Sharing

Joe got a new toy today! Well, they each got a new toy but they shared Joe's during tummytime :)

I knew Amelia would like Joe's new toy so when I put him on his blanket to play with it I made sure I explained to her that it was his toy and that she could play with it with him - she couldn't just take it and claim it as her own. That is what she has done with all of his hand-me-down toys. To be fair, they were hers at one point.

I encouraged her to lay next to him and eventually she did!

She showed him the colors and told him, in her own words, what the animals on each key were. She even appeared to enjoy her time with him...

Next, the unexpected happened. She shared her Dora and Boots toys with him! In fact, she went through the trouble of removing all of his toys from the tray to line up her cake toppers.

I do believe we have made some progress! In fact, this evening, after dinner, the three of us sat on the couch for thirty minutes reading books. We did a couple of seek and find books and read a couple of stories from her Disney bedtime story collection.

Once her shower is finished it's time to get ready for bed. We have a big day tomorrow but more on that later this week :)

We-Haw's Birthday

**We-Haw is what Amelia calls my sister. It started out as Ah-Hee, then it went to He-Haw and now it is We-Haw. No one is sure why.

Friday was my sister's 25th birthday! She came over to visit the kids and I. We went on a walk and ended up at the park :) Amelia could have stayed there all night swinging!

Joey had his first taste of playground fun in a tunnel!

We stayed at the park longer than we thought so we ordered pizzas for dinner. We seem to end up doing that almost every time Kim visits us...

Saturday afternoon we had lunch with my parents and Kim to celebrate her birthday as a family. We went to her favorite, the Mongolian BBQ in Stillwater. Joe sat in a high chair for the first time!

After our late lunch we went to a park in Bayport that we used to go to as kids (Jason did too!) Amelia is getting braver and braver at the park. This was the second day in a row that she climbed a rope ladder, alone!

Joe had his first taste of swinging. He thought it was great!

After the park we went back to my parent's house for cake and ice cream.

After cake Amelia and my dad fed the animals outside and then went to the school playground down the road. They were gone until dark. In fact, they were gone so long that we went out looking for them, fearing that something had happened! Everything was fine though. They were taking their time walking home and looking at the stars.

Sunday afternoon we went over to Jason's sister's house for a grill out with their grandma and a couple of their friends. Everything was so good! Liz puts out a good spread every time we are invited for dinner. We had to get our shopping done for the week on our way home so we didn't stay too late but we had a good time visiting!

All in all we had a busy weekend! It went by way too fast.

Shopping and Baths

Last night the kids and I went shopping with my mom and sister at Kohl's. Amelia like to ride in their carts because she can stand or sit down in the basket part. Joe can ride up front.

It would almost be perfect - if Joe would chill out and sit in the seat without crying for someone to pick him up! We had to take turns carrying his big ol' self around the store. It just made looking at anything much more challenging.

(can you believe he is only 5 months old? He is huge!)

After Kohl's we went to Arby's with Nana for a late dinner. At the end I had the camera out and Amelia was in the mood for a picture. She actually asked me to take a picture - a first! It turned out great - bonus!

Tonight, about the only thing that we accomplished was baths. Amelia gave Joe his bath. I was instructed to leave the room. I, of course, stayed but kept a little distance and essentially let her give him his bath.

With a watering can.

I think he was happy with his bath from his sister!

Amelia made her bath last over an hour. She just kept playing and playing and before you knew it it had been an hour. That is when we drained the tub and she got her shower. Yes, she takes both a bath and a shower each night. She requests the shower to rinse off all the bubbles. Her shower is usually around ten minutes - tonight it was fifteen.

Basically, baths took up most of our evening but that is ok. My goal before bed is to clear off the kitchen table. Again. It is a magnet for junk and papers and stuff.

St. Patty's 2012

We had a very low key St Patty's Day.

When I got home from work we took our time doing things around the house. Once our town's parade was over we went on a walk to the grocery store to get a couple of things to round out our dinner (corned beef sandwiches, coleslaw, top the tater and chips and mexican cokes.)

The walk to and from the grocery store sure did Amelia in! This was her at just after six 'clock!

We got her up to eat and take a bath and then it was back to bed. She had some trouble falling back asleep, of course. If I hadn't known any better I would have thought it was just another Saturday...oh wait, for us it was ;)

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!