Adventures of Little Man, Peanut and Sweet Pea

A post in which I rant....

2012-02-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

Parenting is terrifying, utterly terrifying. When I was pregnant with Little Man, I spent 9 months thinking that I couldn't wait for him to be born so I could stop worrying. Then the second he was in my arms I was wishing I could put him back in because as scary as pregnancy was, he was so much safer tucked away and cushioned from the world. There are so many things that we just can't control for our children and for a self-professed control freak like myself, that presents many problems. It doesn't matter how much we keep them in safety helmets, the top-notch car seats or sequestered from any other child that has the sniffles they will still get sick, fall off their bikes and chances are will at some point end up in the ER taking years off of your life. Since we can't control these things, we end up controlling things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of life like preschool and tv limits and junk food consumption. And then we second guess all of those areas and the blame rains down. If I had chosen a different preschool maybe, if I hadn't let him eat all of that high fructose corn syrup.... The what-if's are terrifying and full of guilt. I have spent a lot of time wondering if Peanut hadn't been premature, the surviving twin in a vanishing twin pregnancy, if I had been able to keep pre-natal vitamins down or eaten more or less of something rich in vitamins would he still have Apraxia. Parenting is terrifying.

But once in a while you find a battle that you can fight, an area that you can control that really matters and when you get there as terrified as you might be, you fight. You fight with everything that you have and arm yourself with every weapon available to you. That is what this IEP process has been for me. Today I won a small battle but I know that there is a lot more to come. Peanut turns 3 next month and when he does, we lose are amazing and wonderful speech therapist that has taught us so much. For 2 months I have been fighting to get the right goals set for him and the right level of service. Today the goals are set, they are good goals. They are motoric and written by the head of speech therapy. But the level of service is still a battle that I am not finished with. He is being offered 4 hours a month of speech therapy at a school near us and it may or may not be 1:1. He needs 1:1, he needs more than 4 hours a month, he needs at least three 30 minute sessions a week and he needs extended year services. I will get it for him and I won't stop until I do. Because parenting is utterly terrifying, but I got this. This is can do. And I will.

No means No and No means Yes - Tender Moments

2012-02-06T20:49:00.003-05:00

Ask Sweet Pea just about any question and she will shake her head no, give you an adorable smile and then scream when you actually think she meant no and she really meant yes....I want more food, I want that toy, I want to take my socks off and put them on my hands. It is a bit confusing but it works for her. The funniest part is that Little Man seems to actually know when she means yes and when she means no. He asks her if she wants her blue shoes and she shakes her head no, hugs him and then he just ignores the shake of her head and tells her to sit down so that he can put her shoes on for her. My theory on this is because he just never listens when anyone tells him no and just does whatever he wants to do and that just happens to line up with what she wants too. This evening, after dinner, she was chasing him around the playroom and whenver she would catch him she threw her little arms around his waist and gave him the biggest hug. Those two, have a really special relationship....as long as she isn't knocking down his magnablock creations.

We caught another sweet moment tonight between Little Man and Peanut. Papa Bear had just gotten home from work and I had gone into the office to try and get some work done before it got too late when I hear Papa Bear say "shhhh, loook". I leaned over and both boys were sitting on the couch. Ok, just that statement alone is amazing. The never sit still and certainly not at the same time and right next to each other. Little Man was reading Peanut a book and Peanut was asking questions and while the moment didn't last long, it was special and one I will remember the next time they are hitting each other over the head with superheroes.

Updates all Around

2012-01-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

Little Man's Penguin Story
"My penguin is really funny because he has yarn coming out of his head. He is really a polar bear in disguise."
He cracks me up!

He is also so empathic. Recently, a child left his preschool class. I was explaining it to him and his very first response was concern for another little girl that was very close with the child that left. He said he had to be extra nice to the little girl so she wouldn't be too sad. I adore the empathy and sweetness that seems to be so inherent in my Little Man. I hope the world doesn't ever change him and will do my best to help him stay true to the sweet guy that he is.

Peanut's Summer Camp
Peanut will be attending a week long intensive speech therapy camp for children with Apraxia. We are really excited that he is going to have this opportunity. We have his next IEP meeting on February 10th and hope that give his latest evaluation we will get the goals and services that he needs.

Sweet Pea
Sweet Pea is growing up! At her 15 month well visit she weighed 28 lbs and 10 ounces and is 33 inches long. She was not a happy camper with the doctor and before she could even be touched went into her typical feminine hysterics. She also had an ear infection so she didn't get her shots not that you could tell since she was screaming like someone stabbed her when the doctor pulled out the flashlight. That's right folks, she is our drama queen. But she is talking so much and has recently added the words "hot, hat, and cracker" to her ever growing vocabulary. She has started throwing her food off of her tray instead of telling us all done and thinks it is hysterical. I remember both boys going through this phase too, but it still drives me crazy. Sweet Pea is down to one nap a day but loves to make me look like a liar because she will probably end up with 2 naps today. Her bedtime is 7:15 and loves to get in her bed and have her snuggles and her binky. She is still accessorizing often and loves to wear any kind of pretty shoes. This girl is going to cost us money! Adored by her biggest brother, tolerated by her big brother and smothered with love from mama and papa bear - Sweet Pea is doing great!

Little Man Stories

2012-01-19T20:16:00.001-05:00

Little Man is studying all about winter, snow, Alaska, the North and South poles in school right now. He was eating lunch while I cleaned the kitchen and telling me about his day.

Little Man: Did you know that they have boots in Alaska to keep them from slipping on the ice? They are called mukluks.

Me: I did know that.

Little Man: How did you know that?

Me: When you were a tiny baby still in my belly, I went to Alaska and some friends that I met there gave me baby mukluks for you.

Little Man: I remember going to Alaska when I was in your tummy, but can we go again because I didn't get to see much since I was in your tummy because your skin was in the way. I want to go again and see a moose. Do you still have the mukluks that they gave me?

Me: I do, but they are too small for you now.

Little Man: Well that does it, we have to go back to Alaska for sure now.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Little Man: Mama, I know that you love me the best. You love me more than all the other mamas love all of the other little boys and you love me the best more than Peanut and Sweet Pea.

Me: Oh yeah? You have that all worked out now, huh?

Little Man: Yup, I am your first baby, super sweet and the best snuggler.

Me: Well you are my best snuggler

Little Man: Told you, you love me best!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

So I am going to go to Alaska to see a moose and purchase size 11 mukluks with my very self-assured, logical and slightly egotistical Little Man. Love this kid!

Changes

2012-01-13T20:54:00.002-05:00

We have had a bit of a rough start to 2012, but things are starting to look up around here.

Peanut decided to give us a bit of a scare and ended up in the hospital on New Year's Day. He was my brave boy and didn't flinch for the iv, the CT scan, the chest x-ray and the sonogram even though he was in tons of pain. He laid in my arms in his hospital bed for hours and hours alternating between just laying and just laying while watching Toy Story 2 (three times). He only got upset over two things. He adamantly refused to wear his hospital gown so he went without a shirt on and he did not want a band-aid when the IV was finally removed. He peed in a cup and didn't have food or water for hours and hours, he took the contrast for the CT without complaint but HATED having the tape removed from his arm. My brave brave little boy - isn't scare of anything other than shirts that a ton of other people have worn and band-aids. Love that kid. He is fine now, all mended and happy in health.

He is having some adjustment issues at school. He has a substitute teacher because his teacher had surgery over the holidays. If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you that Peanut is my most adaptable child with little to no issues with change. And then he would have made a liar out of me. But we are working on it. A wise friend told me that these are all but moments and they will pass as moment do. So we have a new routine earlier in the week and some new things we are trying in the classroom too. Still, he is my brave boy.

Little Man quietly confided in me today that he didn't get any special time with me and that it made his heart sad. He is my most sensitive child. I told him how sorry I was that we didn't get any special time together today and told him that I would make it up to him. His eyes lit up and I knew that he already had a way that I could make it up to him. So I asked, "What do you think? What's the plan" and his idea was brilliant. He said that I could make it up to him by reading books to him until HE decided it was enough. I usually limit him. Ok, I will read you 4 books now and then again later. I can't sit all day and read to him, there are meals to make, diapers to change, houses to clean and oh yeah, I have been working 20 hours out of the house (thus the limited special time). So tomorrow morning all of that is going to be put on hold and I have a feeling I will be reading for a very long time. I also told him that I won't be going to work anymore. I am still going to be working, but it will be from home and at least half will be done while he is sleeping. My sensitive Little Man is very pleased with this new change. My sweet sensitive little boy.

And Sweet Pea, my daring little girl, who has decided that scaling every obstacle is her greatest challenge. She is famous for stealing our cell phones and other gadgets and hiding them in shoes, couches, ride-on toys and closets. Her words are coming fast and furious, changing by the day. More, eat, here you go, upstairs, lock and load, up......my daring little girl. I wish she would slow down, not change so quickly but her daring adventurous soul doesn't stop for little old me. My daring little girl.

Onwards and Upwards....lots of change happening for our family in the coming weeks. We are thankful to have our brave boy, our sweet boy and our daring little girl to keep us laughing and enjoying the crazy.

Words

2012-01-07T18:45:00.003-05:00

As a mom, I am often aware of the words used around my children. All of a sudden I would hear each and every word that I hoped my children would never say. The 3 times they say "stupid" in Toy Story or the lady on her cell phone in Target not realizing that her profanity is surely being absorbed by my 4 year old's little ears. And then sometimes I know that I myself am not choosing my words wisely because they get repeated back to me and hearing them out of little mouths make those words sound even worse. Like when I was frustrated with Papa Bear for something that I can't even remember now and must have called him a jerk when venting on the phone to my friend because as soon as Papa Bear walked in the door, Little Man piped up "Papa, are you a jerk?". But recently I have heard my words come out of the little mouths around me in such a sweet and endearing way that I know I am, at least some of the time, choosing the right words for little ears.

Little Man came up to me and climbed onto my lap and whispered to me the sweetest words. "Mama, I love you so much I don't even know what to do about it." I squeezed him tightly and told him that I knew exactly how he felt. He smiled and said "I know Mama, you tell me that all the time." I don't remember saying it. But I remember feeling it and I love that he feels it too and can even verbalize it.

Peanut was busily making cakes and snacks in his play kitchen to share and as he walked towards me with his plate of cakes I pretended to be excited and asked him if they were all for me. He said "No Mama, these are all for Papa." My lip curled down in feigned sadness and his little brow furrowed. He came and put his pudgy and not so clean hands on my cheeks and solemnly said "Don't worry Mama, Jackson has some for you". I love his "don't worries" that he communicates in such a concerned and convincing way since those are the words I use most often to him when he can't get his words out and I am telling him not to worry, we will figure it out.

Sweet Pea is starting to imitate words that she hears. Last night I was herding the kids to bed and told everyone to go upstairs. Then I hear the sweet sound of her voice exclaiming "upstairs, upstairs, upstairs". Love it. So when I told all of the kids to get ready to go this morning on some errands I was a little bit surprised to hear her say (an approximation of) "Lock and Load" the words that I use to get the kids out the door and in the car. Love. That is all I can say. Love.

(I am still trying to get a year in review for 2011 ready and hoping to post soon)

Christmas...a little late

2011-12-31T10:57:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2012 was a wild success against a lot of odds. In years to come, when I look back at this Christmas I will remember it as one of pure magic. Little Man was at just the right age to really believe that he heard Santa's reindeer on the front lawn eating the reindeer food and Peanut was at the right age to be excited because his big brother was excited. Sweet Pea was at the right age to get into everything and cause trouble in her super cute way that makes it hard to even get upset with her. We got to accomplish most of our family traditions like making sugar cookies on Christmas Eve, putting out the reindeer food, breakfast casserole in the morning and a special Christmas dinner. We also added a new tradition of going to our great friend's house on Christmas Eve for dinner. The kids played, the adults drank and talked and it couldn't have been a more perfect evening.

Christmas morning, the boys played in their rooms until 7 and then eagerly waited at the top of the stairs to be let down to see the magic. Little Man told us that he got everything he asked for so Santa must have thought he had excellent behavior all year long. Papa Bear completed the long awaited lemonade/icecream/ticket/fast food stand for the kids and it was a huge hit. We opened presents and then paused for breakfast and then resumed the present opening. The kids loved things so much that they would go and play with the gift for 20 or 30 minutes before coming back to open something else so it drew out the pleasure and the fun all morning. I love that they didn't just rip through the gifts just to open them but that they took their time to enjoy it first. It helps that Santa has everything out of the contraptions that strap the toys into the boxes so that it was easier for them to play with right away. The other fun part was that Santa had the presents labeled with pictures instead of names so that everyone could see who the gift belonged to. This helped alleviate fighting and allowed the boys to pick out the gifts not only for themselves but for each other and their sister. Santa will do this again every year until they are all reading!

I know that when we look back at this Christmas it won't be about money or stress or jobs, it will be about the magic and miracles that happened for our family resulting in a perfect holiday.

Putting out the reindeer food

Let us down!!!

For me?

Patiently waiting for their first gift

Spiderman

Lightening McQueen

Not what we had in mind for this toy...

Toy Italian Firetruck from Uncle Mark and Tita Michelle

Pretty pretty

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:17:00.002-05:00

Santa has already stopped by our house to deliver presents, eat his cookies and cheese and drink his milk. He was VERY organized this year and each present has a picture on it of the child that it belongs too. I love this idea and am hoping that it will allow the boys to know whose gift is whose and not fight or argue and it will allow them to be the elves that go and get gifts for each other to open.

Today has been an amazing day. It is one of those days that you create in your head in the early morning hours but never actually imagine it will go that way. We had a lazy morning and started the day with candy cane shaped pancakes and reading all of our Chanukah books a thousand times. Then we played and had lunch followed by baking sugar cookies and decorating them for Santa. (We used dough that we had made last week and frozen to cut down on the amount of time this all took). Papa Bear and I prepped our breakfast casserole and the kids Christmas dinner (lasagna) We attempted naps but there was just too much excitement in the air. Then we headed out for Christmas Eve dinner, dessert and drinks at our good friend's house. It was a laid back, carefree, drinks flowing kind of event that was just icing on the cake to an amazing day.

When we got home, the kids sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn, carefully put out the cookies and milk for Santa and then went straight to bed so that Santa could come. Papa Bear and I got down to business getting things ready and enjoying a few drinks while we prepped for the morning.

I can't wait to see their little faces in the morning when they see everything Santa brought them.

More pictures to come....

You Better Not Cry.....

2011-12-20T19:57:00.004-05:00

This year we didn't brave the malls with the long lines and high prices for a Santa picture because we still weren't sure if any of the kids would get near Santa. Little Man was excited to see Santa in theory and had written him a letter with the three things he was hoping to get this year He was so excited to be able to hand deliver his letter but wasn't 100% about actually sitting on the Big Guy's lap. So we found a local place near our house that had free Santa pictures, an Elf bounce and other fun activities. Peanut was super excited in theory and didn't have any qualms but the closer we got to the front of the line the more he insisted that we go home. So we promised him he didn't have to see Santa and he held us to that promise. I don't even think he made eye contact with him. Little Man hand delivered his letter and then Santa picked him up and put him on his lap. Santa thanked him for writing him a letter and told him that it made his job a lot easier and he would try very hard to get him as many things as he could from his list. Little Man was in awe. Peanut was in hiding and Sweet Pea, well Sweet Pea was not thrilled at all. But we have our Santa 2011 picture and even though we are missing Peanut and Sweet Pea has her pacifier and is still crying - it is perfect!

Where is Sweet Pea?

2011-12-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

Our most often asked question these days is "where is the baby" and the answer is never good. The question is always asked when she gets quiet so we send one of boys out as our scout and the report is usually something we don't want to hear. She has been found standing on the table, climbing the book shelves, stuck in the toy box, under the couch and behind the tv cabinet. And that was all in the last three days. The christmas tree is in a room all by itself and it is gated off at every entrance to the room because she would take it down one ornament at a time if we let her so we all admire it from the distance and the boys go in the room when she is sleeping or otherwise occupied.

Peanut is the family comedian and is often found laughing at himself especially at behavior that is not really laughable but he thinks that if he laughs he won't get in any trouble. The other night at dinner he declared "Peanut a funny funny guy". He has also started some real "almost three year old" behavior. After he hits his brother or pushes his sister he willingly goes to timeout but then he says that he is sorry from the step and pops up thinking that all is ok in the world. He gets very distraught when I explain that he has to do his time in timeout. Although he can be very convincing, as I have always said my will is stronger than his.

Little Man is all about trying to be a grown up these days. Oh I wish I could tell him not to be in a hurry but he asked me if he could have a chat with me and I asked him what about and he said that he just wanted to talk to me about life. So we talked about life and it was adorable because we didn't really talk as much as he talked and I listened and then I listened some more and he just went on bout every little thing that vent through his little head. I away good to catch up with my Little Man and I just love how his little brain works.

Virtual Holiday Cards

2011-12-11T11:14:00.001-05:00

This year we have decided not to mail out our typical holiday cards to save the money on postage, printing and the work into addressing all of that so that we can spend more time focusing on family time and family fun. But that doesn't mean that I didn't try to capture the perfect holiday photo to use to send a virtual card. We captured some really great pictures.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Happy New Years!

Love,

Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Little Man, Peanut and Sweet Pea

The Stockings Are Hung By The Chimney With Care....

2011-12-03T08:04:00.001-05:00

The Stockings are hung by the chimney with care with hopes that my kids will actually leave them there. The Children were running all through the house to see if an elf came, hoping they'd find him and give him a name. They found proof of his folly in a hat and a note, now they are thrilled with the words that he wrote......

Last night an elf came and set up some of the Christmas decorations in our house. He left a note that he had lost his hat while decorating and asked the kids to find it for him. Little Man has watched the Elf on a Shelf movie and while he was at a playdate saw the elf that was visiting that family. He is convinced that we have an elf too but since the elf loses his magic if he is touched our elf is hiding really well because he doesn't want to risk Sweet Pea or Peanut touching him. (This works out really well for me because the "Elf on a Shelf" is expensive and not remotely in our budget this year). So our elf is a very good hider but left his hat by accident proving his existence.

The kids have taken down the stockings, rearranged all of the window stickers multiple times, Peanut is running around in circles yelling "ho ho ho" and the fire truck is sporting all of the nativity figures. (The shepards are driving and Mary is working the rescue ladder). This is exactly what Christmas is all about. My house may not be perfectly decorated, heck the decorations might not even make it to see Christmas morning but my kids are loving it.

More fun to come today....we are putting up our tree and then trying to figure out how to Sweet Pea proof it. I made the kids Christmas ornaments this year and they are almost ready to be added to their collection. We are watching The Grinch (original version) tonight and maybe taking a drive through a few neighborhoods to see Christmas lights. I love love love this time of year!

A Sweet Pea Note

2011-11-27T11:25:00.001-05:00

Sweet Pea is now 13 months old, I don't know why, but I have a hard time thinking of her as that old. Maybe is it is that she doesn't have a lot of hair so is more babyish in her appearance. Maybe it is that she is smaller than the boys and much more dainty. Maybe it is because no matter how many children you have, they are all different and so I have no idea what to expect from a 13 month old.

Sweet Pea has added another couple of words to her vocabulary. She says papa and hat as well as an occasional mama, uh oh, ta da and this. She also signs "more" consistently and we are working on "all done, "help" and "please". She can sign all done but prefers to just scream and throw her food instead. Yeah, we are working on that one.

She cut her bottom molars over the past few weeks and is still napping twice a day and going to bed around 7:30. She is waking up about 6:30 but has been content to play in her crib until the rest of us get up. (Little Man has been sleeping in or playing in his room until about 7:30 too and Peanut would sleep all day if we let him).

Sweet Pea is still our easiest to run errands with and our MVP on most outings since she is more content to sit and watch or play near me than the boys are but I see that changing over the next 6 months.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T14:36:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite family holiday. I always thought that everyone celebrated it the same way our family celebrated with over 50 people in a house of all generations, eating, watching football, catching up, kids running around stealing food from the table, drinks flowing only slightly slower than the fun and laughter. This year was no different than the many many Thanksgivings before, only this year it was my children running off to the basement, following their bigger cousins around and sneaking desserts off the table, instead of me. I love Thanksgiving.

Little Man was in heaven following his big cousin M around while she followed her bigger cousin E around. He also spent a lot of time with Aunt Suzi and Uncle Dale and there was a story about a horse and some steaming poo that I won't go into on this blog. He was at the perfect age to really enjoy Thanksgiving. I don't think we saw much of him at all. I caught him snagging cookies off of the dessert table but my Uncle covered for him by telling me it was the first one that he had eaten. The chocolate smeared across his face told me otherwise but I let it go since I figured it was a bonding thing with my uncle and Little Man.

Peanut had a good time playing but was probably our most difficult aged child at an event like this. He is old enough to WANT to be independent but young enough that we still needed to follow him around to make sure he didn't get into any trouble. It was also difficult to find food we could give him that was corn-free so he was a little punchy because he wasn't exactly eating a balanced diet on the trip. He had a great time though and was very well behaved. He was over MVP of politeness as he greeted anyone we asked him to with a big "Hi, I'm 2".

Sweet Pea stayed in my arms most of the day and was super easy and laid back in the crowd. Sometimes she would want to get down and explore but would turn around and run back to my arms the second someone stopped to say hi to her. My favorite part is that all of these people remember me as a baby so they can see the likeness between myself and Sweet Pea. It is gratifying to have one of my children look like me!

My kids watched their first Thanksgiving parade (it was probably the 2nd one for Little Man) and got to spend a ton of time with their cousins M and Q and even got to sleep over in their rooms like big kids. I love Thanksgiving!

Playing Air Hockey - Little Man is obsessed

Peanut and Cousin M

Little Man and Cousin M

Watching the parades on TV

Peanut Sitting on Q (Peanut outweighs him by about 10 pounds)

Cousinly Love

Peanut Prompting

2011-11-22T09:52:00.001-05:00

Here is a video of Peanut's speech therapy session from yesterday. This is hard work for my little guy but he is doing so well! This is just a sampling of how he is working on learning to go from words in isolation to words in phrases.

He continues to be my hero.

If you want to read more about Peanut's progress, you can head over to this blog....
http://findinghisvoice.blogspot.com/

Fall Fun

2011-11-14T21:48:00.001-05:00

Peanut Screams

Sweet Pea Screams

We all scream for piles and piles of leaves

The "Little Man" in Charge

2011-11-10T15:53:00.001-05:00

"I'm tired of cleaning and washing. I am going to supervise instead"

Yes, those are the way too grown up words of my 4 year old while I was mopping the kitchen floor. I had asked him to wipe down the kitchen chairs and he very cheerily took on the task. About half way through he decided that he would prefer to supervise the process. So I asked him what it meant to supervise.

"It means to look and to watch while someone else does something and see if it is ok or not."

So yes, he does get the purpose of supervising and has a firm grasp on the proper role of a supervisor. When I was mopping the bathroom floor he decided that he wanted to be the helper again and asked if he could mop while I supervised him. I do appreciate his willingness as a supervisor to get down and do the work as well because we all know that a good supervisor is someone who knows the challenges that someone they are supervising might face. It was also very helpful because he is so small that he could get into the bathroom and mop with the door shut getting all of the places that I can't reach. Thinking that maybe Papa Bear or I had taught him the fine roll of supervisor or that he gleaned this information from my Human Resources career, I asked him where he learned about supervising.

"Winnie the Pooh. You know when Rabbit supervised everything"

Well folks, there you have it.

Cronkite, Moving Streets and Compulsions

2011-11-07T07:59:00.001-05:00

Cronkite
Peanut's new nickname around this house is Cronkite because he is constantly giving us ground breaking news reports. His love for being able to say more than one or two words in a sentence has manifested itself into saying EVERY sentence that pops into his adorable little head. As breakfast is halfway over (and we are all eating) - "Mommy, Papa made cheesy eggs for breakfast!" We get minute by minute updates when he is on the potty and when he is in bed at night we are still privy to his innermost thoughts as we hear "How big is Lexa? So big! and 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,11". Little Man no longer gets away with the I didn't do anything excuse because will give us the skinny on any basement skirmish or toy battle. I love every news report we get and cherish even most mundane update because my boy is talking and working so hard to tell us what is going on in his adorable little head.

Moving Streets
We were on the metro train heading into D.C. and I was answering an onslaught of questions for Little Man about the workings of the train, the cars he was seeing, if we would see worms when the train went underground etc. I love his questions. Then he says "Mama, why do the cars all move at different times? Why don't we just have moving streets with batteries under the ground so that everyone can get where they want to go at the same time". Brilliant. We discussed why it might be better to have cars moving like if a part of the moving street broke down everyone would have to stop but if a car broke down everyone else can keep going. We talked and discussed the pros and cons of each situation and he is still convinced he is the brilliant one and moving streets is better than a moving car. It finally came down to it would be cooler that way. Love how his little mind works and I love that he questions the things that I just take for granted as being the way that they are.

Compulsion to Dance
Sweet Pea just can't help herself. If she is in the middle of a tantrum or fussing because one of her brother's took her toy, just start singing any song. Anything. Really, she doesn't care what you sing. Hum a tune and her head starts to go back and forth, her knees bend and her little booty shakes. She just can't help herself which is why Papa Bear and I were singing the entire way back on the metro. She wasn't upset but she was being her usual loud self and we didn't want to disturb the other passengers so whenever she would start yelling, we took up singing and she would dance instead of yell. I just have to love simple solutions to Sweet Pea dilemmas.

A Day In DC

2011-11-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

Last night Papa Bear and I lay in bed racking our brains to come up with Family Fun activity that we could do for very little or no money in weather that would start off fairly cold and if we were lucky warm up to the mid 50's with all 3 kids with little to no prior planning. We sure do love living just outside DC! We checked a few metro schedules, unearthed old metro cards from our days working in the city, checked museum opening times, packed snacks and a lunch and our plan was hatched.

We (by we, I mean Papa Bear who blessedly let me sleep in due to a long night with kids) packed the lunches, snacks and diaper bad and caught a metro at 9:23 in the morning and headed into the city with some very excited little boys. Little Man had a million questions about the metro and Peanut just wanted to "go super super fast".

Sweet Pea was happy to be along for the ride. (See her back there behind Peanut in the purple hat?) She was our MVP of the day. With no nap, a piece-meal lunch and a bunch of graham crackers (HFCS-free of course) she was a trooper and happily hung out and took in the sights.

We took the metro for 13 stops while the boys alternated between staring out the windows and walking from seat to seat hoping the sway of the train would knock them down. We arrived in still chilly buy beautiful DC weather and walked, ran and skipped to the Natural History museum.

We visited with the dinosaurs, lions, foxes, whales and butterflies. Peanut was scared of the giant whale but loved the T-Rex. Go figure. Little Man took more time at each area, asking questions and showing more interest than he has before. Peanut was a blur. He ran from exhibit to exhibit taking each display in for a second before moving on. I learned that I had to tell him to look up because he tended to take in each display from his eye line and when I told him to look up we heard "Awww, wow! So big" but then we would have to remind him to look down again when he started walking because you can see how that might be a disaster. Sweet Pea loved walking around and touching any object at her level.

Peanut measured up against the leg of an elephant and even our Peanut wasn't as big as an elephant. I think he was a bit disappointed about that. And then we tried to get a picture of all of the kids together which was a challenge and good for a laugh.

(At least the monkey and Sweet Pea were looking at the camera)

After a lot of fun, we ate our picnic lunch on the Mall in the sunshine, played a little chase and then headed back on the metro. We arrived home with happy and tired children and then we all took naps. Total cost = .84 in added metro fare; Total fun = priceless.

My Favorite Things

2011-10-31T21:59:00.005-04:00

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-04:00

I can not let this post go without pointing out that I made Little Man's "Flash" costume and I am really proud of the result. The boys loved trick or treating and had a lot of fun going house to house until Peanut decided he was done. They each had one piece of candy and went to bed. It was a great afternoon.

A day full of laughter and lots of noise

2011-10-31T21:37:00.001-04:00

Mee-Mom and Mommom came for a visit to celebrate Sweet Pea turning 1 and Mee-Mom turning a bit more than 1. It was chaotic, noisy, hysterical and a perfectly blended day of many generations. My Mommom came loaded with gifts to spoil the kids and she managed to both spoil them and spoil me. There is nothing better than watching Peanut snuggle into the same arms that I can remember climbing into to receive similar spoiling. Mee-Mom was treated to special hugs from Sweet Pea which turned her into a big pile of Mee-Mom mush. Little Man was in heaven with his "bestest friend" Mee-Mom and Peanut practiced talking all day long because he just had so much to say to his Mee-Mom. It was one of those days that you just want to memorize every detail and try and remember each hysterical or heart-felt moment as much as possible.

Sweet Pea loved playing with Simba and by playing, I mean trying to attack her.

She also sported her new outfit from Mommom. Look at that tush!

We attempted to get a good picture of 4 generations of women in my family...we got a lot of pictures....but not a lot of good ones. It was fun trying though.

We finally gave up and let Little Man join in the picture which proved even more entertaining....

But these two are cute and I think we are all actually looking at the camera and smiling/grimacing but at least not screaming

How to prepare a pumpkin...by Peanut and Little Man

2011-10-29T10:51:00.000-04:00

First, cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin and remove the guts of the pumpkin. Be sure sure to the top back in the hole over and over again because you can.

Then continue to remove the seeds and pulp with a spoon. Look in the pumpkin very carefully to make sure you got it all. Take small bites of the pumpkin because you can.

Sing while you do all of this...

If that gets old, just turn the pumpkin over and shake until something comes out...

When your brother isn't looking go and work on his pumpkin...but beware that your brother didn't go to retrieve a trowel to make the process go faster...because you can.

Sweet Pea turns 1

2011-10-28T20:25:00.001-04:00

Sweet Pea is such a big girl now. It is hard to remember her as the tiny 7 pounds 14 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long she was when we brought her home just a year ago. Now she weighs in at 25 pound 14 ounces and is 31 1/2 inches long. Yup, in only one year she has gained 18 pounds and grown 10 inches. We don't keep them little in this house for very long at all! She is off the chart for both height and weight so we yet again, do not have a growth percentile for one of our children. But as big as she is, she is still smaller than her brothers at this age. She weighs a pound less than Little Man and 3 pounds less than Peanut when they were 1. So to us, she is our sweet petite girl.

Sweet Pea's Yelling Face

Sweet Pea is walking all the time now and this evening she got up to standing on her own without holding onto a toy/wall/brother for support. She is still walking like she is about to fight someone but can increase and decrease speeds at her leisure now and walks less like a drunk. Her 4 words (this, uh oh, mama and ta da) are adorable but her main way of communication is screaming. She yells. A lot. She yells to get someone's attention, she yells if she wants more food, she yells if she wants a toy that she can't reach and the worst part is that the boys in this house jump to do her bidding so she is encouraged to keep yelling.

The day she turned 1 she cut her 7th tooth and 2 days later has cut her 8th tooth. I am hoping that means better sleep for a while. Prior to the tooth cutting sleeplessness - Sweet Pea is/was taking two 1 1/2 hour naps and sleeping from 7:30-7:00. She eats everything. She eats the same breakfast, lunch and dinner that we serve the rest of the family and eats as much as her brothers do. She prefers to feed herself which of course lands her in the bathtub just about every night. Sister loves chocolate and has a sweet tooth. She proved that on her birthday when she was the first of all three kids to truly enjoy her cupcake.

She loved unwrapping her gifts but didn't get much of a chance to really play with them because the boys immediately confiscated them as their own. Which means that Little Man was walking around practicing ballet in his tiara and princess want and Peanut carried his new purse everywhere.

My current favorite things about Sweet Pea are:
1. Her hugs - Sister can cuddle better than a cashmere teddy bear. She loves to give hugs and they are long and warm and the best thing ever.
2. Her dance moves are the best. She has an arm swing, head bob move that I just love and you only have to hum a few bars of any song to see them. She is my dancer for sure.
3. Her crooked grin. She loves to feel her bottom teeth on her gums but to do this she slides her jaw and then smiles making such an adorable face I have to kiss her.

Sweet Pea has completed our family and has filled our lives with laughter and love every day of her 1 year. I can't wait to see what is in store for the next year!

It's Raining Toys

2011-10-22T09:28:00.003-04:00

It's Raining Toys
We can not keep the playroom clean these days because toys seem to drop from the sky on Sweet Pea's head. It is her new party trick. She walks/crawls/shimmies/dances over to a bin of toys and then dumps it on her head. The best is when she picks up a bin of toys that is clearly too heavy for her because when she lifts it above her head to dump in out it propels her backwards so that after the toys rain down on her head she falls back and lands with her head in the bin.

Would You Like Fries With That?
Little Man and Peanut like to play "drive thru" and my favorite part is that they think that in addition to paying me money for the milkshake or fries they are obligated to give me kisses with each purchase. They roll by with their money and kisses requesting everything from french fries to soup. I also enjoy a game I can play with them that doesn't involve bad guys or monsters.

No Guns Allowed
We don't allow toy guns or swords in the house. The sword rule is just for all of our protection because a 4 year old and a 2 year old wielding anything resembling a sword could result in lots of trouble and broken things. The gun rule is now up for debate because as all little boys can, Little Man can turn his bristle blocks, shoe or a perfectly shaped stick into a gun. So I am not sure that it is worth the effort. Boys will be boys and I am thinking it might be more important to teach him not to point his gun (pretend or otherwise) at people and that we only shoot the pretend bad guys. This decision is still up for debate so for now the bristle block gun will have to do.

Money Tree

2011-10-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

The other day Little Man was playing outside with a neighborhood friend for a lot of the afternoon. They were off by themselves for most of the time playing their games and telling secrets. When I asked him later what they were playing he said that they were planting seeds and waiting for their trees to grow. I asked him if they were pretend trees and he said that they were real seeds that they planted so they had to be real trees too. On the way home from school the next day he was very excited and couldn't wait until his friend came home from school (she is 7) so that they could go check on their trees. Then he said "Mama, you are going to be so so happy with me when I find my trees. Do you know why, Mama?" Then he says in a stage whisper "BECAUSE WE PLANTED MONEY TREES and I am going to give you all of my money, well some of it". I love his imagination and his innocence. I love that he is still convinced that the money trees are just missing and that one day he will find his money tree. When I asked him what he will do with the money on the money tree he said he would share some with me but only 5 dollars and he would use the seeds to plant more money trees. Yeah, he gets that part from me. Some people are looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...but Little Man and I are just looking for the missing money trees.

Put 'em up, Put 'em up

2011-10-14T20:09:00.001-04:00

Sweet Pea walks like she is going to fight someone at any moment. Her tiny hands are clenched in ineffectual fists, her arms are bent at the elbows and held in front of her ready to take a swing at her imaginary foe. It is my most favorite thing to watch right now. She does this super wide leg wobble and barely bends her knees as she wobbles through the house. She now says 4 words - uh oh, this, mama and ta-da! There are stories behind a few of those - but I will save them for a different post.

Little Man is constantly fighting bad guys. I mean, when he isn't piloting airplanes or rocketships he is sword fighting bad guys or dragons. We don't allow toy guns or swords in the house but honestly I don't know why I bother. Little Man has built himself a gun out of bristle blocks and tonight he and Peanut were sword fighting with plastic coat hangers. I wanted to stop them but they were playing so brilliantly together I hesitated to break up the play. But then they accidentally on purpose smacked each other a little too hard and I took the hanger/swords away.

The other night at dinner I asked Peanut if he could count for me and sure enough he counted to 8! My adorable Peanut who couldn't say a single word a year ago counted to 8 perfectly! And today at school I heard him count to 5 for his teacher and name all of his colors. His teacher told me that he tends to use his body to move kids out of his way but he was a gem in class today and laughed and played all day. I never thought I would have a kid love school as much as Little Man, but Peanut loves it just as equally. There is a sensitive side to Peanut that I am just seeing emerge. He doesn't like for people to see him cry. It is such a bigger kid emotion and I am so used to seeing him as my baby boy that it is both endearing and surprising to me.

Pumpkins Galore

2011-10-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

It is that wonderful time of year when the temperatures drop a bit, the humidity goes away and the leaves start to change. This means lots of fall traditions, pumpkins, festivals, moonbounces, pumpkin bread, and good old fashioned family time.

It is hard to believe that at this same time last year I was still pregnant with Sweet Pea and couldn't fathom walking around in the fall "heat" while pregnant. Having missed so much last year due to my enormity, I am really relishing all of the fun this year. A church near our house had a little fall festival where the kids all got free pumpkins and were able to bounce in a moonbounce all by themselves for an hour.

We also went to Butler's Orchard Fall Festival. We went there in the spring for the Spring Festival and really enjoyed it so we thought we would go again. The kids had a blast.

Peanut loved the slides...

And Sweet Pea loved Little Man's kisses.....

Peanut didn't really love being the "fly" the Little Man's "spider" as apparently he was being eaten. But he got over it quickly because he got to climb on this! The kids climbed up this and then inside there was a slide and they got to slide down. Peanut wouldn't leave the cab. I had to go extract him and then we moved on and he escaped out the side of the next thing we were playing on to make his way back on the harvester.

Do you think she looks like her mama?

2011-09-26T21:24:00.001-04:00

11 Months of Spunk

2011-09-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

Sweet Pea is 11 months old today and full of spunk. I found her splashing in the toilet this morning when I came downstairs (Papa Bear must have left the door open...sigh). She heard me coming and splashed with more gusto knowing that I was going to pull her from her fun immediately. She let out a peal of laughter as I grabbed for her and then had an equal amount of fun getting soaped up and washed down in the sink. Then she toddled back and forth across the kitchen as I try to get things done in the morning and her high arches created the cutest little suction on the tile floor so she sounded like a baby octopus moving through the kitchen. Everything about her is fun these days as she is starting to really be able to keep up with the boys and play with them.

She is still taking 2 naps a day for about an hour and a half each and is sleeping from 7:30pm- 6:30am with occasionally sleeping in until 7:00. She nurses first thing in the morning but is taking bottles for her other 3 feedings during the day and she has 3 meals a day with an occasional snack. She loves self-feeding and prefers finger foods to purees now. She is walking and takes anywhere from 2-10 steps before falling down and crawling the rest of the way. But when she ca, she will cruise and then walk a few steps to the next object and cruise again. She goes everywhere using those methods so it rare to find her crawling. When we catch her just standing her balance is amazing and in just a week has become really steady. The only problem is that she tends to lunch for her last step which has caused a few close calls. As I was writing this she grabbed something she couldn't have off of the table and when I went to get it back from her she scurried away in what I can only deem her "baby run". Girl can move fast. I think we are in for it.

Things I don't want to forget about Sweet Pea at 11 months:
- her booty shake dancing moves
- her kitty cat mew when she is not happy about her circumstances (not to be confused with her unlady like shriek that she does at any time for just about any reason)
- she adorable "uh-oh" and "this" first words
- her love for her biggest brother and their adorable way of playing together

Stay tuned for a video of Sweet Pea's first few steps!

Slowing it down for some hugs

2011-09-26T08:21:00.003-04:00

Weekday mornings are always busy and we move a sprint like pace to get everyone fed, dressed, bathroomed, groomed, re-bathroomed and re-dressed and out the door for school. Mondays are the worst. The kids have to say good-bye to Papa and are loath to let him go after two days with him here and it just takes a little more time to get used to and fall back into our schedule. Plus we have to get Little Man off to school and then race back home for speech therapy so it is extra important that everything get done on schedule.

This Sweet Pea sat in her high chair covered from head to toe in blueberries, bananas and teething biscuit crying her little head off. I was trying to wash the morning dishes before attending to her because loading the dishwasher is impossible with my newly walking little monkey who thinks it would be fun to climb up into the dishwasher. Little Man and Peanut were alternately coming in to show me their creations from the playroom (bowls of pretend soup with the same bowls I would need to prepare dinner...sigh). Little Man came in and told Peanut to come quick with him and as they both tried to run from the kitchen at the same time Peanut ran smack into the door frame. Now I had two crying. Setting dishes aside I gathered up a sobbing Peanut and held him tight. I sat in a chair near Sweet Pea trying to reassure her with my closeness that she was next for hugs. Then a cry came from the playroom and Little Man came running in crying. He had "tried to sit nicely on the couch" and bonked his head. My theory is that he was trying to jump on the couch and bonked his head. So I gathered Little Man to my side and pulled him as tight as I could with Peanut still on my lap and Sweet Pea pulled close to the chair. Peanut calmed down and Little Man climbed up to get his hugs. We hugged and counted to 100. Then I picked up a very messy Sweet Pea and stuck her under the sink to clean her up. I left the dishes that weren't washed and decided that maybe we needed to just slow down for a second. As soon as I stopped trying to be productive and get everything done, amazingly enough everything that needed to get done got done including hugs for everyone that needed one.

-side note: I got everyone ready and saw that they were playing nicely so I could sit and start writing a quick post. Then Peanut had an accident and peed in a plastic bin, Sweet Pea tried to attack the computer when I put it down quickly to deal with the accident and I had to change my clothes because I am not sure if it was just water or pee that somehow covered my pants. So everything I had gotten done - just got undone. I think I might be the one that needs a hug by the end of this day.

Happy 11 months to Sweet Pea today. I will write her update later today.

Sweet Pea Joins the Party!!

2011-09-24T14:03:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to a nearby park that requires at least two adults to oversee our crew because it is a huge park and the boys always run in opposite directions making it impossible to take the kids on my own. We went a month or so ago and Sweet Pea hung out in the stroller while the boys ran wild. But today she joined the party! She refused her stroller almost from the start and walked, crawled and played with her big brothers. It was amazing to see all three of the kids enjoying an activity at the same time. We couldn't play a zone defense because of the enormity of this particular park so instead we had a two-on-one and one-on-one approach. Whoever had the baby was also responsible for Little Man and the other person had to be on top of Peanut. Peanut has gotten fast and has absolutely no fear of strangers, heights or any other danger. So one-on-one with Peanut is a must. I just loved seeing all 3 kids laughing and playing together. I feel like we are turning a corner on the type of family fun activities that we can all start enjoying. It is perfect timing for all of the fall festivals, pumpkin patches and holiday activities that are just around the corner.

Look Whose Walkin'

2011-09-19T14:07:00.000-04:00

Little Ms. SweetPea has decided that it is time to take some steps on her own. When properly motivated (read: to get food that is just out of reach) she takes tiny little hesitant steps until she is close enough to lung and grab onto her final destination. Her first steps were to move from a chair at the kitchen table towards her high chair where she had spotted some rogue cherrios. The best thing about it was that I actually managed to see her do it and since Papa Bear had only caught the tail end of it we lured her into a repeat performance using a baby rice cake to motivate her. Since then she can often be found standing all by herself with a grin on her face contemplating that next step. She still only takes one or two steps before throwing herself down on the floor laughing to resume crawling. It isn't going to be long before those tiny hesitant steps turn into full fledged walking and then running. Let the fun begin!

Logan's Heroes - The Walk

2011-09-18T15:19:00.002-04:00

These people are all heroes to our family. We had a team of 23 people walk in the Northern Virginia Apraxia walk today and a bunch more who walked with us in spirit but couldn't actually make it this morning. It was chaos and fun and exhausting and exhilarating. The kids ran and walked and moved from stroller to wagon to stroller again. We didn't walk the full 4.8 miles around the lake because we kind of thought that was quite a distance to tackle when 13 of our 23 team members where children and all under the age of 7. Our team raised almost $400 for CASANA! You are all Logan's Heroes today and forever. Thank you all for the support and love that you showed our family.

And this guy, well he is the world's best biggest brother. Peanut doesn't know it yet, but he has a protector, a friend and a teacher in his big brother. Little Man ran and ran and ran and played and played with his friends and cousins while on the walk. He was a champ about it not being all about him for a few hours and other than a brief fight over not getting to wear fancy clothes today he was an angel.

My personal hero is this sweet guy. He walked and ran more than he rode in a stroller and was excited to finally be at his walk. I don't know if he knew we were all there walking for him, but he knew that he was surrounded by people who love him. He has so many words and has worked hard for each and every one of them. He has the sweetest voice and an infectious smile. Everyone that meets him walks away with a smile on their face because he is so genuine in his love for life.

Peanut's First Day of 2's

2011-09-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

Peanut had his very first day of pre-school today. He started in the 2's class with Mrs. H just like Little Man did two years ago. But unlike Little Man, Peanut entered that class like he owned it. This morning he was so excited to finally be able to use his school bag that he had his shoes on at 7:30. I had to read books for 45 minutes just to keep him occupied so that we weren't an hour early for school. When he got there he ran down the hall, picked up his picture tag, hung it on his peg, washed his hands and was off. I had to force him to say goodbye to me and I only did so because I didn't want him to be surprised later if he looked up and realized I was gone. We had established a sort of routine as we dropped Little Man off at his class over the last few days. A quick hug and then "Bye Bye, see you soon" and so when I told Peanut that I was leaving he smiled his Peanut smile and said "see you soon". I walked out and made my way down the hall with my ears pricked for his cry. It never came. He was fine. I was shaking. The director of the school went and spied on him for me over the course of 15 minutes. Finally I got the picture that my kid was doing great, painting pictures and really enjoying himself. So I took Sweet Pea home and put her down for her nap. Then I stood in my house, it was silent. I quickly picked up toys and the kitchen and then I just sat. I didn't know what to do with myself.

At pick up, Peanut was happy and all smiles. He told me "Love school" over and over and he wanted to go back to school after lunch. I put him down for a nap and he was out like a light. The boy played hard. Little Man told us that his favorite part of his day was getting to see his brother at playground time. (The 2's and the 4's are on the playground together) Tomorrow I get to co-op in his class so I will get to see my boy in action and even get to see Little Man on the playground!

Brothers with peekaboo Sweetpea

Hanging up his tag in the classroom

Painting his masterpiece

With his teacher at the water table

Little Man Starts Pre-K

2011-09-13T21:33:00.001-04:00

Our little 4 1/2 year old started Pre-K today. He was so excited for school that he was ready with his shoes on at 7:30 and we don't leave for school until 8:45. He carried his school bag around all morning and asked every 5 minutes if it was time to go. We talked about all of the friends he was going to get to see and we talked about making new friends too. I tried to talk to him about inviting other people to play with him and his friends especially the new kids to the class. He promised that he would invite them to play with him but told me they would probably just say no until they saw how fun he really is. (He sheepishly told me later that he forgot to invite new friends to play with him because he was so excited but that he would for sure remember tomorrow). When I dropped him off Peanut gave him a huge hug and said goodbye, he gave me a kiss and he was off. It was so different than his drop off two years ago and as I drove away I realized how much has changed and how much he has grown up. I cried. I admit it. I cried because I am just not ready for him to grow up and even though it is only 3 hours a day, it is still 5 days a week and that is just a lot. I didn't get much out of him after I picked him up. Something about a big dinosaur that he got to play with and cupcakes for a birthday and not getting to go the activity room because the 2 year olds were getting tired. The main part that I got was that he loved it and he can't wait to go back tomorrow. I don't think you can ask for anything more from a teacher and a school than to help your child love to learn. When we got home and I got the little ones down for their nap, Little Man I got to spend some time together. We read a huge pile of books, did some sounding out of words, made dinner and I pilfered a Christmas present I had bought for a fun art activity. As cliche as it is, I still can't believe my baby is already in Pre-K. Peanut starts the 2 year old classroom on Thursday. You will find me crying in the parking lot but I can only hope that he loves school as much as Little Man.

(This is Peanut trying to put his leg up on the wall in a pose just like his big brother's picture above. Boy cracks me up!)

Bad Dreams and a little advice

2011-09-09T16:26:00.001-04:00

Peanut woke up really sad from his nap this afternoon. Typically he is only sad if he is forced to wake up before he is ready so I asked him what was wrong. He said "Bad Guy hurt me." It took me a second but then I asked him if he had a bad dream. He snuggled into my neck and said "Yes, scared Lo Lo". So I kept him in my arms and lugged his 40 pounds downstairs to let him wake up slowly in my arms and get over his bad dream.

Little Man wanted to know all about his bad dream and asked him a lot of questions. "Did the bad guy eat you?" "Did he cut off your arm?" "Did he spitted you, chop you up and eat you?" Peanut said "Yes Ja Ja" to each question and with each question I become more appalled at what Little Man was saying. Where did he get these ideas. The only tv he watches is Curious George and occasionally some Winnie the Pooh or Word World. He doesn't watch regular tv, commercials or anything with any type of violence. Then he redeemed himself by reassuring his little brother. He said "Don't worry, it is all just pretend. Sometimes I have bad dreams too but then I just waked up and look around my room and it is nothing. No one is there. It is just empty and it was just a dream." Peanut said "ohhh Ja Ja, oh my" (his new favorite expression) and slid off my lap to go play with his big brother.

I am so glad that my kids have each other to turn to if there are bad dreams about bad guys or anything else that they might encounter.

Meeting the Teachers

2011-09-08T18:22:00.001-04:00

Both boys got to meet with their teachers in preparation for school to start next week. It was a huge success on all counts. They were so excited this morning that they had their shoes on and were ready to go about an hour before we needed to leave.

Little Man's meeting with his teacher was structured a little differently this year. The previous two years I accompanied him into the classroom to ease his nerves and he stayed and played for 15 minutes. His first year he almost dropped the school fish and his second year he refused to paint his hand for a handprint because it was too messy. I have no idea what he did this year. I wasn't there. I can't lie, that does make me equal parts proud and sad. He walked right on in when his teacher invited him in and 20 minutes later came out and told me that he painted a picture and didn't get messy, tried to build a road but it didn't work and made something else but couldn't remember what. That was all I could get out of him other than he hopes school gets to start tomorrow.

Peanut walked into his room like he owned it. He got half-way in and turned to me and said "May Mama, May" which in Logan speak means "Come, Mama, come". It was his only sign on unease. I sat down on the floor and he relaxed and played for 15 minutes. He got to feed the class fish and played mostly in the kitchen area. He fought me when it was time to leave but didn't throw a full fit, for which I was eternally grateful. I am also grateful that my good friend K will be co-oping on the first day which should ease Peanut's transition

And just so she isn't left out, Sweet Pea played in Peanut's classroom like she owned it too. She can't start this year, but she will be able to start next year in the Step Into Preschool program. I can't even think about that.

Facing Fears

2011-09-04T17:45:00.003-04:00

Little Man is our most sensitive child. He has had some typical childhood fears like the chicken behind his door or being scare the first time he was dropped off at school. But he also had a fear of the elevator at Home Depot. To be clear, he didn't have a fear of just any elevator, just the one on the roof of the parking lot at Home Depot. This is where Papa Bear has often taken the boys to get them out of the house, play on tractors and do manly stuff. Part of their routine was to park on the top deck and take the large service elevator down to the main level. But tragedy struck. One day they all got on the elevator and right before the doors closed Peanut ran off the elevator. Papa Bear had to follow him but Little Man didn't move fast enough and was stuck in the elevator. Papa Bear heard him crying and yelled to him not to move and it would come back up. He pushed the button and Little Man stayed put and when the elevator came back up they were all reunited. But ever since then, Little Man has refused to get on the elevator at Home Depot. Today the boys went to Home Depot while Sweet Pea and I went to a book store. The stairs they usually use were closed off and they were forced to use the elevator. Little Man bravely faced his fear and rode the elevator down without incident. I am always proud when my kids face fears head on even if they are forced by yellow tape barring the easy way down.

On a side note, he is still resistant to change as evident by his crying breakdown when he saw my new haircut. He says my hair looks crazy and he wants it back to the old way. Poor guy will just have to adjust to me with bangs.

Our Budding Photographer

2011-08-30T21:59:00.005-04:00

We gave Little Man our old digital camera to use and he will spend hours at a time taking pictures and setting up shots. In fact, he will usually take pictures until the batteries run out (which doesn't take that long, it is an old camera, after-all). Well he took so many pictures that the memory was full and he asked me to put his pictures on the computer so that he could keep taking more pictures. I wasn't planning on keeping any of them, but when I started to look through them I couldn't delete them. He has an eye for a good picture and I love some of the shots that he set up. I showed them to Papa Bear and he liked them too. We had to delete a few of them that were no appropriate for viewing. He was a bit sneaky when taking these pictures and caught Papa Bear unaware in the bathroom. We laughed hysterically when we saw that though. I am sure if his Aunt Carol gets to see these, she will be very proud. Here are some of the pictures that we can show you....

Breaking the Code

2011-08-29T08:09:00.002-04:00

Little Man has become very focused on wearing his "handsome" clothes. We went shopping together on Saturday and he got to pick out his clothes for the first time. I have to say, my boy has good taste and expensive taste. It has been of a mystery as why he all of a sudden cares about what he wears. Prior to the "handsome" clothes preference he would wear whatever I put out and only really threw a fit and the change of seasons.

We think that broke the "handsome" code. Papa Bear has recently started a new job. His old job was an extremely casual work environment so he typically wore jeans and a polo. His new job, while still very casual, is not quite so lax. So he has been wearing button down shirts and slacks more often. Little Man always takes notice of what Papa Bear wears to work especially since we have added to Papa Bear's wardrobe for this new job. Since Little Man wants to be like Papa Bear we have changed to the "handsome" wardrobe.

We have seen little changes with Peanut too. He plays "going to work" all the time and has a Papa Bear walk to show he is pretending to be Papa going off to work.

I love that I have such a wonderful role model for my boys and that they want to emulate him from how he walks to how he dresses.

Earthquake and Hurricane stories

2011-08-28T11:35:00.005-04:00

I would be remiss if I didn't record the earthquake and hurricane stories for my kids.

Earthquake

On Tuesday, August 23rd we experienced a 5.9 earthquake that lasted 45 seconds. 45 seconds it turns out is long enough for me to sprint upstairs, rip Sweet Pea and Peanut from their naps and race downstairs with both of them in my arms, grabbing Little Man on my way out to the front yard. I had so many thoughts in those 45 seconds. I didn't register earthquake as much as I registered the possibility that my house was coming down and I had to get my kids to safety. We stood on the front lawn, Little Man in a t-shirt and buzz lightyear underwear, Sweet Pea in just her diaper and Peanut crying because he was standing in bare feet on grass and really wanted to be sleeping. After about 10 minutes we all went back inside and Peanut tried to go back to sleep. The house escaped unharmed and in fact, there were no injuries reported in our area at all. There was some significant damage to the National Cathedral and Washington Monument. It is another one of those "where were you" moments in history and so I wanted to record our story since they are all too little to remember. Little Man did end up in our bed that night with nightmares of monsters shaking his bed. I think it was really the 4.2 aftershock that made him think there were monsters shaking his bed. All returned to normal the next day and thoughts of the earthquake started to fade with Little Man UNTIL all talk turned to the impending Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene hit land on Saturday, August 27th and swept up the east coast. It was all anyone was talking about for the days prior because it was the first hurricane to be making landfall in 3 years and it was a massive storm. I took many more precautions than I would normally take because I was still feeling a bit vulnerable after the earthquake and it is different when you have 3 little ones to worry about. The storm lost a lot of power and it was a Cat 1 when it got to us. We lost power and had a rough night with kids awake due to a silent and dark house but other than that there was nothing to report. Our power was out from 3:20 am - 11:00 am which isn't bad, all things considered.

So there you have it, the first natural disasters in our area that affected the kids. Little Man did experience a hurricane in Cabo San Lucas while I was pregnant with him but that was even more of a non-event than Hurricane Irene.

10 Month Update

2011-08-26T11:12:00.000-04:00

Sweet Pea is 10 months old and I have to say that I am not ready to think about her turning 1 in just 2 short months. But I think she is more than ready as she is not content to stay and baby and wants to push towards toddlerhood to join her running and talking brothers.

The most notable change is that Sweet Pea is spending more and more of her time vertical. She pulls up on everything and will grab anything that moves to use as a walker, including her big brothers. Her little cruising steps are becoming more and more stable and sometimes she will let go to play with a toy and stand on her own. That standing lasts until she realizes she is doing it and then she will plop down with a laugh.

Sweet Pea loves to dance. She is a moving, grooving little lady. It starts as her little hands and wrists get down but if she happens to be standing she will get her legs and booty into it. She maneuvers all over the house and has also mastered the regular hands and knees crawl. When she is really trying to gain speed she will revert back to her original army crawl slither. She babbles regularly but not usually with meaning and when she wants something she can't have she emits a high pitch scream that lets us know a girl has invaded the ranks of boys.

She is taking 2 naps a day each for about an hour to an hour and a half and sleeps from 7:30-7:00 at night. She won't sleep without her binky and blankets and looks so sweet snuggled up. She is still in some 12-18 month clothes but her chunky awesome thighs fit best into 18-24 months stuff. She is an eating machine just like her brothers. She nurses 4 times a day and eats 3 meals. She typically eats anything that you give her and we have started to just puree whatever our dinner is for her so she will develop a taste for our regularly served food.

Things I don't want to forget:

1. The vampire* smile she gives me when she wants to be picked up and I comply with her wishes.

2. The feel of arms wrapped around my neck, she my best and earliest hugger.

3. Her sneaky ways. If she sees the bathroom door open she will charge for it but her laughter at what she thinks she is going to get away with always gives her away.

4. Her sweet smell. I know it sounds crazy but my baby girl smells like honey and chocolate. It is unique to just her and I love breathing in her sweet baby girl scent.

*vampire smile = her incisors have started to come in before her front teeth so it looks like she has fangs until her front teeth catch up

What Trouble Looks Like...

2011-08-23T09:32:00.002-04:00

Trouble and other updates

2011-08-21T20:40:00.004-04:00

Sweet Pea's new name is "Trouble". We must find her in some troublesome situation at least five times a day. It is a good thing she is so darn cute or she might actually get in trouble for all of the mischief she causes. She is up on all fours crawling now and loves to hear the slap of her hands hitting the kitchen floor. We love to hear the slap of her hands too because it helps us know where she is so we know what kind of trouble she is getting in like making a mad dash for the bathroom or pushing a bench over so she can climb up on the couch.

Peanut is on a corn-free diet based on a suggestion from one of his doctors and we have seen a huge change in his speech. We were amazed at how many food products in our fridge and pantry had corn in it, especially high fructose corn syrup that we are avoiding like the plague. It was in the ketchup, maple syrup, bread crumbs, crackers, cereals and yogurt. So we found new brands to buy of those products and have already seen a much different pattern in his speech. He has added 10 words in just the one week to his vocab including done, now and gone which are awesome because they are very generic words that he can use at school in a few weeks. We are also getting some better pronunciation on his words and today he said "go" with the proper hard g 3 times in a row! He is a little moody and tired with the diet change but his body is detoxing and we are just keeping him snacking on healthy corn-free food to help regulate his blood sugar without the crack known as high fructose corn syrup.

Little Man is focused on being fancy and handsome. He dresses himself only in shirts that have collars and shorts that have buttons and patterns. He is so grown up. We were making cookies together the other day and I handed him a cookie ball that was too big and I said "oops, sorry buddy, that one isn't a good one" and his instant reply was "That's ok Mama, it is all a part of making cookies. It is the process, not the result". I was so proud of him and it is rewarding to know that the lessons I am trying to teach him are making an impact. I don't want him to worry at the age of 4 of getting things right or perfect when he is working on a project. I want him to have fun and learn from the process. I love all of his "Little Man-isms" and the truth is, that I learn a lot from him too.

Sister Likes to Swing

2011-08-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Sweetest Words Ever

2011-08-14T21:47:00.002-04:00

Peanut made my heart melt. I am talking huge puddle of mushy heart in the middle of the hallway and he knows it. I put him to bed the other night and as I walked out of the room I heard "Night night, love you mama". This was his first unsolicited love you and it is extra sweet because I didn't know how long it would take to be able to hear those words from him.

This past Friday night I was handling all of the bedtimes for the kids because Papa Bear was taking the opportunity to mow the lawn. After putting everyone down I heard whimpering coming from Peanut's room. That is really rare. I often have to tell him to stop playing, singing, getting out of bed...but rarely is he upset. So I went to see what the problem was and I found him standing on the other side of the window shade watching Papa Bear mow the lawn. He was crying and saying "Papa stuck". I explained that Papa was just mowing the lawn and he would be back. Then I asked him why he was sad and he said, "love Papa".

We love our Peanut and we love hearing him tell us that he loves us too.

Handsome Pants and Fancy Shirts

2011-08-14T21:35:00.003-04:00

Papa Bear and I both attended University of Virginia which was just voted one of the Preppiest Schools of 2011. I loved this about UVA but when I fell in love, preppy dress never entered the equation. Papa Bear was more of a skater at heart even though he would go through the preppy motions for me. Papa Bear prefers comfort over fashion at all times. But it seems that Little Man's style (though absolutely no coercion on my part) has decided that he prefers a preppy style...or handsome pants and fancy shirts. He will only wear plaid shorts with pockets and shirts with collars. I really wish he had made this clear before I went school clothes shopping for him a few weeks ago.

Lost in Translation and other tid bits

2011-08-04T13:01:00.002-04:00

Little Man has been attending Vacation Bible School this week or "Jesus School" as he calls it. Every day I ask him about his day and I get his interesting 4 year old version of the day. Today he told me this story:

" There was a lady and a guy and they had a pretend fight and the lady put the pie in the guy's face. Smooch! It was to teach us that people in England have bad behavior and God had to tell them to not have fighting and throwing pies. Mama, if I ever go to England I will remember to have really good behavior." I am fairly certain this was not meant to be the lesson of the day, but I still found it hilarious and will have to inform my friends who live in England that they have to quit the pie throwing bad behavior.

A litte bit after lunch, was sitting on a chair and told me that he was getting so big because his fur was coming in nicely. What? I asked him to repeat it and this time I looked at him and saw that he was looking at his legs and the little hairs that he saw were obviously his fur. I am so glad that my cub's fur is coming in so nicely.

Peanut has been trouble of late. Today he dumped out all of the cherrios on the table, dumped sugar on the floor, made himself a glass of sugar water and drank it and for the third day in a row I found toys in my oven. All of this aside, he said his first 4 word sentence today " Ja Ja Help Lo Lo do" He was asking his big brother to help him make a car light up and roll forward. It was awesome. He also said "smurf" which in and of itself is not worth mentioning but it is a great example of his ever expanding vocabulary that he was able to clearly name a McDonald's toy that he got in his happy meal just yesterday. Trouble he might be, but he is still my hero.

And speaking of trouble, that is Sweet Pea's new name in this house. We are constantly having to fish something out of her mouth, grab her before she falls off of something, rescue her from standing up on something less than stable etc. Yesterday she was playing with a toy and Peanut came and tried to play too and she let out a shriek and pushed his hands away. Already? Seriously, we do not have any more room for drama in this house.

Logan's Heroes

2011-07-30T09:06:00.005-04:00

I am so excited to announce that our family will be participating in the 2011 Northern Virginia Walk for Apraxia. We would love for any of our friends and family to join our team and walk with us on our team. While this is a fundraiser for the only national non-profit group that is solely dedicated to needs of children with apraxia, we are not seeking your funds as much as we are seeking your support in number, in companionship, in cheering for our boy who has no idea that he struggles more than the rest of us to get his words out. He has a lot to say and we just want to help him be able to say it.

We would love to build a large team of people to walk with us. Logan is my personal hero on a daily basis and for one short walk I would like to be his hero too. If you want to join us the Logan's Heroes team just click on the link below and you will be directed to our team's page.

Here is the event information:
DATE AND LOCATION:
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Onsite check-in and registration at 7:00 AM.
The Run starts promptly at 8:00 AM.
The Walk starts promptly at 8:15 AM.

Burke Lake Park
7315 Ox Road
Fairfax Station, VA 22039
Park website: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake

CASANA is the source of inspiration and instrumental in helping so many families and professionals gain the knowledge in apraxia needed to move children with CAS to develop meaningful speech. Proceeds from the walk will benefit CASANA's apraxia programs and research.

To join our team, click on this link and then click on "Join Our Team" in the middle of the page:

Logan's Heroes

Proof is in the Pudding

2011-07-29T12:47:00.002-04:00

I am sitting in the makeshift office on the first floor that used to be the playroom and before the playroom, it was the dining room and I am just trying to capture a few minutes of peace and calm in what has been a very busy day. This is my time-out. Peanut is sleeping and Sweet Pea and Little Man are playing in the next room, well within my sight-line but far enough away to give me at least the illusion of a few minutes to myself. And I hear Little Man say "Oh Sweet Pea, if you need those toys just ask me! Don't try to get in the box. Oh let me help you." Then I see him pick her up (yes, I cringed but stayed quiet) and put her safely away from where she was trying to go head first into a bin of toys. He gave her a bunch of toys and laid on his stomach to play with her. Giggles ensued and I breathed in the love between my youngest and my oldest.

I witnessed another sweet moment this morning. I asked the boys to get their shoes on so that we could get out the door. I came around the corner to find Little Man putting Peanut's shoes on him. It was a disorganized mess of a situation that took 3 time longer than if I had stepped in to help, but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt. First Peanut sat on the floor and Little Man tried to shove his feet in the shoes but couldn't get the leverage needed. So he told Peanut to stand up and he helped him slip his foot in and adjust the heel. Then Little Man stood up and cheered for Peanut and of course, Peanut cheered for himself too!

We must be doing something right, this parenting thing with so many zig zags in the path and no known destination or set course. I wish that children came with an instruction manual so that I could just follow directions and know that I was doing what was best for them. But short of an instruction manual, witnessing sweet moments and words between my kids show that at least some of the time, we are doing just fine without that manual.

Sweet Pea is 9 months old

2011-07-28T13:50:00.003-04:00

I meant to write this post a few days ago but the kids have been keeping me very busy with water playdates, superhero escapades and bike rides.

Sweet Pea is getting so big and is close to exiting that baby phase and starting to creep her way into toddlerhood. She is 24 pounds now but is still fitting well into her 12-18 month dresses and into 18-24 month shorts and shirts. Have I mentioned how much I love dresses!! Seriously, they are the easiest garment to get a kid in and out of and diaper changes are so simple. Since she is crawling/slithering on her tummy the dresses don't get in her way as much as if she were doing a true crawl. Even though she uses the slither move to get from here to there, she likes to spend as much time on her feet as possible. She pulls up on everything, including her big brothers if they are willing to stand still long enough. She is so proud each time she gets vertical and is slowly learning how to get back down to the ground although the decent is never graceful.

Sweet Pea's favorite game is still "So Big" but she also has started trying to clap and has her own version of signing all done that she mimics but is very close to doing on her own. She still takes two naps a day but I have to limit the first nap to less than 45 minutes or I don't get much a break when the boys nap in the afternoon. She is a great eater too. She has had apples, bananas, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potato, carrots and pears. She hasn't rejected a single food but I don't see her staying on the purees for very long as she loves to feed herself cheerios or any little bites of food we giver her. Anything to be just like her big brothers!

Her hugs are the best things in the whole world. She holds so tight around my neck and snuggles her face into my neck. I know that a lot will change as she gets older but I hope that those tight hugs are here forever.

Pulling Up

2011-07-24T20:12:00.003-04:00

I told Papa Bear last night that I thought it was time we lowered the crib because Sweet Pea was getting just a little too proficient at pulling herself up on things and it was only a matter of time before she figured out how to pull up on her crib. Just call me Nostradamus. Ok, that might be overstating things just a bit, but I did call it.

Papa Bear put Sweet Pea in the crib for a nap today and left to take the boys to home depot. I was visiting with a friend in the kitchen listening to Sweet Pea screech and yell in her crib and then the yelling sounded different to me. So I went to investigate and I find a very proud Sweet Pea standing up in her crib, leaning over the edge looking down at the ground and precariously perched half in, half out. My heart skipped a beat and I swooped her up and waited to put her back down for her nap until I knew she would lay down and go to sleep.

Needless to say, Papa Bear lowered her crib before her afternoon nap because we have a very strong, curious and proud little girl pulling on everything she can!

In Little Man's room, pulled up on his firehouse

In her crib, after it had been lowered.

A Series of Unfortunate Incidents

2011-07-21T20:12:00.002-04:00

Sweet Pea is fully mobile, crawling/pushing and shimming her way up stairs, into corners, under tables and into closets. Sister does not want to be left behind in a room and wants to get in on all of the action. This has led to a series of unfortunate incidents because there is always a baby under-foot or in the toilet as the case may be.

While I was making dinner this evening I was chopping vegetables as the boys were playing (an unapproved game of jumping off the couch onto each other, but I didn't bother breaking it up because at least they weren't fighting) and Sweet Pea was shimming around the kitchen. When I looked down at Sweet Pea she was obviously chewing on something she shouldn't have in her mouth. I swept her up into my arms and did the typical "mom finger sweep" to fetch it out and she had already swallowed it. I was trying to figure out what it was when she sighed a deep sweet baby breath sigh right in my face and that is when I knew that what she had chewed up and swallowed was an onion.

Today she also managed to pull a pogo stick onto herself, fall off of a bench that she had pulled herself up to almost standing on, get her finger smashed in the bathroom door when Peanut wanted some privacy and fall head first down the step-down into the living room. The head first fall down the step-down was performed most gracefully and after letting out a brief cry she completed a roll and kept on shimmying her way to her original destination...which was as usual, wherever Little Man can be found.

"O", that makes sense

2011-07-19T18:47:00.002-04:00

Peanut knows all of his letter and their letter sounds and he has a love for identifying letters and yelling them out. For example, he might be eating a cookie and after taking a bite of it he will hold it up and yell "U" until you agree with him that his cookie does look just like a "U", or when we are driving by a McDonald's and he yells "M,M,M" until you tell him yes, that is a M. Today it was out of control. We were parked outside of Bed, Bath and Beyond and he was all "B, B, B, E, T, E, Y O, O, N, D, D" I drove away as fast as I could.

Little Man asks really intelligent questions, not all of which I have intelligent answers for, but sometimes he will throw me a bone. Today he asked me when he could get his wallet so he could drive. Once I deciphered that he meant license and not wallet I set about answering his question. I wasn't sure if I was very clear in my answer until he said, "Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks Mama" Well I am so glad it made sense to him because I can't even remember my answer because Peanut was yelling "B, B, B, E, T, E, Y O, O, N, D, D" at the time.

Updates All Around

2011-07-19T14:30:00.002-04:00

Sweet Pea's favorite game right now is "So Big". Sometimes she will actually wait for you to ask her "How big is Sweet Pea" before triumpantly throwing her arms above her head to show us just how big she thinks she is. Other times, she can't wait for the question and will throw her arms up with a giant smile of anticipation on her face and we, of course, comply with her silent demand and say "So Big!". I have to say it makes me heart happy and happens to be one of the boys favorite games to play with her too.

Little Man and I got to go on a date recently. He donned his "movie" shirt which in his case is just a shirt that he wears to the movies and he put on his shorts that only have pockets on the sides and back but not on the legs. This is his thing. He will change his shorts if we dare to hand him anything that has pockets on the legs (ie cargo shorts) but won't wear shorts without pockets either. He is so particular and I love it. So we went on our double date with his friend Kate and her mother. They were both so proud to be out with each other and big kids at the movies. He did whisper to me that he loved me in the middle of the movie and on the way home decided that he should ask Papa on a date so that he wouldn't be sad that only Mama got dates. My sensitive sweetheart.

Peanut is talking up a storm and repeating my every word. He is also doing great with going to the potty and is becoming more assertive in telling us that he has to go instead of just walking to the bathroom and tugging to get his pants down. Sometimes he will preemptively cheer "Yay Pee-Pee" as his way of telling me that it is time to go. He is having a hard time settling down at night and opens his door to his room as a game over and over and over until we take away all of his bedtime stuff (blankets, elmo, big bird, etc) and then he gets we are serious and stays in his bed. My sweet boy.

Rehoboth Beach

2011-07-10T18:11:00.004-04:00

I am not a spontaneous person. I am a planner, a meticulous and detailed planner, who has done a lot of growing and changing in the last 4 years. My children have taught me spontaneity. For example, when you leave the house with a diaper bag that has been rampaged by a 2 year old and end up without diapers for the baby but you find a pull up stashed in your car, you can spontaneously turn that over-sized pull up into a diaper that works for a baby with a little imagination and the help of a tee-shirt. Just call me MacGuyver. Cue music.

Anyway, all of that growing and stretching, taught to me by my wonderful and unpredictable children, helped when we had an offer of a week long vacation at my mom's beach house in DE because I had less than 24 hours to plan. No worries, my mom's beach house is more prepared than most places we visit for my crazy kids so Papa Bear and I made a list, packed it up and headed out. We knew he would have to travel back and forth during the week and made arrangements with my mom for him to use her car for that commute so we could keep the van with all of the necessary seating for the kids.

It was well worth the crazy 24 hour haze we were in packing the car and getting us ready to be gone without much notice. It was also worth the lack of sleep we had as Sweet Pea realized she was in the same room as us for a week and wanted to be played with or held in the night.

Little Man learned to swim. He swims across the pool with his head under water while doggy paddling and kicking his legs. Something just clicked and each day he got better and better. Peanut learned to hold his breath while underwater as he took quite a few tumbles in the water but always managed to hold his breath and his only complaint was the water in his eyes. We all got to run through a rain storm to get ice cream and then eat ice cream in a pavilion while watching the rain, play on the beach when the rain stopped and then run through another rain storm to get back to the car. (that probably doesn't sound like as much fun as it actually was) We ate and played and just had a fantastic family time. The kids were overjoyed to have their Mee-Mom with them and the bonus was getting to have Simba (her dog) to torture/play with too.

A spontaneous vacation that was well worth breaking out of my comfort zone and leaping before looking!

Oh Well!

2011-07-01T11:20:00.004-04:00

Peanut wanted to be just like his big brother

and wear his crayon behind his ear

but he missed! Oh well!

I wanted to get a picture of all 3 kiddos together but Peanut was not happy

He wanted to be the one holding his sister

which did not thrill sister

So this is the best I could get. Oh well!

Oh Yeah

2011-06-29T18:13:00.001-04:00

So if your child with a speech delay can properly sass you at the ripe age of 2 years and 3 months, can you still consider them speech delayed? This morning I explained to Peanut that the crayon is for paper, not for his ear (which is a post for another day). He turned and looked at me, with the crayon sticking out of his ear, and said "Oh yeah?!" I held in my laughter so as not to encourage his sassing and said "Yeah, the crayon is for paper and coloring books. Please take it out of your ear now". So he removed it from his ear and resumed coloring. Since then I have been privy to 3 more "Oh yeah?!" sasses and a "no think so" sass. I love how much he is talking, but I think we are in for it with each word he learns!

Egotism for the Second Child

2011-06-29T14:05:00.002-04:00

Mrs. H, a wonderful teacher a the boy's preschool, loves 2 year olds. Each year she gives a talk about 2 year olds and what they are doing and what you can expect and not expect from them. One of things that struck me most is how egocentric they are supposed to be at 2. The world revolves around them and they can not comprehend activity or life outside of their little bubble. It described Little Man at the time and Peanut as well. Well all except for Peanut's tendency to be LittleMan-centric. His world revolves almost as much around himself as it does around Little Man. This is probably most obvious when Peanut pretends to read words. Any word he sees, especially those in big bold letters, he runs his finger underneath the word and proclaims "JaJa" (his name for Little Man). Even if the word he is trying to read is his own name, he still proclaims and even emphatically insists that it is his brother's name. I love that almost as often as he proclaims something is his, folding his chuby arms close to his chest and saying "mine" he is also proclaiming that any written word is for his brother. A little Little Man -centicity can't hurt anyone.....as long as it doesn't go straight to Little Man's head!

A Firefighting Motorcycle Guy

2011-06-26T14:05:00.006-04:00

If you ask Little Man what he wants to be when he grows up the answer varies depending on his latest adventure or activity but it is usually a firefighter, astronaut, motorcycle guy, dinosaur or a papa. This weekend we had some very special company come by and he realized that he doesn't have to pick just one of those really awesome things to be. He could be a firefighting motorcycle guy like this guy....his new hero or G-Pop as Little Man calls him.

G-Pop and G-Mom came rolling up on their motorcycles for a visit already making them the coolest people we know and then Little Man found out that G-Pop is also a firefighter. The light and admiration that I saw in Little Man's eyes at the moment we told him of G-Pop's firefighting skills was adorable and incomparable. G-Pop and G-Mom are close family friends that were like a second set of parents for me and my brother growing up and I always secretly (or not so secretly as the case may be) that G-Pop was my real dad. Seeing my children instantly love these two wonderful people that made my childhood easier and more special made me feel something that I have a hard time putting into words. Little Man, however, isn't short on words when it comes to talking about his time with G-Pop and G-Mom and wants them to come again tomorrow.

Speech Therapy Session

2011-06-24T13:33:00.002-04:00

Peanut has the most wonderful speech therapist and she has been using prompt therapy to help him. We video taped todays session so that she could share it with her boss at her speech clinic and get some help/advice on what to focus on with him next. Last night Peanut said "Backhoe" and "Ladder Truck" when reading his truck book with Papa Bear which was music to our ears. My favorite thing that he says now is "love you" and when he tells us his version of a knock knock joke. He is an amazing little boy and we are so very proud of his progress. I thought I would share his video here in case people are interested in what prompt therapy looks like for Peanut. Disclaimer: this is a 12 minute video and only shows 12 minutes of his 1 hour session. There is a lot to it and sometimes he is cooperative and happy about it and other times he just has had enough.

This is a link to his speech therapy video. Enjoy!

Potty Training Peanut

2011-06-14T17:35:00.002-04:00

We have taken the plunge and there is just no going back at this point. We started potty training Peanut 2 days ago and when we set out we had decided that if he just wasn't taking to it or if he didn't have the language skills to be able to cue us that he had to go potty we would just call it an experiment and try again in a month or so. I was most concerned that he wouldn't be able to verbally communicate well enough to navigate the process successfully. However, Peanut is full of surprises and we have passed the point of no return!

The first day he had 2 accidents right in a row as he figured out that he didn't have a diaper on and that there was a new way to go pee. After those initial two accidents, he didn't have any more the rest of the day and he was 100% accident free the next day. He successfully pooped in the potty every day and hasn't had a single accident of that kind yet at all. He is waking up with dry pull-ups after nap and initiating having to go without being asked or told. Today is day 3 which is always the hardest day in the process as the newness has worn off and having to take time away from playing to use the potty becomes grating so we had 2 accidents but to be fair he was running to the potty for the second one and was slowed down by his fireman rain boots that he was sporting while in the nude. So I think it is safe to say that Peanut is potty trained but only while having naked booty time. If we put his underwear on he still gets to the potty but he leaves his underwear on instead of pulling them down. So tomorrow is going to be a lesson in taking our pants on and off. The problem is his chunky chunky bum that fills out his little underwear and makes it harder for him to pull them down on their own. But he will get it and I foresee us being able to leave the house by the end of the weekend.

The best part of all of this is that it seems that with this potty training has come a new level of verbal communication. He is talking more and putting more words together to try and tell us what he wants or needs.

He is just such a rockstar. Potty training at just over 2 years old and working so hard to be able to get all of his words. He just such a happy boy. Even when he is telling us that he isn't going to use the potty, he sing songs his "no" and dances away. We are all so proud of him. Little Man is his biggest support, cheering him on every time and even telling him how proud he is. They do hugs and high fives while flushing together. Brotherly love is the best, even while on the potty.

(oh, and yay for only having one child in diapers!)

The New 4's

2011-06-11T14:00:00.002-04:00

This afternoon we went to the end of the year picnic at Little Man's preschool and I was hit with a revelation. When he first started attending this school he was in the 2's program and I used to watch the 4 year olds with admiration. They charged head long into the Fun Bus and were first in line to get on the fire truck and as the firefighters a million, if not always relevant, questions. They went and played by themselves without a parent dogging their footsteps or being dragged behind them. I laughed when I saw them sneak extra desserts when their parents were otherwise engaged. It was so hard to imagine Little Man ever achieving this type of independence but that day has come. He is now officially the new 4's class. At today's picnic he was an independent, excited, social 4 year old. He sat with me only long enough to eat and then he was off with his friends. I saw him palling around with each of his buddies on the playground or in the fun bus. Sometimes I would catch a glimpse of him with a drink or a dessert that I know I didn't give him and he would stop by to ask a quick question and then be off again. The firetruck pulled up and he was second in line to get on it and climbed in multiple times and even went and asked the firefighters how heavy the fire hose is and if they wanted to come to his house sometime to play. He walked around like he owned the playground and conversed with the other parents like they were his best friends telling one friend's mom that he even saw 169 dolphins at the beach. This time my admiration was for my own sweaty, excited, social 4 year old and it was amazing.

Not to be left out, Peanut played on the playground very well and independently but due to having to take some benedryl for allergic reactions to his bug bites he was a big on the cranky side and after playing in the 91 degree heat and eating every cookie in sight he went to sit in the air conditioned car for a while.

Sweet Pea slept in my arms/carrier strapped to me happily going from watching everything to zonked out in seconds. She is such a trooper! I hope that time goes very slowly and that I am able to live in the moment as much as possibly between now and when she is the new 4's class at school.

Lawyer In The Making

2011-06-08T17:32:00.002-04:00

Today I told Little Man that he could earn 2 videos if he stayed in his room for all of quiet time or 1 video if he took a nap.(videos = youtube videos on Papa Bear's ipod touch usually of the Berenstein Bears) I know this seems counterintuitive but it is a lot easier to get him to bed at night if he doesn't nap but I really need a bit of time to myself in the afternoon when the younger ones are napping. Yesterday he had quiet time for about 45 minutes before he yelled from his room "I'm taking a nap" and then went to bed. Today I was hoping the incentive of the 2 videos would keep him up and playing quietly but when I went to check on him about an hour in and he was sound asleep.

Later we were telling Papa Bear about our day and he proudly announced that he had earned 2 videos. Then he said that actually he had earned 2 videos and 1 video because he had played quietly in his room AND took a nap. So really he should get 3 videos. And the worst part is that I honestly can't argue with that logic. I just wish my 4 year old wasn't more clever than his mama!

Break out the crisco

2011-06-07T22:34:00.002-04:00

This morning I looked into the foyer area and I saw Peanut attempting to put his head between the railings of the bannister. I don't know why I didn't stop him other than I remember thinking that his big noggin wouldn't fit through. But alas, it did fit in, but not so much out. Peanut started crying and yelling stuck. Papa Bear and I raced to his rescue while trying not to laugh at his predicament. Papa Bear picked up Peanut's lower body so that he was parallel to the floor and I tried to bow the wooden spindles of the bannister as much as possible to give his large ears room to get through. Papa Bear put it best when he said that it resembled a 3 Stooges skit. We finally freed him from his wooden cage without having to break out the crisco, but it was a close call. The rest of the day he kept walking by the railing and yelling "stuck, stuck". We are hopeful that he learned his lesson but only time will tell. Peanut sometimes has to learn the hard way a couple of times before it sinks in. I just hope that Papa Bear is home if he tries it again because I am not sure I can manage that 3 stooges maneuver without him!

1,2,9 and other beach stories

2011-06-07T22:00:00.002-04:00

Peanut loves to do whatever his big brother does and more importantly he must have exactly the amount of whatever it is that his big brother is getting. Now it is important to note that right now Little Man likes to get 9 of something. 9 M&M's, 9 gummies, 9 rocks from the street...well you get the point. It goes without saying that Peanut insists on having 9 too. Luckily for us, Peanut counts like this 1,2,9 so he really just gets three of everything. If you try to get him to say 1,2,3 he will say "No, 1,2,9". So there you have it folks, it isn't quite Little Man's 1,2,5,6 of a few years ago but it is just as adorable.

Please....is Peanut's magic word. Just ask Mee-Mom. We were sitting at the beach house on our last night, eating pizza and relaxing when Peanut turns to me and says "meme?" which is his word for ice cream. We had gone out for ice cream for the past two nights and so now he thought that was how things worked at the beach. I just chuckled and told him that we couldn't go out for ice cream again but he could have an icy pop (which I had brought from home). My little con-artist turned to Mee-Mom and said "Meme, please" in his sweet loving little voice. I literally saw my mom turn into a pile of mush in her seat. She melted and then decided that she had to immediately run out and buy him ice cream because she couldn't resist his "please". So of course now he tries it out on me all the time and I am not quite the sucker for it that my mom is, although it does work a little.

Sleeping arrangements were a bit different than our normal ones. Little Man and Mee-Mom slept in the same room which made our Little Man so happy. He would wake up in the middle of the night and call out to make sure that Mee-Mom was still there. When she would say hi, he would just tell her he loved her and go back to sleep. Peanut had a bit of a tougher time. One night he fell out of bed with a loud thud and another time we found him asleep on the floor with all of his blankets and stuffed animals surrounding him.

We learned some newish words on our beach trip. Little Man kept telling us that he didn't want to get staples but he meant he didn't want to get splinters from our very splintery deck. There is another one like this but I am way to tired to remember it.

More beach stories to come as we remember them...

Aquarium (Take 2)

2011-06-01T22:29:00.005-04:00

We went to the NC Aquarium here in OBX this morning because a huge cloud rolled in and we couldn't even see off of our deck. When I said that being here is as close as we get to heaven, I didn't mean we needed to live in the clouds. Anyway, the last time we visited this museum was August of 2009. We sat on a stone turtle and had a stranger take our picture and so we wanted to take the same picture today. My mom got so excited about taking our picture that she forgot to get the turtle in the picture - so it is the invisible turtle - but you get the point. Boy can things change in 2 years.

August 2009

May 2011

Little Man has also changed quite a bit since our last trip down here. I can't believe how big he is now. He is practically swimming on his own, playing in the ocean without holding our hands, taking care of his sister when asked and many other 4 year old things. He wasn't scared of the shark in the tank and I think was a bit disappointed that he couldn't actually touch the shark.

2009

2011

And the baby on this trip went from being Peanut in 2009 at the age of 5 months

to Sweet Pea in 2011 at the age of 7 months. Although Peanut will always be my baby boy, there is a new baby in town and she is taking over!

I See You

2011-05-31T20:50:00.005-04:00

I See You!

Swimming

Splashing

Pouting

Building

Floating

And just being cute!

A Sand Sandwich

2011-05-30T21:44:00.003-04:00

Cracker and Sand Sandwich anyone? It is a Peanut special! Papa Bear caught this seconds before Peanut tried to devour it. But I guess since everything is better when we are at our family beach vacation, Peanut thought that crackers with sand might be just the thing for a mid-morning snack!

We are a little over 24 hours into our 2011 OBX vacation and life just couldn't get any better. We woke up this morning and hit the beach by 8:30. The boys played in the ocean and sand all morning. They dug in the sand, let the water roll over them in the ocean, played games and ate a lot of sand (well, just Peanut). Sweet Pea loved the sand and amazingly enough didn't even try to put it in her mouth. We are thinking that she saw Peanut's cracker and sand sandwich and didn't find it appealing. She loved splashing in the baby pool of ocean water that we dragged over to her and when she wasn't making a mess in the sand and water, she happily played with her toys in the beach tent. She also snuck in a short nap in the tent allowing us to prolong our morning in the sun.

After our beach time we got cleaned up, had lunch and the kids passed out. We have never seen the kids so zonked. I mean they had to be woken up....twice because the first time didn't stick. Fun in the sun will do that to growing boys. But they rallied once we got them up and we headed to the pool where Little Man is practically swimming and Peanut has absolutely no fear whatsoever. Luckily the monitor works well at the pool so Sweet Pea could nap and we could enjoy family time at the pool.

Tomorrow we are doing more of the same thing. This is as close to heaven as it gets.

Last Day of 3's Preschool

2011-05-27T17:14:00.002-04:00

Little Man is growing despite my request that he stay little forever. Today was his last day of pre-school in the 3's class. He learned so much this year and has really grown socially. He had his first girlfriend/crush on a sweet little girl in his class. He learned how to play games like tag and bingo and what a scavenger hunt is. He played dinosaurs and painted, was the Prince to his little girlfriend's Snow White (but did refuse to kiss her to wake her up. Good Boy!) He can write all of his letters and loves to practice writing letters to me, his friends and Santa. He was told that he set the tone in the class for manners (Proud Mama!) and honestly formed true friendships. He is disappointed that he doesn't start his next school until after the summer but was slightly appeased when I told him he gets to go 5 days a week. I love how much he adores school, but it is still hard to see how big and mature he is getting.

Here is the post from the last day of school last year if you really want to see how much he has changed over 2 years.

September 2010 May 2011

Sweet Pea - 7 Month Update

2011-05-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

Sweet Pea is on the go and causing trouble. She is army crawling/boot scootin' everywhere! She is getting faster and constantly going after the one thing that she shouldn't have. To date she has eaten one of Little Man's play dollars and a blue crayon.

She is still enthralling us with her ability to roll on her back and grab her foot. She has even started grabbing her foot and holding onto it while nursing which just adorable and already proving she is going to be a multi-tasker.

Sweet Pea is enjoying eating and gets two meals a day and we have introduced peas, squash or sweet potatoes. When she is done with eating she politely blows raspberries with her food spitting it all over the place.

She sits up well for longer and longer periods of time but still likes to try to eat her foot and lose her balance. She never seems to care when she fall as long as she can reach whatever it is that she lunged for in the first place.

Sweet Pea is so laid back and easy going. She is happy to take 3 naps a day and will happily only take 1 nap too. Her favorite thing is still watching and playing with her big brothers and loves all of attention that they give her. She is starting to have some stranger anxiety and separation anxiety that usually comes with learning to crawl. She protests when I walk out of a room but is pacified if Little Man stays with her. She is growing and changing every day and we just all love our perfect little princess!

Life Lesson for Little Man

2011-05-23T15:25:00.003-04:00

Little Man is growing up and playing with peers and having to learn some tough life lessons; like he won't always be invited on every playdate and outing. The other day he came running out of his class jumping and excited asking me if we could go to the park with I, R and S from his class. I didn't know what he was talking about and had to field these questions as I herded my crew outside. I asked R's mom if she knew was Little Man was talking about and she said that we were welcome to join them and that a few of them were going to a nearby park for playing and a picnic. Little Man was jumping out of his pants excited about going because the kids had been talking about it at school and I had to be the bad guy and explain that I didn't have a picnic lunch packed like the other moms did and that Peanut and Sweet Pea were going to need naps and I didn't plan accordingly for a picnic playdate with his friends. The poor boy literally cried all the way home from school but it did give me a great chance to talk to him about a couple of life lessons. We talked about how it felt to not be included and how it made him sad and the best thing to do is to make sure he doesn't make other people feel that way. We also talked about the fact that we don't always get to do the things we want to do and sometimes we just have to say "oh well" and move on. I made up for it by having a carpet picnic in the living room and letting him watch a tv show while eating which is a huge treat to him. In the grand scheme of things it was just a blip on his radar but it was a prelude of things to come as we all know, life isn't fair and we all have good days and bad days. I struggle with letting my kids have bad days because I want to protect them from anything that might make them sad but at the same time I know there will be a ton of things I can't protect them from. All I can hope for is that they come to me and share with me so that I can make a carpet picnic for them with some gummy penguins for dessert to make it all better!

Good Night Sweet Prince

2011-05-15T22:02:00.003-04:00

Good night sweet prince

Another day is done

You laughed and you played

Now sleep little one

You need your rest

The morning draws near

Close your eyes baby boy

You have nothing to fear

Good night my son

Have the sweetest of dreams There's no telling what pleasures Tomorrow will bring!

by Crystal Cook

My little Peanut is in his own big boy bed. It was getting beyond ridiculous that he was still in a crib but Papa Bear and I didn't see a good enough reason to make the change. Since he is a bit vertically challenged due to his less than peanut-like stature he wasn't trying to climb out and he has really been happy squished up like he has been. But we have a vacation coming up and there is no way we could get away with putting him in a pack 'n play so it was either transition now or transition on vacation. That was a no-brainer. So we used a part of a bunk bed that was given to us over a year ago and went out and bought a mattress, strapped it to the roof of our van and made it all happen. He didn't get excited or really even seem to care. Little Man was more excited for Peanut and was hoping that he could sneak out of his room at night and go and sleep with Peanut. One day we might allow that, but we told him that was not allowed for now.

So far so good! He got out of his bed twice, but quickly got back in bed when he opened the door and saw me standing in the hallway. The question we will be asking all night is what will happen if he wakes up at night or early in the morning. Will my sweet prince stay in bed or make a guest appearance in our room?

Either way, my baby boy is not a baby anymore. He is sleeping in a regular bed, talking and playing like a big kid....dare we take on potty training?

UPDATE: We just heard a big crash and rushed into Peanut's room. He fell out of bed but was sound asleep on the floor. We put him back in bed and hopefully made it so that he won't fall out again tonight.

Boot Scootin' Baby!

2011-05-13T14:02:00.002-04:00

Proud Love

2011-05-09T21:09:00.004-04:00

Little Man ran a 1/2 mile race this past weekend. I was so proud of him. I don't think he got how far the race was going to be but once he started he never stopped running. I ran with him and he made me hold his hand for a while and then he got more comfortable and let go. He is so fast that I honestly had a hard time keeping up with him. He got a medal for completing the race and we had to convince him that he couldn't sleep with the medal on. He understood that he wasn't the fastest (he was racing with kids 3 and 4 years older than him) but he get how important it was that he kept running and didn't give up even when it was longer than he wanted. My heart was overflowing with pride and it was just a lot of fun to run with him!

Peanut had the most successful speech therapy session in a while this past Friday. Right before the speech therapist arrived Peanut was sitting next to me reading a book. Sweet Pea, being a super grabby little lady, kept trying to grab the book from him. Peanut was incensed. He looked at Sweet Pea and said "No no no Baby. My Book! No no no! Book back!" I think it was the most words he has ever strung together at one time. Part of my heart breaks because when I told a friend of mine her response was to be a little shocked at how behind he is. But most of me celebrates because despite being a bit delayed he has just come so so far. We are having back and forth conversations and he is getting so proud of himself with each advancement. Right now we are really working on ending words with the front sounds of n or t. I know he can do it and then we will take on whatever the next challenge is for him.

I have to mention my amazingly thoughtful mother's day gift from Papa Bear and the boys. Papa Bear printed off the first two years of blog posts and had them bound in a book for me. I just keep reading old posts of the kids and am so glad I take the time to write these little memories down.

And last by not least I have to wax poetic about the awesomeness of being a mom to my sweet kids. They are good kids, no they are amazing kids and words just don't to them justice. I am so proud to be their mom.

Bunnyland

2011-05-02T10:35:00.000-04:00

Each season there are the certain events that we try to get to with the kids and this weekend we definitely started something we will continue with each year. Butler's Orchard has a 3 day Bunnyland festival complete with egg hunts, moonbounces, wooden play castles, trains, barns, live chicks and bunny's to be held and petted, burlap sack slides, hayrides, food and goodie bags for the trip home. The boy had a blast and we literally had to carry Peanut out kicking and screaming even though it was raining, 58 degrees and had been there for 3 hours already. Little Man said that his favorite part was everything and the castle. Peanut's favorite part was probably the slides. Each time he came out of the tube he had a petrified look on his face from the speed but as he came to a stop he would immediately get up and try to go again and again. My favorite part was the hayride. I sat with both of my boys on my lap, hugging them close to keep them warm and soak them in. Peanut's adorable hand never let go of mine and they both sat still for 10 minutes which is rare and so I ate up every single second that their sweet heads rested on me. Little Man jabbered on and on about every single thing that he saw and Peanut just took it all in silently. Papa Bear and Sweet Pea were hanging out together while waiting for us. Sweet Pea was amazing. She is such a trooper and was in a great mood the entire time forgoing her nap to keep an eye on her big brother's and making sure she doesn't miss a thing. After 3 fun hours we headed home excited to go back next year!

Soccer - Lamentably a Team Sport

2011-05-01T21:13:00.002-04:00

Little Man is playing his first team sport and it seems that all of the lessons we have taught him about how to treat people well are working against us when it comes to soccer. Always share with your friends vs. don't let them take the ball from you; We do not take things from others vs. steal the ball, take the ball, go go go! I had to bribe Little Man to get him to stay through his entire first game because he didn't want to play with the other kids there. He kept saying that he wished they each got their own ball and later he told us that he didn't want to have to take the ball from "all of his people". He is just much to polite on the field, not wanting to steal the ball from anyone but being conflicted because he wants to be able to kick the ball into the goal. I think he is hopeful someone will just give him the ball and let him score. I have to admit that I really don't mind that my 4 year old doesn't it in him to steal the ball and is concerned about how everyone feels. We will continue to work on being happy at the games and understanding that it is just a game and on the soccer field it is ok to take the ball from someone's feet and not be quite as polite but maybe next year we will give baseball a try. I have a feeling that when it is Peanut's turn to try soccer, we aren't going to face the same difficulties. I think that post will be titled Peanut Bulldozes Kids on Soccer field or Kick the Ball, Not the Kids!

6 Months and Rollin' Into Trouble

2011-04-26T18:26:00.004-04:00

Sweet Pea is 6 months today and she is a rollin' pollin' little lady. She rolls both ways and is starting to use that to get into all sorts of trouble. She is not always where I left her and most recently I found her stuck under the coffee table. The boys are having to be more careful where they leave their toys and we are already having to think about how to keep the little toys up where she can't get them.

She had her first few bites of oatmeal and was unimpressed. She enjoyed chewing on the spoon more than the taste of oatmeal but we will try it again in another week and see if she is a little more amenable. We learned that there is just no rush and with her 20 plus poundage, we know that she is more than thriving with just my milk.

Naps are still a point of contention with me and my little lady. She is taking two naps a day about 1 hour each with her occasionally throwing me a bone and napping for 2 hours for one of the naps. But I can't complain because she is sleeping beautifully at night, she goes to bed at 7 and sleeps through the night until 7 in the morning.

I miss her gummy smiles but I am loving her two new teeth and her ability to throw her legs straight up in the air and grab her toes. She plays peek-a-boo with us and pokes her head up to see over her crib rails to make sure someone is coming to get her when she shrieks. She is the most pleasant and low key baby these days, rarely crying or getting upset and we are just trying to soak up all of baby days as they are going faster than we would like!

Another first that is worth mentioning is that Peanut had his first corn ON the cob and loved it!!

Sweet Pea Pictures (As Promised)

2011-04-22T23:13:00.002-04:00

The Yoga, Feet Grab

The SweetPea Pout

Followed by the Sweet Pea Smile

What Skinny Babies Can Do!

2011-04-20T14:17:00.002-04:00

Baby yoga, gymnastics, leg grabby rolls feats of flexibility!!!

Or maybe I should say, what skinnier babies than Little Man and Peanut were can do anyway.

This morning while sitting in her bouncy seat Sweet Pea saw her foot, stuck it in the air, grabbed it and held on. Papa Bear and I were amazed and astounded. This is not anything we have seen before. I thought it was so great that later on I put her on the floor and lifted up her feet and wiggled them to get her attention and low and behold, she grabbed onto those toes and straightened those legs. Then Sweet Pea rolled to her side, grabbed onto one little foot and did a perfect rendition of a sideways arabesque (or some really awesome ballet pose) while laying on the floor.

Now don't get me wrong, we know that she isn't skinny at her whopping 20 pounds but her weight is in her thighs and adorable little bottom not her tummy like the boys. So her legs have room to go high enough for her to reach and thus we are transfixed by her adorable baby yoga/ballet, gymnastics, leg grabby rolls feats of flexibility!!

Pictures to come!

Stats and Pics:

2011-04-19T21:02:00.005-04:00

After just a few days into Spring Break, where we don't have preschool or soccer practice or any other scheduled activities, here are our stats:

2 parks visited

1 watermelon devoured

1 chalk hopscotch played on

2 playdates

13 dandelions picked

1 rescue mission (to help hold down a friend's daughter who needed a tick removed)

1 bubble extraveganza (riding bikes through the bubble machine bubbles)

Over the next few days we hope to add:

1 museum visit

1 more park with a picnic lunch

1 visit to the zoo

1 nature walk through the woods

1 more easter egg hunt (we did one this past weekend to take advantage of the weather)

Here are a few pictures from our rather impromptu easter egg hunt in our front yard this weekend. It took Peanut a few minutes before he got the concept of why we wanted him to gather the eggs, but once he figured it out the boy was on fire. We hid and re-hid the eggs to prolong the fun but all of that ended when Peanut and Little Man figured out that there was candy in some of the eggs.

Here are my eggs:

I see one!!!

This is one of my favorites. Do you see Peanut's little bum sticking out. The boy was out to get every egg he could find even if he ended up in the bushes to get it!!!

And here is our Sweet Pea, just because she can't hunt the eggs doesn't mean she can't get in the fun!

You're Ok!

2011-04-14T19:17:00.002-04:00

I can't count the number of times in a day I tell one of the boys "Pop up, you're ok!" or " Brush it off, you're ok!" . Sometimes I am not even sure if I am trying to convince them or myself after my quick intake of breath and my heart stops beating for that second while I look for the blood, bump, missing tooth etc. Peanut seems to be getting more and more of these reassuring statements these days as he continually tries to repeat his big brother's acrobatic stunts.

For example: Yesterday I heard Peanut crying in the other room and went to investigate. He was clinging to the wet bar with all of his strength while his little chubby legs kicked to try to find the floor that was at least a foot below him. It turns out that he has pushed his Little Tykes car over to the wet bar, climbed from the couch to the top of the car and was trying to climb up to the wet bar to get something or just to make a mess. But the car moved out from under his feet leaving him dangling there for me to find. The good news is that his occupational therapist would be delighted that he was able to accomplish all of that, me, well I just wish Little Man wouldn't teach such things to his brother!

I love that my Mama Bear kisses can treat and cure most of the mishaps that happen in this house and that my shouts of "you're ok" have turned out to be mostly true...but being a mama of 2 boys is making me gray before my time! Oh well, I'm ok!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

What Did You Say?

2011-04-09T11:59:00.002-04:00

Little Man asked me what we were going to do tomorrow and I told him that because of the weather we were going to have to play it by ear.

Little Man says: "We are going to play Buzz Lightyear!"

Little Man and I were discussing superheroes and he wanted to know what Green Lantern did as a hero. So we looked it up in his new superhero books from his birthday and found that Green Lantern protects the earth from things in outer space like meteors.

Little Man says: "Meat Eaters don't live in outer space?!"

I was showing Little Man the red breasted bird on our neighbors birdfeeder since we are always trying to identify new birds that we see.

Little Man: " Wow, I love that red booby bird"

If laughing truly keeps us young, then due to Little Man I might never age!

POP!

2011-04-08T19:16:00.002-04:00

Today is brought to you by the letter P and sponsored by the word POP.

It is amazing how much our world can go from normal to extraordinary with a word.

Today that word is POP!

Such a simple three letter, consonant/vowel/consonant (cvc) word.

And yet, the cvc words ending in p have been evading Peanut's vocab and has been the target of many many speech therapy sessions and practice. Words like up, top, hop, and pop have all be pronounced "Bah".

To try and explain in the simplest terms - he has a hard time saying words that require a closed mouth/jaw closure ending. So yes, you are probably all saying "top" and realizing that when you finish saying the word your mouth is closed and thinking that you have never much paid attention to such things. Well we are all about paying attention to cvc words ending with jaw closure especially with the letter p which is the same mouth movement as b but unvoiced - all of this being something that is very difficult for Peanut.

Until NOW!

Early in the day he was cranky and not feeling well and I asked him if he wanted me to pick him up (no small feat since he weighs 39 pounds) and he raised his arms and said "Bup". Ok so I know this isn't up, but it was the first time in a crazy long time that he put the p on the end of the word. I did an inner fist pump but didn't put too much stock in it because with his motor planning issues it isn't uncommon for him to have a "pop out" word where he says something well but when you ask him to repeat it and he actually thinks about it, he can't get the motor movements to do it again. So skip forward a few hours and we are in Little Man's room with all of the kids doing our sleep wind-down routine and he handed me this little toy that Little Man got that the dentist where you push it down and it suction cups to the table and then it releases the suction and jumps up. So I pushed it down and Peanut says "Pop!" Oh it was so hard not to jump up and down. He asked me to do it again so I pushed it down and wouldn't let go until he said "pop" which usually would result in him either saying Pah or just walking away from me but he said "pop!". This continued for 5 or 6 times in a row, continually saying it properly and ending with the jaw closed P sound!!!

Ok, now I know that most of your are thinking, wow it doesn't take much to make this lady happy but I am filled with so many emotions. Relief that we are seeing this type of progress in Peanut. Pride that he is overcoming some of his challenges so readily. Pure joy in this Mama Bear at the simple sound of the word POP!

Letter to Little Man

2011-03-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

Dear Little Man,

My sweet, sweet boy. You were sick on your birthday this year and so was I, but that didn't stop us from celebrating your birth. We were going to go to a bounce house or a soft playroom but when I saw the dark circles under your beautiful green eyes, I pulled out the Toy Story Movie and the Elmo Christmas Countdown (because you don't know that it isn't seasonal, you love Santa all year long) and let you and your brother snuggle up and watch TV all morning. I felt bad that we couldn't do something more fun, but you wiggled onto my lap and told me how great it was to get to watch all of a movie in one day. I hope you always find such pleasure in the little things. You are still content if you get 3 or 4 M&M's instead of the whole bag. You get so excited with the promise of 2 whole cookies or 2 George's instead of just one. I love seeing the world through your eyes because you simplify it down to its very core. Happy or sad, easy or hard, long or short, 1 or 2 and help me not get so caught up in the minutia.

You are so sweet and sensitive and still want to make everyone happy which I think it is getting trickier as you get older and realize that pleasing everyone is not always easy. You still ask me "Are you happy with me Mama?" at random times because knowing that I am happy with you gives you security and makes you feel good. I always tell you that I am happy with you but might not always like your choices. But to be fair, you are amazing for a 4 year old. Your restraint and poise and love you have for your siblings make me so proud. I often tell you that you can be whatever you want to be as long as you are nice to others. We talk about you being a zookeeper as long as you are a nice zookeeper or an astronaut as long as you are a nice astronaut. And you are, nice and sweet to everyone even your brother when he tries to take your favorite Buzzlight Year toy. Although the sassing is getting worse it is tempered by your sweetness and the love you have for everyone.

You have a special love for each of us. Your love for your sister is the protective kind. You hate to see her crying or sad and will spend 30 minutes dangling a toy over her head just to get her smiles. Your love for your brother is the friendship kind. You so enjoy being the ringleader to your brotherly antics of flying around the house or pretending to spy on me. Your love for your Papa is full of admiration as you want to be just like him even down to making a hole in your sock because you think Papa's always have holes in their socks (yes, I need to get your Papa some new socks) and your love for me is the sweet bond of a mother and son. You slept in my arms for the first year of your life and even though you are more independent now, you always find your way back to my arms 10 or 20 times a day.

Tonight as I tucked you in and leaned down to inhale the smell in the crook of your next, you wiggled and giggled and asked me why I was sniffing on you. Oh I made up a silly reason at the time, but the truth is that I wanted to remember that moment. The moment you turned 4 so that when you turn 16 or 20 I can pull this memory out and remember the you of 4 because you are such a special, smart, sensitive little 4 year old and I want to stop the clock for just a second. You are going to do wonderful things in your life, but they won't wait until you are an adult. You are already making a difference to people today with your ability to love and understand those around you and your desire to see the world a happy place.

I am so proud to be your mama and I love you so much!

Love

Mama

5 Months of Sweet Pea

2011-03-26T22:14:00.004-04:00

There are moments when I inhale the pure baby smell of baby wash, A&D ointment and milk breath that I wish I could just stop time so that the baby days wouldn't fly by quite so quickly.

Sweet Pea is so different from the boys and Papa Bear and I always remarking over how different girls are than boys even at such a young age. When we put her in the jumperoo, she gently dances and sways while playing with her toys while the boys would jump so hard we were worried they would break the machine. If any object comes within 6 inches of her face, she is immediately reaching out to grab it and investigate it, pulling it in. We call her "handsy" but the truth is that she is just different at 5 months than we have previously experienced. She is her own worst enemy because she can pull out her binky and put it back but it much much better at pulling it out than putting it back. She doesn't need constant attention but will immediately protest if she is left in a room all by herself.

Things I don't want to forget about Sweet Pea at 5 months:

1. She wants to be a finger sucker even though she takes the pacifier. She wants this so badly that when she nurses she somehow manages to stick her finger in her mouth so that she can suck her fingers at the same time as she eats.

2. When you take her diaper off to change her, her feet and legs spring up into the air as if she knows what to do or as if the diaper release is so wonderful that she must stretch to celebrate!

3. She loves her biggest brother more than anyone else and can immediately be cheered up by his crazy antics.

4. When she sees me coming to pick her up, she gets so excited that she starts flapping her arms as if she is going to fly away and she is almost shaking with excitement by the time I get to her.

She can be a superhero.....

The love she has for her biggest brother is 100% mutual

Her gummy, open mouthed smiles are what heaven is made of...

She is sitting up with support...

sometimes....

Our Sweet Pea, our angel on earth, is growing so fast. We think she is close to 20 pounds now and most of that chunk can be found in her thighs and at the nape of her neck. She is still sleeping well although her napping abilities leave a lot to be desired. She is just a joy and has made our family complete.

PS - if you think there aren't very many pictures of Peanut these days on this blog, that is because THIS is the only picture I can seem to get of him these days.....

Letter to Peanut

2011-03-24T19:55:00.004-04:00

Dear Peanut,

Today you turned 2 years old. Today we went to run a few errands and I let you walk next to me through the stores as we got a few items. When I asked you to take my hand you would yell "do" up at me, making it very clear that you could do it all by yourself. You carried our bags to the car even though one was clearly too heavy for you. When I asked you if you needed help, you yelled "do" at me once more. You climbed up into your carseat and wouldn't let me buckle you in. Your chubby hands pushed mine away as you once again declared "do" and proceeded to buckle yourself in all on your own. I love your independence streak even when it is inconvenient.

When I put you to bed tonight, you were so excited to go to sleep. Then an hour later you were calling to me from your bed. When I went in to check on you, you were standing up and laughing asking me for more water. You laughed because you hid your water cup from me and loved that I had to get down on the floor to find it. Then you laughed when I brought it back to you filled with water. You laughed some more when I tried to find your binky's and when I found one you declared " There they are! More!" and made me find the other 5 you like to have in your bed with you. After you laid back down and got tucked in again you giggled your silly laugh and said "night night" one more time. I love how silly you can be even when you are being naughty at bedtime.

You are my independant, silly, sweet little boy. I cherish each time you wrap your chubby arms around me. You don't give them out easily or often so I savor each snuggle that I get. You are so stubborn and fight me mostly when I challenge your independence. You insist on being the one to close a door and if I close it by accident you insist on opening it back up and closing it yourself. As independent as you are, you also worship your big brother copying his every action even when it is something you can't do like a cartwheel or handstand. I love catching you looking sideways at your big brother while watching TV just to make sure you are sitting exactly like he is sitting.

I don't want to let you grow up, but I also can't wait to see everything you are going to achieve in your life. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to. I am so proud of who you are and who you are going to grow up to be. Just remember that as many times as you insist on doing things on your own, you always have me and Papa if you should need a little help. We love you so much!

Love,

Mama

Ups and Downs and lot of laughs

2011-03-18T23:18:00.002-04:00

I don't really even know how to take everything that has happened in the last few days and put it into one post. This is probably 3 different posts but to make my life easier - I am just going to break it up within one post.

Downs

Sweet Pea spiked a super high fever on Wednesday night which was especially scary because she is so young. She was laying on my lap and I realized that it felt like she was burning a hole in my jeans. So we took her temperature and it was 103. Tylenol, a call to the pediatrician, cool baths and many temp checks through the night led us to the doctors in the morning. I had Sweet Pea and Peanut with me so you can imagine that doctors visit was a little bit of a circus act. Finally after finding out we were going to have to do a series of tests for her that would keep us there upwards of two hours I called in reinforcements and Papa Bear came to our rescue. He kindly took Peanut across the street to play the playground so that I could concentrate on the tests for Sweet Pea instead of keeping Peanut from licking the germ infested toys at the doctors office.

Ups

Sweet Pea got spots!! Yay! That means that it is roseola, which is a common childhood virus that is an unexplained super high fever and when the fever breaks the child gets a rash. So now we know what it was and can relax our vigil over our little girl. We are relieved!

Papa Bear is my hero and during his heroic rescue at the doctors office he also got to enjoy some one on one time with Peanut at the park. We were talking about how much fun it was to have that time at the park with just Peanut and it got me thinking that I need to take more time to focus on him. Yes, we have our speech therapy but we don't have much other one on one time just me and him. So after dropping Little Man at school this morning we had about 30 minutes to kill before we had to be home for speech therapy and I took him to a park. We had a blast! He was a delight! He ran and played and talked up a storm and when it was time to go he slipped his sweet chubby hand in mine and walked to the car. It made me realize that I have to take more time like that with him - not on playdates, not with Little Man...just me and Peanut (and of course Sweet Pea who just slept on me in my baby carrier).

Little Man is our "watch me, watch me" kid and Sweet Pea being so young makes it such that they both demand so much of my attention. Peanut doesn't ask for much attention so hearing him say "Mama Watch" before going down the slide and giggling while playing peek a boo through the bars of the playground warmed my heart.

I am certainly looking forward to every good weathered Friday because we are going to start going to parks for 3o minutes before speech every week. A good thing like this must be worked into our schedule more often.

Lots of Laughs

Little Man is hysterical with his adult sounding sentences and sentiment. This morning I sat down to inhale my breakfast (egg white and salsa burrito) and he looked like he was going to try and steal it...again. So I told him to not even think about asking for a bite. He looked at my thoughtfully and said "Ok, I will make a deal with you. I will eat everything that falls out of your burrito and you can keep anything that stays in it." I might have let a little fall out on purpose because of how adorable his negotiating techniques are.

He is also my little helper. Today I told the boys that it was time to "lock and load" which means to get in the car. I grabbed Sweet Pea and followed them out only to find that Little Man had helped Peanut get up in his seat and had buckled him in for me even pulling the strap to tighten the harness. Then he climbed down, got in his own seat and buckled himself in and entertained Sweet Pea the entire way to our destination. Don't get me wrong, he can be a typical almost 4 year old a lot of the time but I love when his selfless, nurturing and caring side comes out in these types of ways. I am truly blessed to have my Little Man to help me out each day.

Recipe for a Perfect Cousins Weekend

2011-03-13T14:44:00.004-04:00

Take these wild and crazy kids (ages 5, 4, 3 and 2) and add a laid back Sweet Pea....

A heaping tablespoon of a funny, adorable Q

A pinch of some crafty snacking project that include eating which will always satisfy my Peanut and stickers that keep Little Man occupied...

8 ounces of a sweet M whom Little Man idolizes and follows around like a puppy dog...

Two pints of chubby tummy tickles and hysterical laughter...

As much Peanut charm and kisses that one can handle....

Finally add in 1 sleepover with two exhausted cousins that love being with each other...

And you truely do have a recipe for the perfect weekend with my cousin and her rock star kids.

Chicken..Farm Animal or Dinner

2011-03-07T19:30:00.003-05:00

Peanut is off and running on his speech these days, we can't stop him not that we are trying. I know that he is progressing because I keep track of all of this one word and two word phrases, take copious notes on his frustrations and how we overcome them, how long it took, and meet weekly with his speech therapist. But the one sign that has stood out among the rest is that he is saying funny and cute things that I want to note on this blog.

Earlier this week we were playing with the farm animals and naming them and their sounds. I held up the cow and he yelled "Moo", I held up the dog and he yelled "Ruff" and then I held up the chicken and he yelled "yummy"! I couldn't stop laughing. And in the same vein, tonight I was reading a bedtime book to him and he was naming things on the page and when he got to the pig he said "hotdog". Well yes, dear Peanut, you are quite correct but not everything has to relate to how you eat it. Although with his appetite and love for food, I am not surprised! I love how his little mind works.

Little Man is getting so grown up in his speech too. Today I was listening while he was playing with his toys and I overheard him say "Spiderman, my friend, that is just not going to happen". And his new favorite phrase is "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Unfortunately he expects that every IS thinking what he is thinking and we have had a few meltdowns when I had to explain to him that I wasn't thinking we should have ice cream for dinner. But you can't blame the boy for trying.

4 months already!

2011-02-28T18:02:00.000-05:00

Sweet Pea turned 4 months this past weekend and she is getting so big. It is incredible the changes that can happen seemingly overnight at this age. We don't have a weight and height because we can't seem to get an appointment with our pediatrician until she is 5 months and with her being baby #3 we are a little more relaxed and just going with it. In my less than scientific method of getting on and off the scale with and without the baby she is about 16 pounds.

Sweet Pea spends most of her day playing on her playmat catching the animals tightly in her tiny fists or in her exosaucer playing with the toys and smiling at her brothers. She has just started to regulate her naps into about 3 a day making bedtime at the same time as her brothers (do you hear Papa Bear and I celebrating?). She is still sleeping about 9-10 hours at night and after a quick dream feed at 10:30 pm sleeps until 7:15 or so.

Our baby girl is exercising her lungs fairly well with her high pitched shrieks when she wants attention and her sweet coos when she feels like making peace with us.

The thing that is the most amazing to me and Papa Bear is that Sweet Pea is so petite (in our world). At her roughly very unscientifically estimated 16 pound weight she is 4 pounds less than her brothers were at the same age. 4 pounds is A LOT when you are talking about a baby! When Peanut turned 4 months old I posted about all of the things that he had already outgrown because he was already 20 pounds at the ripe old age of 4 months. So I think it would be appropriate that I make a list of the things that Sweet Pea is still fitting into:

1. Her 3-6 month clothing. Although I am chomping at the bit to move her into her 6-9 month clothing because it is all so cute AND I am just not used to having a child in age appropriate clothing.

2. Her infant car seat. While she is definitely under the weight limit for the car seat she is probably fast approaching the length limit because she is one long baby girl! It is really nice to still be able to use this when shopping or at a playdate for some where for her to sit.

3. Size 2 diapers - although we have moved her into size 3 diapers to avoid blowouts and I foresee her in this size for at least a few more months.

4. The swing, the bassinet level of the pack n play and all of the other items that she should still be able to use....she still can use!!

5. Shoes that aren't extra extra extra wide. Combine fat feet with a wide foot and you have Peanut and Little Man's feet but Sweet Pea has adorable small narrow relatively petite feet which means that she can wear adorably cute shoes just to keep her socks on/just because I think they are adorable.

And for your viewing pleasure::

I know she looks chunky but that is only a 3-6 month outfit!!

Isn't she the cutest?!

And no, Peanut isn't about to hit her. He is giving her his love rubs....

See!

Guess Who!

2011-02-23T15:41:00.003-05:00

Sweet Pea? or Mama Bear (as a baby)? Guess Who!?

Sweet Pea Smiles

2011-02-18T20:41:00.001-05:00

Peanut Progress

2011-02-18T18:12:00.002-05:00

Peanut has been in speech therapy for a little over 6 months now and we have seen so many amazing changes. There are times that he is playing and talking that I find myself forgetting he has/had a delay. The other day were having snack time and there was a bit of chaos because on top of my 3 we had another 3 year old and two 18 month olds eating with us. I was getting food for everyone and heard 6 little voices chirping away and then I hear "more cheese" and I turn around to see who needed more cheese and to my overwhelming surprise it was Peanut. Now please understand that I wasn't not surprised that he NEEDED more cheese because the boy never stops eating but usually he just says "more more" in increasingly loud tones until I can guess what he needs more of and here he was putting two sweet little words together without prompting. Then this morning Papa Bear took Little Man to school for me (bless the man) and when Peanut realized his brother was gone he went to the door and said "Bye Ja Ja". We also had a very successful speech therapy session today. He allowed the therapist to do some prompting work which is great because his independent side has been pushing our hands away as we try to help his mouth work yelling "do, do" as in " I will do it all by myself because I am so independent that I will fall down the stairs rather than accept your help in anyway". We spent the session today having a cookie and tea party for 7 of his stuffed animals and worked on the words cut, cookie, cup, in, pour, friends, on, and cook. Obviously we are trying to get his hard C sound and he did fairly well. My Peanut is progressing and making huge strides each week. I can't believe he is going to be 2 in just a little over a month. They grow up way too fast!

My Binky Ah-Ha moment

2011-02-15T19:11:00.004-05:00

Peanut has the cutest little habit of sleeping with one binky in his mouth and one binky in EACH hand. We find it adorable as he makes a pile of binkys on his blanket before laying his head down. Then when all is just right he puts on in his mouth and grabs a bink in each hand, turns on his aquarium, sighs and goes to sleep. When someone else is going to put him to bed for the night we always have to tell them to make sure he has a binky for each hand and one for his mouth and until today we couldn't remember why or where this little habit had come from.

But as I was putting Sweet Pea down for a nap today it became very clear where this adorable habit came from. I put the binky in her mouth and before I could even get to the door she was screaming again. So I headed back to her crib to see her holding the binky in her hand while screaming that it wasn't in her mouth. I realized that she had pulled it out of her mouth but couldn't get it back in. So I put the binky back in (and here is my ah-ha moment) but a different binky in her hand so that she wouldn't continue to pull the one in her mouth out. She settled down and went to sleep. Ah-Ha!!

I remember doing this same little trick turned habit for Peanut and again, I was struck with how much we forget the little things during the blur of the first few years. I am so glad that I am writing these little stories down so that in 2 or 20 years we will reread them and smile at the memories.

Port Discovery Children's Museum

2011-02-12T17:01:00.004-05:00

Today we took all of the kids to Little's Day at the Port Discovery Children's museum. Little's day is a day that is geared towards children under 5 so there were bubbles and moonbounces, kindersingers and preschool crafts. Of course my children were not interested in any of that. There were 3 main attractions that captured my kids. The train, the treehouse and the water play.

The train was a wooden train that they could load crates onto a crane and raise and lower the crane to load and unload the cargo. Little Man was so intrigued and experimented with the weight of the loads and how to raise and lower it quickly without dropping it on the unsuspecting children below. Peanut just enjoyed climbing on the train and pushing the button to blow the whistle over and over and over. Check out Sweet Pea hanging out in the front carrier watching her brothers. She slept in the carrier off and on and was on her very best behavior!

The treehouse was this huge climbing structure that is really geared to much older kids than my boys. But the boys found one area that was perfect for them. They ran up and down this squishy, bouncy blue mat over and over and over. Peanut ran as fast as his chunky legs could carry him and wiped out at least one on each lap but loved it. Little Man ran, slid and jumped showing off some of his gymnastic abilities.

The water play room was awesome! There was a huge water table with levies and dams and spinning things, a large bubble maker that you could stand inside and blow a bubble around yourself, and a water pipe area. Little Man spent most of his time in the water pipe area. He constructed a piping system all by himself to contain the water. Watching him work was so much fun. It was a trial and error process in which he got very wet (we had brought a change of clothes in anticipation of this part of the museum) and stuck with it. Peanut loved this area too and actually had a throw down meltdown when we made him leave after an hour in the room. Oh and he also had to take a break to get a drink because we kept spying him with his head IN the water table so he could get a drink! Oy!

They were troopers and kept up good spirits from 10-2 at the museum and after some quick bites of McDonald's in the car the trip ended like this....

and this.....

Don't Blink...

2011-02-07T22:32:00.003-05:00

or you might miss it.

She is growing up way too fast. Playing with her brothers, enduring tummy time like a champ, imitating the faces her biggest brother makes at her. Sweet Pea is not staying as little as I would like her to. I love the infant stage of my children. Each day is different and you literally get to watch them learn about and explore their world. I remember talking to a nurse after Little Man was born and she told me that it would help when nursing to tuck his arm down against my body because he didn't know he had arms yet and so they would just flail about. Papa Bear and I laughed but then we watched him for a few minutes and realized that he didn't make intentional movements and they just flailed about as if independent from his body (yes, that is a Friends reference). Watching Sweet Pea learn about her hands and fingers, turn towards her brother's or Papa's voices, try to watch TV (which Little Man quickly alerts us too each time) is so rewarding. But I blink and she is pushing herself up on her elbows for long periods of time and getting bored with her surroundings. She wants to be where the action is at all times and is most happy when she can see her brothers playing.

Sweet Pea will be 15 weeks tomorrow and she is enjoying toys, mobiles, her brothers and sleeping at night. She isn't enjoying the swing, being left in a room without her brothers, and naps.

Things that I don't want to forget:

How Little Man asks to hold her every chance he gets. He doesn't hold her long but never lets her go without kissing her on her forehead. Peanut immediately MUST kiss her too.

How Sweet Pea literally coos in response to my voice. After eating she will look in my eyes and we will have a little conversation that is half coo, half purr and all the way adorable.

How she squeals/screams in high pitch staccato bursts to let us know that she is not close enough to the action.

The way that she feels in my arms as she fades to sleep at night.

Art Gallery

2011-02-06T15:35:00.003-05:00

Little Man's school bag is packed every day with wonderful art projects that he made at school. Sometimes they are free form paintings that he made at the easel during free play and other times they are something to do with the lesson of the week. Our school believes that it is the experience of art that matters and not the final outcome so I am not always sure of what a picture or project is actually supposed to be. Luckily, the teacher will often ask Little Man what HE thinks he painted or drew and then writes in the corner of the picture so that the rest of us can "see" it too. These wonderful pieces of art have resided on top of our refrigerator for the past 2 years and we decided that they were not being appreciated there. The painting of "The Meat-Eater" could one day be a masterpiece but only if it isn't hidden away. So after much nagging, Papa Bear hung a few pieces of nylon rope across the wall to create our art gallery. And in the eyes of this Mama Bear it is as beautiful as any museum I have ever been to!