We Should Have Stayed Home!

It was Wednesday when M started to develop a cough. Thursday L wanted to nap, my girls rarely nap! Friday L napped for a little more than 2 hours. Lots of coughing Friday night! Saturday we spent the day at my sister and brother in law's house. I was treating their cough, they played well AND had a lot of fun. Saturday night M threw up from all of the coughing and was crazy hot. She had a fever!! Sunday morning both girls woke up in good moods, playing and everything. It was going to be 70 degrees on Sunday. I wanted to get them out; as the rest of the week was going to be cold and raining!

They seemed okay. I told Daddy (who was at work) that I may be crazy to take them, but we were going to head out to the zoo for a little bit! I didn't tell the girls where we were going and they had a lot of fun with the anticipation and trying to figure it out on their own. Once we were about 5 minutes from there, L knew! They were screaming happy screams in the car once the surprise was out, "We were going to the zoo." They were happy and they were acting fine. I did bring our thermometer and the ibuprofen... I felt like I was making a bad decision taking them. We should have stayed home and gotten rest!! ( I know, I keep saying this!)

We went in and they were so excited! Excited because it had been about a month since we had been there (maybe a little longer), excited because I brought our wagon instead of the stroller. They normally walk at the  zoo. But sometimes they get tired and want to ride. They sit to eat their snacks, and we take a lot of stuff!! M was pulling the wagon WHEN IT HAPPENED ... we were getting close to the giraffes. M was pulling the wagon and she was walking between L and myself and I saw it coming as I started to hear L scream the most awful blood curdling screams. I heard 3 other people scream as I jumped over the wagon to get her. A goose had been sitting on the fence by the giraffes AND WAS FLYING STRAIGHT TOWARD HER. Honking it scary honk as it was coming near her. She was scared and honestly I was too. I just knew it was going to get her! I knew we were about to end up at the hospital. I didn't have a lot of time to think as I leaped over our wagon. There wasn't time to move her. I got next to her and bent myself over her body (if that makes sense) and right as I did, it flew straight into me and kept right on going. As it hit me, it jerked my head a little, knocked my glasses off of my head and it's feet (as it went by) got tangled in my hair pulling some of my hair out of my ponytail. In the blink of an eye it was over. It was gone! All I could hear were girls crying. For a minute it seemed like we were the only ones there as I sat straight to the ground, in the middle of everything and pulled both of my screaming girls onto my lap. Close to me. Safe in my arms telling them everything was okay and that I wasn't going to let that goose get them. 

I was talking in such a calm soothing voice as best as I could and I was holding back the tears! As I was telling them I wasn't going to let the goose get them, in my head, I just knew it was about to. When those things walk around, they are as tall as my girls are.  I think it really would've hurt her. I don't think I'll ever forget that scream of L's that I honestly HOPE I NEVER HEAR AGAIN! Total fear!

People just stood and watched as I soothed my girls. No one came over to see if we were okay. Only one woman made a comment after we had collected ourselves and I was giving my girls a snack to try to move on with our day. As she walked by, she said, "I bet you wish you have a video of that." Honestly, only to show my husband! But other than that, really I don't! I can hear her screams in my mind and they were awful ... and I certainly didn't want either of them to see it again. In my nicest sarcastic voice I thanked her for asking if we were okay. As we made our way to the elephants a few geese flew in the sky, honking as they do and both girls began to get a little anxious. I assured them that they were fine and the geese were way up in the air (as I pointed to them). We decided to stay and carry on. For the next 20 minutes or so, M said over and over, "I don't like birds!" In my mind, I knew we shouldn't have came!!

They were having fun. No one would've ever guessed they were sick. They had their normal appetites (which have been coming and going, letting me know they were getting sick). Now just to defend myself a bit. Walking around the zoo, we're outside not really interacting with others, it's not like I took them to Chuck E Cheese where they would be directly touching things other kids would touch making others sick. If their nose runs, I'm right on it. Just sayin' ...

A little bit of time went by. They had been playing and laughing We made it half way through the zoo and M wanted me to hold her, she was hot! I took her temperature and she had a fever. She needed some ibuprofen, I gave it to her, it was time to leave. We walked up the big hill (to cut though to leave). It is an actual paved path, and about 50 feet to the left were 2 geese in the grass. I walked on the side of the geese, telling them once again that I wouldn't let it get them (as I hoped they didn't come near us)! M was better as she walked and held my hand... I was go glad we were leaving. 

Both of the girls fell asleep before we left the parking lot, I felt horrible that I took them out; feeling like the worst mom of the year as I drove home! I knew it was going to be ugly when I woke them up to take them inside the house. It was nearing 5:00, they were tired, not feeling good, just wanting to either sleep or for me to hold them as I would take them out of the car. Daddy was working an odd shift that day AND they asked him to work late. So I was going to have to do baths and make dinner (normally Daddy makes dinner, I am very lucky!). 

The time between waking them from the car and laying down for bed wasn't pretty! L talked about the goose while in the tub. Saying it wasn't funny, it wasn't fun, and she's so cute. She's 3 and she said, "I appreciate you not letting the bird get me Mommy". I love her!! She talked about it at dinner. (We do things a little backwards than most I think with the bath before dinner, but that's what works for us!) She had a hard time falling asleep. I laid with her for 2 hours! She held onto me like she never had before! 

Early this morning (4 am ish) she yelled out in her sleep, "No mommy don't let it" She didn't finish what she was saying as I snuggled her even closer than she already was (at this moment so grateful that we co-sleep)! While I was making breakfast , there was a robin on our walkway right outside our window. I always point out the animals whenever I see them. They typically like to watch the birds and squirrels in the front yard! As I pointed it out, M responded with here normal, "where Mommy" and when she saw it, she started telling me over and over again that she doesn't like birds! We talked about it and let it be. 

They are now sleeping, they don't feel good and needed a rest! My girls that don't nap! But I'm glad I was able to write this before too much time passed...

Have you and your little ones ever had any close calls with animals? What happened?

Writing ABC's

L has been very interested in writing and trying to write her letters. We have a very cool dry erase tablet where she can trace her letters. We do different activities that helps with this too. I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest. She loves to try, she concentrates so hard and gets so excited when something clicks and she "gets" whatever it is that she's trying to do! When we are about to do a "sit down activity," I'll have a few ideas in mind and I'll ask her if she wants to do a craft, do something with letters or paint. She'll choose and we get started. She can trace all of her letters really well. Upper case and lower case. But for her to try to write the letters herself on lined paper, she gets frustrated at times. There are some letters that she writes well  ( on her own), but for the most part, "trying to make letters on lined paper without tracing" can frustrate her. This isn't something we are trying often right now (because of this). I think for her age, she is doing really well, so we do what's fun and we do what she likes pertaining to this. 

Today we got the Aqua Doodle mat out. The girls love drawing and writing on this. I don't really know why, but we haven't gotten this out in awhile. L has recently discovered her new found love for drawing so we drew for awhile, lots of characters from Monsters, Inc!! I wrote her name out and she started writing letters. ON HER OWN WITHOUT TRACING THEM. Other than an occasional letter here and there, I've never seen her do this. She was asking me to write certain words then she would re write what I wrote underneath them. I was truly amazed! Then the one letter that she's always had troubles writing ... the letter B. She wrote it perfectly, over and over and would get excited for each one! I couldn't help it, I was taking videos of her, she was so proud of herself and I was proud too!! 

My baby is growing up!! It unbelievably amazing to watch this transformation happen right before my eyes!!

Are The Terrible Two's A Real Thing??

It's not fair to compare the girls and say one went through this and the other one didn't (although that's how I was thinking earlier today). But as I sit here thinking about what I really want to say, I started to think about how "at this age" they both have had different circumstances. M is 26 months old right now and will do just about anything she can to antagonize L; When L was 26 months old, M was only 16 months old new to walking around and barely talking. L didn't have much to complain about to have to or want to do anything to M. 

Oh how things are different at this stage. M is 26 months old and L is 36 months old. M wants everything L has, M wants to do everything L is doing at the same time she is doing it. We've had some difficult times lately. M will cry and cry because she wants a toy that L is playing with and it won't take to long until L will just hand it to her. L is so kind and she doesn't want M to cry. I'm sure part of her doesn't want M to be sad, and part of her just doesn't want to hear it (honestly)! I just think M thinks L is cool and wants to do and have what she does!!

L is very interested in reading what she writes (out loud), reading a book, or simply telling you something (that she made up), sometimes it's to me, sometimes it's to M, but if she asks either or both of us to listen, M will do anything she can to be loud. It's horrible! I feel really bad, yesterday it was so bad that L started to cry because M wouldn't let her read what she wrote for me. I had to put M in her room and have a few minutes for L to tell me what she wanted to tell me! THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE WORKING ON!! I know this is a phase, but M needs to learn that THIS NOT OKAY!! 

Earlier today M said she had to go to the bathroom, I followed her in there and she stopped, stood in the middle of the bathroom, looked at me and started to pee. I asked her why she did that, and her reply was, "I wanted to." What the heck? That's not okay!

M went through a biting phase awhile back and I thought we were past that. But earlier tonight, she bit L on her back. She went straight to her room. I talked to her (sternly) and left her to sit on her bed. After some time went by, I went back in to talk to her again and when she told me that she didn't want to apologize to L, I left her in there longer. More time passed and L came in there with me, she was so sweet and so serious. She looked at M and said, "You bit me and it hurt me. Biting is a bad decision and I won't bite you. I want to be a nice girl. If you kiss my back then it's okay". Basically she was saying if you kiss my boo boo then I forgive you. M continued to refuse to apologize and L walked out of the room while M sat there crying. Then L walked right back in and said to me, "I'm leaving because I don't want to hear her crying". Soon after, M apologized, kissed her boo boo and gave L a hug. 

More antics happened in the bath tub tonight. But I think I am getting the point across. BUT I feel bad as I re-read through this because M is really not a "bad" kid. She's really good most of the time. SHE'S JUST YOUNG AND SHE'S LEARNING!! They play really good together pretty much all of the time, but then it's like a switch! When she gets in one of these moods, it's just all down hill. I'll have to start to pay attention to see if there are any triggers. Like being sleepy or something. All of the things today that were going on were later in the day and that may have been the case. But I need to reel it in on these behaviors!! But if I can pay attention and see if there are any triggers, then I can anticipate the behavior and this will help with correcting them!

Despite all of this, it may sound rough having two so close but I wouldn't change things and have them any other way. I bet the two of them would totally agree! Already, they don't know what to do without each other. If one is sleeping, then the other one wants to wake them up, if one is in one room, then other one isn't far behind. It's fun to watch ... 98% of the time and I referee the other part of it... :)

The Most Stressful Pediatrician Appointment EVER!

M had been potty trained for a month now. Wearing big girl panties with only two accidents the first week and perfect all of the rest! She loves her pretty Tinkerbell big girl panties and of course, she wants to wear them to bed too. L went through this; her wearing her Minnie Mouse panties was big stuff and she also wanted to wear them at night. I am able to rationalize with them on why they can't do this right now. I explain that the day will come when they can wear these big girl panties 24 hours a day. They understand. L was fine with her nighttime pull-ups. BUT M, well I didn't anticipate the panties happening when they did, and I had just opened a box of diapers. The nighttime DIAPER for her wasn't good enough. For the first few weeks it was okay, but this past week, I thought she had just had enough!!

(I am leading up to this horrible, stressful appointment)

This past week (the whole week), starting right after her bath when I was getting her ready for bed (about to put on this nighttime diaper) she would start telling her "business" hurts. Throughout the week, I just thought she was just saying this because she didn't want to wear the diaper. She never said this throughout the day, NEVER! It did concern me. I would look at it, it was okay, I just knew it was the diapers. I would put her diaper on, then her pajamas and she would get upset about "this BIG diaper." I showed her that L's pull-up was also BIG and she this seemed to pacify her. 

This past Friday night/Saturday morning about 1:00 am, M woke up in a screaming fit! She was so unsettled and cried off and on for about 45 minutes. Was it her tummy, her teeth, did she have a bad dream? I couldn't tell ... I had no idea! This is about the time that she should be getting her 2 year molars but she wouldn't let me feel, see, give her Oragel or anything! A little bit into this, she started holding "her business," I asked her if she had to pee and her reply was, that it hurt. Eventually she peed. It didn't seem to bother her when she peed, but with as much as she was talking about this area hurting, I couldn't help but wonder if she had a UTI. She was up quite a bit longer and eventually got comfy snuggling with Mommy and fell back to sleep. 

(It didn't seem like the peeing was the issue)

The following morning, she woke up pretty fussy, then started the crying that her business hurt!! I looked at it really good, it seemed a bit red. I called our pediatrician. I'm so glad they have some hours on Saturday and Sunday for cases like these! Our appointment was at 11:30. Twenty minutes after I made her appointment, she told me her teeth were hurting, she let me check them and I could feel 2 of her molars coming through. I gave her some Oragel and she was a perfectly new kid! I was still taking her in to get checked. 

I knew they would want a urine sample so I had her drinking and drinking. In the waiting room she said she had to pee! This was good, right?? Well, they put the potty hat under the toilet seat to catch her urine. I sat her on, realized the potty hat wasn't sitting up where it should be; So without thinking I scooted it forward (while she was sitting there) and it pinched her leg. She let out the worst cry and that was the end of her sitting on that toilet! I felt horrible! We went back into the treatment room, I settled her down as they were bringing a potty chair in for her. 

I don't really know how to describe this potty and how it was, but the assistant didn't lift the lid and put the "bowl" under it, she just sat it on top. It sat down in the toilet (this is why I didn't notice it) but after awhile of sitting there, it started to hurt M. This poor girl had the worst ring around her bottom and on parts of her legs. Just to give you a visual, it looked like what a whipped cream container looks like sitting down in this potty. It was a medical thing, with lines for measurements, etc, it just wasn't put together properly. My poor baby, she was having such a hard time, just one thing after another!

Before this potty started to hurt her, she was having a good time sitting on the potty, Her, L and myself were singing, they brought them both a Popsicle, we were being silly and having fun while waiting for her to pee. But once she got that ring around her bottom and it started to hurt, she wasn't having any part of it. I tried to get her to sit back on the toilet and it was like trying to wrestle a wild animal.

Now the worst part of all of this, when the doctor initially came into our room, I told him that this appointment was probably all for nothing! I gave him the pantie/diaper background. I told him about the teething. (I said, I thought, even though I have over half a box of diapers left, I should bite the bullet and buy some pull-ups for her), but since she had been complaining all week (even though only at night once I put her diaper on), especially after the episode in the middle of the previous night and the way she woke up that morning, that I should have her looked at! He agreed that I did the right thing bringing her in (although he was being pretty candid about some of it). The doctor examined her and said everything look okay, just slight irritation (she does have sensitive skin and I did give her a bubble bath toward the end of the previous week, I know, not the smartest decision). But he still would like to get a urine sample with all of the complaining from her... just to be sure. I had no idea how I was going to make this happen!!

The assistant recommended that I sit her on the toilet, for me to reach around behind her and hold the cup under her. SERIOUSLY?!?!? But I really didn't see any other option. They had already mentioned a catheter and that wasn't happening! It was hard enough getting her to let the doctor look at her. I believe what he said was, "You are incredibly strong. I am proud of how strong you are" Non of it made sense lol but I believe he was just at a loss of words for how hard it was to get the look he was finally able to get. SHE IS ONE STRONG BABY!

I already felt so gross. I used to work in a hospital and I know how dirty hospital floors and doctor office floors really are! During this appointment I sat on the floor of their bathroom while she hugged me AND I sat on the floor in the exam room of the doctor's office because M wanted my arm around her... and there I sat once again on the floor of the bathroom with my arm in the toilet holding a specimen cup under my crying M. She had her arms around me so tight. L was sitting so good on the stool talking a mile a minute (but she was being so good through it all). I was just praying for some pee to come. 12:30 nothing. 12:35 nothing! The office closed at 1:00. My husband was on speaker trying to help us but nothing was working. She asked me to sing, I think it may have relaxed her. There came the pee all over my hand. YUCK!! But I managed to get some in the cup.

NO UTI. We left the office, went to Target to get pull-ups and as we were on our way into the store M got the biggest smile on her face (she knew we were going in to buy pull-ups) ... she looked at me with the biggest smile as I pushed them in the cart and said, "My business doesn't hurt anymore. It's all better!!"

I'm glad I got her checked out, it would've been horrible if something was wrong and I just blew it off thinking it was because of these pull-ups. But I think I got scammed by my 2 year old.   

Night Time Routines ... They are changing ... LOVE

March 1, 2013

There are so many things that I love about your nighttime routines these days. Both of the girls pretend so well and I love playing along! The best time is right after bath time while they are drying off and getting their pajamas on... 

A little bit of background: Both girls love Tinkerbell and lots of nights while we are getting ready for bed, we become fairies. L has named herself The Letter Fairy and M is The Puzzle Fairy (Daddy and Myself, our titles change often). While I am helping one, the other is flying around the room just talking and pretending like crazy! Last night when I was about it help M put her pajamas on, she looked at me and got so serious; She said, "Mommy, don't take my wings off!" I love it! I will pretend with them as much as they could ever want. They both have such vivid imaginations!

Tonight for example... 

They were talking on their phones while they were getting ready and pretending Silvermist (a fairy friend of Tinkerbell) was at the pediatrician's office at her 4 year checkup. L would talk on the phone about it then they would hang up. A few minutes later, she will pretend that her phone is ringing again, and of course, it is Silvermist giving the play by play of her appointment. Once everyone was dressed, we open the bedroom door and fly into the kitchen, see Daddy for a few minutes and tell him all of the new fairy news, then head into the living room to pick up toys and put them away (while still talking to Silvermist on the phone). Dinner was good. The girls were in really good moods. Several quick rounds of Simon Says, then off we were to the bathroom for brushing and flossing time. 

This time typically goes pretty smoothly. But tonight  L said she wanted Daddy to floss her teeth. After barely getting 2 teeth it's all tears. I sat on the floor, held her, let her calm down (I think she was just tired) and I got her to let me floss her teeth by telling her as soon as we were finished, that I would floss her toes.... Now, I'm not quite sure where this came from, but I knew it would make her laugh. I knew it would make her smile... and I knew it was silly enough that she would let me floss her teeth. I quickly added that the rule to flossing toes, is that it always had to be done AFTER flossing the teeth!!! ( this is a very important thing to add in there). 

She giggled the best giggles as I flossed her toes (she's very ticklish), then she asked to do mine (I am insanely ticklish), it was all a fun, goofy thing that was happening. I was laughing so hard from the tickling, she was laughing at me, Daddy and M was laughing at both of us. Then she wanted to floss his toes. (he still had his work/dress shoes on). As L "flossed his toes" she caught a little sock fuzz... and pointed out that was like getting food out from between her teeth (at least she understands why we floss) lol This all sounds pretty gross actually... Then of course, M wants in on the flossing of the toes. So that happened and we eventually ended up in bed. 

They were both really sleepy so there were a few tears. Daddy kissed us all goodnight and I laid there with them (like I always do, we co sleep and every night I lay with them while they fall asleep). Last night was really rough falling asleep. L was crazy tired and had a lot of tears. I asked her if she wanted me to sing and she said yes. I actually made up a 4 line song that I sang, slowly and quietly, over and over  (all it took was about five minutes) and both of them were out. 

Even with the tears in the beginning, bedtime was wonderful last night. I rubbed both of their faces and sang to them as they fell asleep. Tonight they wanted me to do the same thing. L started to cry and M asked if I would rub face, Although this is her way of asking that ... she would rub her own hand across her face and say to me, "go like this"...  I started to sing my four line song over and over as I rubbed their faces ... and they were once again asleep within five minutes! 

I will start doing this every night! It is a wonderful way to end the night with them!

  

                                                           Go to sleep baby ... 

                                                        Close your eyes baby ... 

                                                             I'll snuggle you ...

                                                                I love you ...  

An Update on Tantrums...

Tantrums happen.

Luckily for me, it seems that tantrums only really escalate when we are home. The kicking, turning red, horrible crying, everything you could imagine. 

There are two reasons I think they typically happen at home. One is that they know I mean what I say. I can generally talk them down from acting out. If I've given a few warnings and things aren't getting better. I'll tell them, if (whatever is happening that isn't okay) doesn't stop, then we are going to leave where ever we are (or stop whatever fun thing we are doing). I'll tell them that once. The second thing I do is tell (whichever one is acting okay) to talk to the other one because if what ever is happening doesn't stop then we are leaving ... This is the part that usually works. If we are out and something gets to this point, it TYPICALLY stops here. But if it doesn't then we WILL LEAVE OR STOP WHAT WE ARE DOING! If I don't mean it (when it comes to this) then I don't say it! So we don't typically get to the point of tantrum when we are out. 

If whining or fussing starts while we are out, something I say to them often is, "People are here to shop, see the animals at the zoo, (whatever is appropriate for where we are). None of then, including Mommy want to hear you fuss or whine. If you want to be able to stay (and/or come back), then you should think about stopping. 

This is something I think I say multiple times daily, "If you don't listen and follow the rules, then you don't get to do fun things". I have told them they should want to be good, want to take care of their things, want to follow the rules, and be proud of themselves for doing so. I explain this to them, I'm finding it hard to put into words. But then understand it, and sometimes they just need a little reminder. Sometimes if I'm saying this to L, then M will finish my sentence (and vice versa). 

The second reason this seems to happen at home is them being tired. I try not to plan late nights. We have a routine and I try to keep them as close as I can to their bedtime routine. Of course there are special occasions and we make exceptions. But being out too late (which isn't a normal thing for is) or simply being too tired will make this happen. Our girls go to bed around 7:30 and the tiredness starts to shine through between 4-5. Between my last post about this and now, I've learned some things I can do to talk them (mostly L) down from said tantrum.  

I have gotten to where I can point out to L, that this is a tantrum and the way she's acting is not okay. I can say to her, stop crying so you can  hear me (she stops, I get a pouty lip from her) but if we get to this, I can typically diffuse the situation by a short conversation about the behavior. If there is no end in site, I'll carry her kicking and screaming into her room, sit her in her bed and tell her she can come out when she stops. I leave her door open. I'm usually greeted a short time later by either a hug or a kiss.

A lot of the times, I can tell when the tiredness is extreme and has potential for tantrum activity. This is when I change up an activity or room that we are in (often) or what helps a lot is them helping Mommy. I can say, "You know, I really need help with something. Can you carry this to Mommy and Daddy's room for me?" or "Can you put this in the dirty clothes for me". Anything like that! My girls love board games! We can play a game. Sweeping the floor (they love this. I don't leave their little brooms out or they end up in the air, so they like when they get to help me sweep); they call it, "Finding the dirt". They are so looking forward to when I let them mop the floor!

This has been more of a ramble for me to remember these times. The tantrums aren't fun. I'm glad they seem to be happening less and less! I decided to blog more for myself to remember everything and that's happening while watching these sweet girls grow up! So these tantrums aren't fun, but I love the snuggles that come after! I love that I've gotten more in tune to them in the afternoon (when I am typically getting worn down from my day), I love that we changed our reading time to the afternoon because of this and we snuggle more while reading. They've always been snuggly babies, but with L just celebrating her 3rd birthday, I realize more now than ever that this time is going by so quickly. The quiet moments when we sit together and read, or they are sleepy so they ask me to hold them and rub their faces, I love these times! I love these babies! Tantrums or not, fun times and not so fun times... I love my life. It seems hectic at times, but I wouldn't change it for anything!

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?

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!

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.

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!!!

Three words in a row and a climber!

October 18, 2011

We'll first I have to say that last week, I  made cookies with my girls for the first time and we had a lot of fun. I have so many memories of doing things like this with my mom. I want the same memories for my girls! We made Oatmeal cookies. Now Ladybug will say, "too-ties", I wish I could record every new word she says! I just love how they all come out! Now she's saying M's name. Today we were folding laundry and she kept holding up different pieces of her sisters clothes and saying her sisters name. She knows what belongs to who!! She's so smart.
Okay, I started writing this on Monday October 17, 2011. So M... Our Little Monkey, started climbing on Saturday. She's been climbing on the bricks in front of our fireplace (those bricks are padded very well, have been for quite awhile now!) On Monday I was changing Ladybug's diaper and I looked up when I was finished with the huge, very poopy diaper and our Monkey had one leg on her activity table and one leg on the coffee table. I do believe I got about 40 grey hairs that day!
My favorite things right now are hearing Ladybug's speech develop. Daddy and I both absolutely love hearing her talk! Also When Ladybug is falling asleep, she will rub and rub my arm in such a sweet way! Did she get this from me rubbing her face or back while she's falling asleep? I'm not sure. Speaking of that, she will take my hand sometimes when she is falling asleep and put it on her face for me to rub it. When Monkey is falling asleep with Daddy, she opens and closes her hands over Daddy's chest hair (although at times pulling it)... this is one of Daddy's favorite things!  As for Monkey, some of my favorite things are watching her explore, crawling, cruising (furniture walking),  and of course the climbing. Actually it's her facial expressions when she sees that I see her, after she climbed on something. She has the cutest smile and she just LOOKS SO PROUD about what she had just done.
Seriously, I don't want to forget any of these times! I wish I would've started blogging many many months ago!!
One more thing... Ladybug has naturally curly hair and with the curls it's not really long but long enough to need something in her hair (it's a bit unruly right now) we're working on keeping barrettes and bows in her hair. On Sunday I bought some small pony tail holders and she is the cutest with those pig tails in her hair!!! THE CUTEST!!