Sixty and Sunny

We had another beautiful day today - it was sixty and sunny! Since the weather was so nice the kids and I took a walk to the post office this afternoon. Instead of pushing the stroller with Joey, I wore him because I find it easier to catch Amelia if I don't have a stroller to worry about. Since he wasn't shaded by the stroller we tried out his sunglasses:

Amelia actually did very, very well on this walk. Each time she pulled her hand away or tried to wander away from me I found a way to stop her - without yelling. We are trying very hard to keep calm with Amelia and practice/learn more patience. It isn't always easy but the results are so much better than the results yelling or raising our voices got us. When we would react with anger it resulted in us all being more upset and nothing was ever accomplished. By using calm voices and patience we are offering her the chance to learn vs. creating even more anger or frustration - in all of us. Like I said, it is not always easy but the results are worth it.

One way I kept her with me was this big stick or as she called it, her "kay" which translates to cane.

She found it on the sidewalk right away on our walk. Several times she let go of my hand and tried to get me to hold the stick and she would hold the other end. Over and over and over we stopped and I would explain to her again that she could hold her stick and I would hold her hand. Otherwise, we would be going home.

We went on an hour long walk and she held my hand the entire time. I must be doing something right because towards the end if I let go for a second to adjust Joe she would stop and tug at my shirt! It would seem that she learned something on this walk through patience and kind words! Now the biggest question is...will she remember on our next walk?

Amelia has been very into her Dora rainboots since we dusted them off. So into them that this is how I found her last night:

Same thing tonight:

(Watching Oliver and Company with her "two cows" (white and chocolate milk mixed))

Spring Fever

We have been having warmer weather here in Wisconsin! Dare I say winter is over? Even though it never really came? Seriously, we had a pretty cold winter - with almost no snow! Poor Amelia only got out on her sled one time. She now calls it her boat and insists that you pull her around the apartment in it.

Yesterday we grilled for dinner with my family since it was so nice out (fifties.) Amelia helped Nana and Papa feed their animals.

She even ran to the sandbox and got her own bucket since Nana's was too big for her to handle unassisted.

Joey got his first taste of swinging! I think he liked it :)

Before making dinner we took a short walk and the kids rode in their wagon that Santa brought them! Amelia was not too pleased to have to share. I was insistent that Joey ride in the wagon because it is for both of them and the more that Amelia uses it solo the harder time she will have when they are both using it.

I ran to Babies R Us with my sister and while we were gone Jason and Amelia played with chalk. Jason drew her a Peter Pan picture! From left to right you will see Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Tick Tock the croc. I think he actually did a really good job. Way better than I could have ever done!

Today we had rainstorms :) I am pretty excited for spring this year. Mostly because the winter wasn't very winter-y to me and I am ready for it to warm up. Below freezing temperatures really aren't that much fun without snow to play in!

MA For a Day

Thursday evening, my sister Kim's school had an open house type thing for family and friends. We went to her school and saw her classroom, met her teacher and had medical tasks an medical assistant would perform done to us by our own MA:

We all had our height and weight measured. Amelia was very insistent that we all get it done. Some of us went several times.

Amelia's favorite thing, besides getting wheelchair rides, was the book used to test for colorblindness. Someone showed it to her right when we got there and she tried her hardest to keep track of it all evening.

Joey got passed around as we all did our testing. His only test was his weight. It said 18 pounds which is less than the doctor weighed him at last month so I am not really sure. I don't think he's lost weight! Either way, he is still a big boy.

After the open house, we went for dinner at Cossetta's. Amelia insisted on getting into my mom's lap and then would not stop hugging her face/head. It was kind of funny...if you weren't Nana. I think she found it a little amusing though - but not the most comfortable way to receive a hug.

Papa Joe and Joey:

The kids and I didn't get home until 10:00 p.m. That is way past their bedtimes (7:45ish and 8:30ish normally) and also past mine! Thankfully I got us all in the apartment and into bed in a reasonable amount of time.

Tonight

Tonight was a better night for us. Much, much better. First off, Joe took a nap. A nap! It was a short nap but it was a nap nonetheless and I think that it helped us to have a better night because he wasn't so cranky.

He is not a very good napper. Amelia wasn't either. I remember her being up most of the day as a baby and then she slept 10-12-14 hours a night. I think Joe will be a lot like her with sleep patterns if he keeps his current pattern up!

Amelia and I had homemade lunchables (crackers, cheese, salami) for dinner. We ate it standing next to the stove even. She likes to "help" a lot and so we just ended up standing there eating as we made it. Fine by me! We had virtually no dishes to wash tonight.

Amelia's jealousy of Joe really showed tonight. She flipped his Bumbo chair upside down...with him sitting in it. I scooped him up and consoled him and simply told her that wasn't a nice thing to do. It was all I could do at the time - my main concern was Joe and making sure that he was ok. I think she got it because next thing I knew she was in the living room, sprinkling infant oatmeal all over because she wanted "Ko" to "eeeeeeee" (eat.)

I had a laugh because last week she dumped rice cereal into a pile in the kitchen. We got out the vacuum and cleaned up this little mess quickly. Joe never did get any oatmeal.

Other things she did tonight included tossing her plastic bins after emptying them and they would hit him in the head, she wouldn't share with him, she wouldn't let him look at her toys etc. Mostly it made me laugh a little because I am pretty sure she was acting this way because she was very tired. She went to a kid's gym/jump zone place with my mom and sister this morning and I think it wore her out.

One nice thing about her jealousy is that when I am taking a picture of Joe, she will climb into my lap so we can take a picture. She is usually hamming it up but I like any picture with her I can get.

She has been very anti-camera for awhile now and I miss having her smile nice for me! It was so much easier when she would just smile and taking her picture took two seconds instead of two minutes!

I am so thankful that tonight was so much easier than yesterday was! I don't know if I could have handled another yesterday, today!

Terrible Tuesday

Where do I even start? Today has been awful. Several times I wanted to put my head through the wall. It was just an off day that felt like it would never end. It was my day off this week - why did it have to be awful?

Amelia's language delay is very trying - especially on a day that is already eating up your patience. So many times today I had to just walk away from her and take a deep breath. It is so frustrating to watch her struggle to tell me something. I have gotten pretty good at knowing what she is talking about or trying to say but there are always times when I just have no idea. Of course, those times would arise on a day that was already difficult.

I got her into bed a little earlier than normal tonight simply because I couldn't "deal" with her any longer. She went, happily, and watched Peter Pan on her "baby TV" which is a small portable DVD player. Hopefully tomorrow we look like this:

I wish this guy looked like this all of the time!

Joey can be such a little handful some days. He loves to be held and he demands it. I just can't express how awful some nights can get because of his constant whining. In general he is a happy guy and full of smiles! However, he is pretty high maintenance. It takes a lot to keep him happy. He's worth it but, man, can we catch a break sometime soon? The doctor said 4 months seems to be the "magic" month - he's only got about a week left for any "magic" to happen in his fourth month so we'll see what happens. Maybe his "magic" month will be month 5, or even 6.

A bit unrelated but I had to share this. If your diaper looked like this wouldn't you tell someone?

I was getting Amelia into the bath tonight and this is what I discovered. My mouth dropped. I asked her if she needed a new diaper and she looked at me and said, "no." Really? Sweetie, it looks like you have two butts. You need a new diaper. You probably needed one hours earlier.

We are struggling with her and diapers. Time flies and I just don't remember that it's been "x" hours since her last diaper change and she won't tell me when she needs one. I keep hoping potty training will be around the corner for us but I just don't know some days. We think she "gets" it. She understands what the toilet is and what you use it for - this I know for sure. Any day now we will potty train. Any day. Maybe tomorrow is the day.

Awesome Weekend

We had a great weekend! Friday my sister came over to watch the kids during the overlap of mine and Jason's Friday work schedules.

Amelia went through, and arranged, all of her animals on the coffee table! Auntie stayed for dinner (we ordered Domino's) and assisted in bath time.

Saturday I worked and we made tacos for dinner and decided to give family movie night a try. We came up with a plan for Amelia to branch out from her usual choices (Toy Story, Aristocats, My Little Pony, Fantasia and Cinderella) and it worked! She has been enjoying her Little People pirate ship so I looked at the Peter Pan case to see if there was a picture of a ship and there was! I was worried because it was tiny and in the corner but she saw it and wanted to watch the movie!

She watched the whole thing with us and even sat on Daddy's lap towards the end. We made popcorn (2 bags...) and ate it all and enjoyed a relaxing night together :)

Sunday mornings I am off by 8 and the past couple of weeks I have brought home breakfast. I got donuts for the second week in a row! I have learned that Amelia's favorite donuts have white frosting and sprinkles. I got her chocolate this past weekend and she wanted the white one instead!

Sunday we ran errands in Woodbury. We had our taxes prepared and Jason was fitted for a tux for a wedding he is in this summer.

After our errands we had dinner with my family at my parent's house. Joe got passed around so he wouldn't whine! He just likes to be held - all the time. I really don't know what to do about that! We'll figure something out one day...hopefully soon!

Sunday night the kids rode in their new seats! While we were in Woodbury we saw a great deal on a booster seat for Amelia so we got it and switched Joe into her convertible carseat since he is just a pound or so away from being too big for his infant seat/carrier!

Have a good week, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday today I thought I would share these pictures of Amelia and Joe in the same Seuss onesie!

Funny thing about this onesie? It is size 6-9 month. Amelia is pictured at around 8 months in it. Joey is 4 months. You can really tell what a chunk he is! She barely filled it out at twice his age! You can also see a huge difference in their legs in the Bumbo chair... She still fit in there with some wiggle room. Little man? His legs often get stuck. So when you go to pick him up out of the chair - the chair comes too!

Have a great day!

Hewp Ko

Amelia loves to "hewp Ko" (aka "help Joe") lately. Little brother has gotten a touch too large for his swings and they won't "swing" him any longer....usually. You can sometimes get them going if you turn them up all the way and give the guy a push. Then, sometimes, the swing can "swing" him for awhile. I guess that's what you get when you have a nearly twenty pound four month old!

Amelia has taken it upon herself to be Joe's swinging helper. She is a bit rough at times and I am working on that with her. However, it is just so rewarding to see her finally enjoying her role as "big sister."

The camera memory filled up right when Joey was really getting going laughing but you get the picture! He loves when his sister pays attention to him!

Adoration

I love watching this relationship evolve. Joey is growing on Amelia more and more every single day - even though she doesn't want anyone to know!

Three Years Stats

Today was Amelia's three year well visit! As soon as nurse Emily wanted to check her blood pressure she got a little concerned:

So, instead of her getting her blood pressure checked her orange pony got his done by a highly qualified Dr. Amelia :)

What? A shot?

She had her Hep A shot. She did great.

Now for her stats and stuff:

• 35 pounds, 85th percentile
• 40 inches, 95th percentile
• Sleeping around10-12 hours a night with varying bedtimes between 8 and 9ish p.m. and wake times varying from 7 to 9 a.m.
• Favorite foods are mac 'n' cheese, cheese ravioli and tortellini, waffles, Uh-Ohs (spaghettios) and peas (they recently made a comeback!)
• Favorite snacks are cookies, fruit snacks and cheez-its
• Dora and Diego ("Go-ah and Gee-go") are major, major hits with this girl. We have started to have to limit her TV because she'd watch those guys 24/7 if we let her!
• My Little Ponies are a new interest. She loves to watch the original movie (from my childhood) before bed right now
  
• Her speech is improving with each passing week which has made life so, so much easier
• She is now attending an early childhood speech class two days a week at the local elementary school for an hour and a half each day
• Her favorite toys are animal figurines, anything Dora or Diego, cars, bubbles and her new Little People pirate ship she got for her birthday
• She is trying to dress and undress herself more and more but it is something I need to be better about encouraging her to try and do on her own
• She is mommy and daddy's little helper - even when we would just rather do things alone!

We have a healthy and happy three year old girl! We love her very much! She brings so much joy (and frustration) to our lives :)