One of the reasons they love "Gwampa"
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Crazy sliding boy...
This is the slide that A was determined to go down on Friday night. I went down with him several times before he decided to try it for himself.
He carefully inspected it...
And was determined to go down head first...
However, I though that feet first was the appropriate way for a 10-month old to try this slide...oh wait. I didn't think that a 10-month old should go down by himself. His dad thought it would be a great idea. I thought 1 time would cure him of his love/obsession with this slide.
I was wrong. He really enjoyed it...and did it several times...and wanted to do more. Luckily, it was time to go home.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The choices we make...
Last Sunday a job opportunity presented itself to me. I was made aware of a part-time middle school science position at a Catholic school about 45 minutes from here. With only a week before school starting, I knew I had to make a quick decision...and Jut was in Haiti without phone access. So, I decided to send in a resume. Monday morning I got a phone call requesting an interview for Tuesday afternoon. Yikes. Thankfully Jut arrived home Tuesday morning at 1:30.
The interview went great. I also got to teach a science lesson to about 10 students as part of the interview. It went so well. I had so much fun. I had forgotten how much I absolutely love to teach. It was a wonderful experience.
I ended up being their #1 choice for a candidate. But, I turned them down. I just didn't know how I was going to adequately prep for 3 science classes and be a great teacher working only part-time and still have time to be a great mom and wife. I guess I wasn't ready to give up my freedoms of being a stay-at-home mom either.
However, I've been plagued with 'what-ifs' since turning down the job. Until this afternoon. A took his first wobbly steps unassisted this afternoon. He was standing up holding on to me. He let me go and slowly moved a foot forward...and then plop on his bottom to the floor. I helped him back up and he did it again...this time getting the second foot to move a bit before the 'plop' occured.
Had I taken the teaching position, I would have missed it. It was a great sign to me that I did make the correct choice for us...and I'm so glad that I did. I missed many of those 'firsts' with E because I was working. I'm so glad that I got to see those wobbly steps! He got up to 6 consecutive steps today. He's going to be running entirely too quickly! I'm glad that I'm here and am not going to miss it!!!!
The interview went great. I also got to teach a science lesson to about 10 students as part of the interview. It went so well. I had so much fun. I had forgotten how much I absolutely love to teach. It was a wonderful experience.
I ended up being their #1 choice for a candidate. But, I turned them down. I just didn't know how I was going to adequately prep for 3 science classes and be a great teacher working only part-time and still have time to be a great mom and wife. I guess I wasn't ready to give up my freedoms of being a stay-at-home mom either.
However, I've been plagued with 'what-ifs' since turning down the job. Until this afternoon. A took his first wobbly steps unassisted this afternoon. He was standing up holding on to me. He let me go and slowly moved a foot forward...and then plop on his bottom to the floor. I helped him back up and he did it again...this time getting the second foot to move a bit before the 'plop' occured.
Had I taken the teaching position, I would have missed it. It was a great sign to me that I did make the correct choice for us...and I'm so glad that I did. I missed many of those 'firsts' with E because I was working. I'm so glad that I got to see those wobbly steps! He got up to 6 consecutive steps today. He's going to be running entirely too quickly! I'm glad that I'm here and am not going to miss it!!!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A at 10 months...
My adorable little guy is changing so quickly! He's becoming more mobile by the day. Walking skills are progressing rapidly. Yikes! He'll be 1 in 2 months. How did that happen so quickly?
Teeth #5 and #6 showed up this month. The second one of the top right erupted on August 9th followed by the second one on the top left on August 25th. The dentist wanted to do fluoride treatments already for A at E's visit because he had so many teeth, but I opted to wait awhile yet.
A figured out that he could stand up in his crib on the 9th and nap-time hasn't been the same since. He gets that little body into a standing position and stands and cries there until he falls down. Then I hear, "Thump, thump" as he hits his head on the end and then side railing of the crib. Its quite pathetic. I'm hoping one of these days that he'll learn to go to sleep peacefully and it will be less painful for him.
I got the pushcarts out for him while Jut was gone. He loves them! He has trouble standing up behind them because they move, but if I stand him up, ZOOM...He's off like a shot! When he figures out how to do it on his own, I'm in big trouble.
Stairs were discovered this month. We have to leave the gate locked at all time or A is going up the stairs. He climbed them for the first time mid-month and he hasn't stopped since if he's allowed the opportunity. He loves going up them but he hasn't even begun to figure out the down.
Once he gets to the top of the stairs, his favorite room is E's. He loves to go into her room and see what treasures he can find. E on the other hand, hates him going into her room. There is too much drama about the entire thing for my liking. Sometimes she shares well...but most of the time, life involves a lot of screaming.
We had 8 days of extreme potty successes while Jut was in Haiti but since he's been back, A hasn't shown much interest in the potty. Oh well. Eight days of very few poopy diapers was a nice change. However, he has started signing to me when he has to poo when he's in the high chair. He must not like pooing when he's sitting there because he really doesn't do it anywhere else. Oh well. It is not like I have any hopes of being diaper free for a long, long, long time.
He's still eating whatever I give him. He likes his pancakes...if I can call them that. I swapped the egg for flax seed & water, regular flour for rice flour, oil for applesauce and added vanilla and cinnamon to the recipe. But, he gobbles them up. The same goes for his noodles. I swapped the regular flour for rice flour and the egg for flax seed & water...they look and taste pretty yucky to me, but A inhales them. He also loves lentils and has been eating lots of lentil-based casseroles. Meat is his favorite thing to eat, I think. He ate as many chicken nuggets as E on Sunday and ate more roast beef than E and I combined last week. I'm going to go broke feeding the crazy little guy.
Teeth #5 and #6 showed up this month. The second one of the top right erupted on August 9th followed by the second one on the top left on August 25th. The dentist wanted to do fluoride treatments already for A at E's visit because he had so many teeth, but I opted to wait awhile yet.
A figured out that he could stand up in his crib on the 9th and nap-time hasn't been the same since. He gets that little body into a standing position and stands and cries there until he falls down. Then I hear, "Thump, thump" as he hits his head on the end and then side railing of the crib. Its quite pathetic. I'm hoping one of these days that he'll learn to go to sleep peacefully and it will be less painful for him.
I got the pushcarts out for him while Jut was gone. He loves them! He has trouble standing up behind them because they move, but if I stand him up, ZOOM...He's off like a shot! When he figures out how to do it on his own, I'm in big trouble.
Stairs were discovered this month. We have to leave the gate locked at all time or A is going up the stairs. He climbed them for the first time mid-month and he hasn't stopped since if he's allowed the opportunity. He loves going up them but he hasn't even begun to figure out the down.
Once he gets to the top of the stairs, his favorite room is E's. He loves to go into her room and see what treasures he can find. E on the other hand, hates him going into her room. There is too much drama about the entire thing for my liking. Sometimes she shares well...but most of the time, life involves a lot of screaming.
We had 8 days of extreme potty successes while Jut was in Haiti but since he's been back, A hasn't shown much interest in the potty. Oh well. Eight days of very few poopy diapers was a nice change. However, he has started signing to me when he has to poo when he's in the high chair. He must not like pooing when he's sitting there because he really doesn't do it anywhere else. Oh well. It is not like I have any hopes of being diaper free for a long, long, long time.
He's still eating whatever I give him. He likes his pancakes...if I can call them that. I swapped the egg for flax seed & water, regular flour for rice flour, oil for applesauce and added vanilla and cinnamon to the recipe. But, he gobbles them up. The same goes for his noodles. I swapped the regular flour for rice flour and the egg for flax seed & water...they look and taste pretty yucky to me, but A inhales them. He also loves lentils and has been eating lots of lentil-based casseroles. Meat is his favorite thing to eat, I think. He ate as many chicken nuggets as E on Sunday and ate more roast beef than E and I combined last week. I'm going to go broke feeding the crazy little guy.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Lake Michigan
I love visiting Lake Michigan. It is so beautiful. We had the priveledge of going to the Lake this year with our friends with 4 children. So, we had six children ages 6, 4, 3, 21 months, 21 months, and 9 months. It was insanely busy but so much fun.
E loved the Lake this year. She had so much fun letting the waves chase her in and out of the water. She 'fed the waves' lots of sand. She was fun to watch.
Despite the look of A's face in the bottom picture, he loved the beach too. He enjoyed hanging out in the Moby Wrap for the majority of our time at the beach. He was content just to sit and take it all in. Once he got out, he thought that the waves were pretty neat but he didn't really appreciate the sand disappearing under his feet.
It was fun but I am glad that we don't have to clean sand out of the car too many times in a year. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
I'm gonna miss this...
Some days are long. Sometimes I don't want to clean up anything else. Then I read McMamma's post yesterday. It was a wonderful reminder to me.
A is breaking in tooth number 6. It came through today. When he wouldn't go down for his nap an hour and a half past naptime, I kept telling myself as a cuddled him in the rocking chair, "I'm gonna miss this."
At 6:45 AM when I just wanted 10 more minutes of sleep, I went and claimed my little guy that's growing so fast and told myself, "I'm gonna miss this." I do love our early morning times that it is just the two of us.
As I was cleaning up his high chair and surrounding floor for the third time today and then changing his clothes for the third time, I told myself, "I'm gonna miss this."
E was screaming, "He's so mean!" at the top of her lungs because A bite and consequently broke her balloon. I thought to myself, "Someday this house will be too quiet and I'll amazingly miss this."
My favorite part of our day today involved our evening stroll. E rode her trike. She had on a bike helmet...backwards. Her sandals were on the wrong feet. Her outfit was mismatched. A was in the little stroller in his pjs. I probably didn't look like the pinnacle of motherhood...nor did my children. But as we strolled/biked through the neighborhood discussing random subjects...the size of leaves, the direction we were going, daddy radar on blown kisses, stone collections, trolls that lived under bridges...A laughed and babbled to E and myself. E raced us singing "As fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me!" She's getting so fast. Early this summer, I spent the majority of our walks pushing her and now she speeds ahead. They change so quickly. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, "I'm gonna miss this!"
I know that each stage is going to have its highlights and pitfalls. But, "I'm going to miss this!" It is crazy to think in another year E will be starting school and I'll have to share her with someone else. Time goes so fast. I'm really working hard to treasure the days and enjoy our fleeting time when the kids are just mine and our days revolve around each other. I am going to miss this!
A is breaking in tooth number 6. It came through today. When he wouldn't go down for his nap an hour and a half past naptime, I kept telling myself as a cuddled him in the rocking chair, "I'm gonna miss this."
At 6:45 AM when I just wanted 10 more minutes of sleep, I went and claimed my little guy that's growing so fast and told myself, "I'm gonna miss this." I do love our early morning times that it is just the two of us.
As I was cleaning up his high chair and surrounding floor for the third time today and then changing his clothes for the third time, I told myself, "I'm gonna miss this."
E was screaming, "He's so mean!" at the top of her lungs because A bite and consequently broke her balloon. I thought to myself, "Someday this house will be too quiet and I'll amazingly miss this."
My favorite part of our day today involved our evening stroll. E rode her trike. She had on a bike helmet...backwards. Her sandals were on the wrong feet. Her outfit was mismatched. A was in the little stroller in his pjs. I probably didn't look like the pinnacle of motherhood...nor did my children. But as we strolled/biked through the neighborhood discussing random subjects...the size of leaves, the direction we were going, daddy radar on blown kisses, stone collections, trolls that lived under bridges...A laughed and babbled to E and myself. E raced us singing "As fast as fast can be, you'll never catch me!" She's getting so fast. Early this summer, I spent the majority of our walks pushing her and now she speeds ahead. They change so quickly. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, "I'm gonna miss this!"
I know that each stage is going to have its highlights and pitfalls. But, "I'm going to miss this!" It is crazy to think in another year E will be starting school and I'll have to share her with someone else. Time goes so fast. I'm really working hard to treasure the days and enjoy our fleeting time when the kids are just mine and our days revolve around each other. I am going to miss this!
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