our pumpkins once she stood herself up. We got lots of awesome pics through out the day, lots of pictures picking out our pumpkins, and pictures with the pumpkins we picked.
Going in to pay for them, we got a couple of treats. These babies rarely get sweets. But Ladybug got a big chocolate chip cookie, she enjoyed ever bite. She had chocolate all over her face and all over her shirt. Mommy and Daddy got some wine from the winery to enjoy after the babies go to sleep, and for our anniversary this week!
This is by far my favorite week of each year! Daddy takes this week off work every year and I feel like we're starting some excellent traditions! It's always a special week. I tell him, I don't know why, but it feels to me liked this week is my week. I plan lots of fun fall things to do. We're carving the pumpkins tommorrow, we got home so late tonight. All four of us were exhausted!
What a great day!!!

M's had a bad week!! It was horrible!!

Monkey's had a bad week

It was Tuesday November 8, 2011 that Monkey was standing next to her activity block and somehow lost her balance, let go or something and went forward and hit her face and bruised her cheek. The bruise looked awful and we couldn't wait for it to go away! Little did we know that this bruise was the beginning of a really bad week for her!

Thursday Nov 10th, Daddy was home during the day because he was working a weird third shift that night. That afternoon we were in the living room and the girls were playing... I had brought the rocking caterpillar back in the living room (I rotate their toys in and out so they're not playing with the same things all of the time). Ladybug was on the caterpillar rocking back and forth. Monkey decides she was going to use the caterpillar to pull herself up to stand. Daddy and I both saw this, but before we could do anything, it was too late! Daddy thought she bumped her forehead and I thought she bumped her cheek. I picked her up, looked her over, and held her close to comfort her. She didn't cry for very long at all. All was well at the time, but a little later, I had the girls in the bathtub... While washing Monkey's face I noticed a huge knot on her right eyebrow... Right above her dark bruise from Tuesday! The knot was huge! I called the doctor to ask if it was ok to put ice on a 10 month old. I told them what happened and that she seemed fine! They told me some things to watch for, that I could put ice on it and that she could end up with a black eye! Luckily the next morning it looked okay!

During our morning routine Friday morning, I was changing Ladybug's diaper, Monkey was holding the bottle of children's Zyrtec ( that has a child proof cap on it) and faster than anything (I did not notice this happening) but she got the bottle open and she was a sticky mess! All of her clothes, the bottle, her hands, the carpet were sticky! Her face was not sticky and her breath did not smell sweet. I was sure she did not drink any, but to be safe, once again I had to call the doctor. It feels like a big mommy fail! But they said with that medicine, she would be okay if she got some of it! That she could get extra sleepy or wired! I went into our bedroom with her where Daddy was sleeping crying because I just felt horrible because she had done something every day this week ...  AND I WATCH THESE BABIES SO CAREFULLY! I thought she could have possibly been poisoned from the medicine, overdosed or whatever and that I was a horrible mom!

Saturday was the big kicker though! It was just me and the girls at home and Monkey was up to her tricks! She was over by the bricks on the fireplace ( which all but about 2 inches are padded and covered) I just didn't get to her fast enough! She was starting to climb, she wasn't even up all the way. She lost her balance and busted her ear on the brick. She cried for a min. Her face looked good. She fell asleep while I was holding her. She woke up about 30 min later and there was blood on her blanket. I looked her over and her ear was as dark as the night with black blood coming out of it and it was BIG! In no time at all I was getting them dressed and calling Daddy at work to let him know we were on our way to the Pediatric Immediate Care Center. While I was filling out the parer work, I could tell Monkey went poopy. They took us back pretty quickly. I began changing her diaper, there was poopy all the way up her back. I had to take her onesie and pants off! I had extra pants in the diaper bag, but no extra shirt. I had to ask an employee to go to my car to get a blanket because now I had to take her home just in a diaper (It was insanely cold outside). On the was home, everyone was crying. The girls because it was past their bedtime and they were tired and me because I felt like the worst mom ever!!