Just finishing dinner, Ellie headed for the toys. "Wait," I cautioned, "you need to go wash your hands first!"
Ellie stomped her little foot, then whined a retort, "But, I already licked 'em!"
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Scanned Pictures
I have a few pictures that I needed to scan in . . . the first two are Annie's t-ball pictures from this year.
(Annie's the second kid from the left on the top row).
Then on Saturday we went to our local hospital's "Health Fair". The kids had so much fun, bandaging teddy bears, seeing fire trucks, eating slushies in recovery, and seeing a pseudo-Elmo (who taught me once again why the characters in Disneyland NEVER talk -- it just sounds SO wrong. No adult male should try and mimic Elmo's voice -- it's beyond creepy). :-) Isaac was so excited to see Elmo, you just can't tell from this picture.
In other news, the pregnancy is going well -- I got to hear the heartbeat again last week, and I'm officially entering my second trimester. I'm hoping to leave the horrific nausea behind . . . I have glimpses of feeling better, but we're not there yet. The girls talk a lot about 'Baby O' and have started kissing my tummy. A lot.
Isaac wasn't feeling well Friday -- and a little worse Saturday and Sunday. Just a cold, but it's thrown off his sleep again. Unfortunately, Greg, Annie, Ellie and I all woke up with it today. The girls are whiny, moody, sulking, snot-factories, and Greg and I are congested, overly tired, grumpy parents. It's summer, right? What's up with everyone I've been talking to being sick?!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Almost a Year Old . . .
With him being a little over a week away from being a year old, I thought I'd throw together a bit of an update about Isaac:
Three teeth are in . . . one more fighting its way through. Still pretty grumpy and pissed about this.
Taking steps. All over the place. Up to 6 or 7 at a time. Never walking to Mom or Dad, but he will walk for the vacuum cleaner or to his toy bus.
Talking. The boy is a chatter box -- he babbles whole paragraphs. The vast majority unrecognizable. Although, occasionally he nails a word so right-on it's amazing (like while counting in the tub this morning with his sisters, Annie said the word 'seven' and Isaac mimicked it so perfectly you would've thought the kid was counting along. I don't imagine he'll say 'seven' again anytime soon though.)
He still loves patty cake and Elmo. The two together is about as good as it gets.
Sharing. He's CONSTANTLY handing us soggy cheerios or goopy puffs to eat. We have to palm it, pretend to throw it in our mouths and he squeals and claps. It's disgusting and adorable.
Loves going down his slide -- this freaks me out a little. He only gets the 'feet first' position down about half the time.
He's obsessed with trying to get up the stairs. He loves going up them. Gets really, really angry whenever I try to show him how to turn backwards and go down the stairs.
He wakes up around 6AM or so every morning. This is not my favorite thing. But he goes to bed at 7:30 every night, and that I do like.
Three teeth are in . . . one more fighting its way through. Still pretty grumpy and pissed about this.
Taking steps. All over the place. Up to 6 or 7 at a time. Never walking to Mom or Dad, but he will walk for the vacuum cleaner or to his toy bus.
Talking. The boy is a chatter box -- he babbles whole paragraphs. The vast majority unrecognizable. Although, occasionally he nails a word so right-on it's amazing (like while counting in the tub this morning with his sisters, Annie said the word 'seven' and Isaac mimicked it so perfectly you would've thought the kid was counting along. I don't imagine he'll say 'seven' again anytime soon though.)
He still loves patty cake and Elmo. The two together is about as good as it gets.
Sharing. He's CONSTANTLY handing us soggy cheerios or goopy puffs to eat. We have to palm it, pretend to throw it in our mouths and he squeals and claps. It's disgusting and adorable.
Loves going down his slide -- this freaks me out a little. He only gets the 'feet first' position down about half the time.
He's obsessed with trying to get up the stairs. He loves going up them. Gets really, really angry whenever I try to show him how to turn backwards and go down the stairs.
He wakes up around 6AM or so every morning. This is not my favorite thing. But he goes to bed at 7:30 every night, and that I do like.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Told You He Liked Elmo . . .
Now that his sisters know that "Ehmo" is Isaac's new favorite word, they found him their old Elmo toys from the basement . . . and this is what Isaac looked like in bed tonight when I went in to check on him . . .
Furry Red Milestone
So, it's official. Isaac has a first word. I always find this such a tough thing -- pegging milestones. Like when does a baby start to crawl? The first time they make forward progress while up on hands and knees? When they get the hang of it? When they can get around purposefully? 'Cause with my kids, those things sometimes span WEEKS. What about walking? Isaac's taken one or two steps here and there, but is nowhere near walking on his own. But, his very first step was probably close to a month ago.
And first words. Don't get me started on first words :-) I'm kinda hard on my kids on this milestone -- I don't count it 'til the word is fairly clear, other people would recognize it, and it's consistent. Isaac's been saying "Mama" and reaching for me for months. But he also says "Mama" when he wants a toy, some food, comfort, attention, etc. He's looked across the room, caught his Dad's eye, and yelled out, "Da!" But, he only really did that once and "Da da da" is babbled dozens of times a day to his toys, sisters and push toy. One time we were throwing the ball around, and he chased after it, got it and thrust it into the air with a triumphant "BA!" But hasn't referred to a ball as a 'ba' since. He babbles constantly, and he often responds with sounds that sound like the words you'd expect to hear from him. ("Thank you" is a big one, we've had three seperate times where people have responded "You're welcome" to Isaac after handling him something and then him responding with a happy babbling that sounds strangely like 'thank you.') But, I've still been waiting for a consistent first word to put in the baby book. And I think we have it. The other day, Greg and I took Isaac shopping for new pajamas. Isaac saw a red pair of Elmo pajamas and shouted, "Ehmo." Coincidence? Maybe. But then this morning, Ellie was watching Elmo's World, and a happy Isaac threw his hands together, bounced around, kicking his legs, and said, "Ehmo!" three seperate times. Annie looked up, surprised, and squealed, "Mom! He said Elmo!"
So, his first word is Elmo.
Which made me happy. My little boy has a consistent first word. And I find it mildly embarrassing. :-) I feel a strong need to explain . . . he doesn't 'watch' television! He's not even a year old, I don't sit him in front of the TV. He occasionally catches approximately 30-90 seconds of 'Elmo's World' when Ellie's watching it at 6:40 in the morning (since they're both up and I'm trying to nurse him and keep Ellie entertained at the same time). We point out Elmo on shirts, in books and on TV, 'cause Isaac's always like the red furry monster, and his sister Ellie is a big fan. But I never imagined it'd be his first word. It was pretty freaking adorable though. But don't judge me that my kid's first word was a television character :-) I'm already a bit self conscious about it in the first place. I'm sure 'Mama' will become a staple word around here sooner or later . . . :-)
And first words. Don't get me started on first words :-) I'm kinda hard on my kids on this milestone -- I don't count it 'til the word is fairly clear, other people would recognize it, and it's consistent. Isaac's been saying "Mama" and reaching for me for months. But he also says "Mama" when he wants a toy, some food, comfort, attention, etc. He's looked across the room, caught his Dad's eye, and yelled out, "Da!" But, he only really did that once and "Da da da" is babbled dozens of times a day to his toys, sisters and push toy. One time we were throwing the ball around, and he chased after it, got it and thrust it into the air with a triumphant "BA!" But hasn't referred to a ball as a 'ba' since. He babbles constantly, and he often responds with sounds that sound like the words you'd expect to hear from him. ("Thank you" is a big one, we've had three seperate times where people have responded "You're welcome" to Isaac after handling him something and then him responding with a happy babbling that sounds strangely like 'thank you.') But, I've still been waiting for a consistent first word to put in the baby book. And I think we have it. The other day, Greg and I took Isaac shopping for new pajamas. Isaac saw a red pair of Elmo pajamas and shouted, "Ehmo." Coincidence? Maybe. But then this morning, Ellie was watching Elmo's World, and a happy Isaac threw his hands together, bounced around, kicking his legs, and said, "Ehmo!" three seperate times. Annie looked up, surprised, and squealed, "Mom! He said Elmo!"
So, his first word is Elmo.
Which made me happy. My little boy has a consistent first word. And I find it mildly embarrassing. :-) I feel a strong need to explain . . . he doesn't 'watch' television! He's not even a year old, I don't sit him in front of the TV. He occasionally catches approximately 30-90 seconds of 'Elmo's World' when Ellie's watching it at 6:40 in the morning (since they're both up and I'm trying to nurse him and keep Ellie entertained at the same time). We point out Elmo on shirts, in books and on TV, 'cause Isaac's always like the red furry monster, and his sister Ellie is a big fan. But I never imagined it'd be his first word. It was pretty freaking adorable though. But don't judge me that my kid's first word was a television character :-) I'm already a bit self conscious about it in the first place. I'm sure 'Mama' will become a staple word around here sooner or later . . . :-)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Well Child Checkups (a month late)
We've been a bit busy lately, so we just got around to getting the girls in for their annual check ups. Annie got to do an eye check and everything for Kindergarten, and she got her blood pressure taken. Ellie didn't. She was pretty miffed about it. Ellie helped Annie cheat on the eye exam though, by yelling out one of the shapes (on the second to bottom row) that Annie couldn't quite make out. Looks like Ellie's vision is in good shape too. :-) I had to drag her down the hall another several feet to prevent her from further throwing off the results.
Everything looks good healthwise with both kids. The doctor suggested never ever mentioning potty training to Ellie (the most stubborn child ever) and just wait for the day she comes walking out of the bathroom in underwear. She took Ellie aside and told her she's a big girl now, and nobody can tell her when or where to go to the bathroom, that only she can decide that. BUT, that preschool was starting soon and reminded Ellie she can't go to preschool in diapers. Please, don't let this backfire. :-)
Turns out we were a bit premature taking Ellie on the Matterhorn, since she measure at 34.5" (1/2" shorter than the height requirement at Disneyland), but this is up to 4% on the charts! (She was 2% last year). As far as weight goes, she's actually put on 3 lbs. in the last several months and finally cracked 29 lbs (fully dressed, but still.) This actually put her up to a whole 33% on the charts. Of course, this all meant that her BMI went up. According to those oh-so-accurate charts, she's amazingly overweight and borderline obese. I would've never guessed Ellie was so grossly overweight, what with the fact she's three years old and we can't find any 24 month old pants that'll stay up on her diapered butt. I keep worrying that when we do get her in underwear, we'll have to put her back in 18 months shorts or just put her in dresses all the time :-) The doctor laughed when she saw the charts and said Ellie's the furthest thing she's seen from overweight, and commented on her amazingly muscular build for a girl so small -- she guessed it had something to do with the fact Ellie had not stopped RUNNING FROM ONE SIDE OF THE ROOM TO THE OTHER for the whole 20 minutes we'd been in there. Annie also checked out great -- a bit taller on the charts than she's been before, up to 21% (from 13% last year) and her weight stayed about the same around the 65th percentile. Annie was also tested on her ability to hop on one foot, write her name, drawing a picture of a person, and Annie threw in reading the "Medical Office Building" sign, just to show off. My children were passed off as talented, adorable and healthy. And nobody had to get shots.
We're done for another year.
Everything looks good healthwise with both kids. The doctor suggested never ever mentioning potty training to Ellie (the most stubborn child ever) and just wait for the day she comes walking out of the bathroom in underwear. She took Ellie aside and told her she's a big girl now, and nobody can tell her when or where to go to the bathroom, that only she can decide that. BUT, that preschool was starting soon and reminded Ellie she can't go to preschool in diapers. Please, don't let this backfire. :-)
Turns out we were a bit premature taking Ellie on the Matterhorn, since she measure at 34.5" (1/2" shorter than the height requirement at Disneyland), but this is up to 4% on the charts! (She was 2% last year). As far as weight goes, she's actually put on 3 lbs. in the last several months and finally cracked 29 lbs (fully dressed, but still.) This actually put her up to a whole 33% on the charts. Of course, this all meant that her BMI went up. According to those oh-so-accurate charts, she's amazingly overweight and borderline obese. I would've never guessed Ellie was so grossly overweight, what with the fact she's three years old and we can't find any 24 month old pants that'll stay up on her diapered butt. I keep worrying that when we do get her in underwear, we'll have to put her back in 18 months shorts or just put her in dresses all the time :-) The doctor laughed when she saw the charts and said Ellie's the furthest thing she's seen from overweight, and commented on her amazingly muscular build for a girl so small -- she guessed it had something to do with the fact Ellie had not stopped RUNNING FROM ONE SIDE OF THE ROOM TO THE OTHER for the whole 20 minutes we'd been in there. Annie also checked out great -- a bit taller on the charts than she's been before, up to 21% (from 13% last year) and her weight stayed about the same around the 65th percentile. Annie was also tested on her ability to hop on one foot, write her name, drawing a picture of a person, and Annie threw in reading the "Medical Office Building" sign, just to show off. My children were passed off as talented, adorable and healthy. And nobody had to get shots.
We're done for another year.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Ellie
This morning there were about 20 stupid magnets on the floor in front of the refrigerator. I'd stepped on a couple, and frustrated I called out to Ellie, "Can you come in and pick these up while Mom cleans up breakfast?"
"No . . ." Ellie calls out from the other room.
Greg, who was on his way out the door for a meeting, told Ellie, "Ellie, go pick up the magnets or go sit in time out for three minutes."
Ellie groaned, sighed, and rolled her eyes, then angrily shuffled over to the base of the fridge, plopped herself down and started picking them up. I left the room to put something away, when about 20 seconds later I hear a voice call out, "MOM? Can I just go sit in time out . . . "
"No . . ." Ellie calls out from the other room.
Greg, who was on his way out the door for a meeting, told Ellie, "Ellie, go pick up the magnets or go sit in time out for three minutes."
Ellie groaned, sighed, and rolled her eyes, then angrily shuffled over to the base of the fridge, plopped herself down and started picking them up. I left the room to put something away, when about 20 seconds later I hear a voice call out, "MOM? Can I just go sit in time out . . . "
Friday, June 10, 2011
Creative People
I had been talking with someone recently about how Ellie's middle name, Sophia, comes from a great-great-some-number-of-great's grandmother. Curiosity got the best of me tonight, and I pulled out the family history album.
Turns out that Sophia is Ellie's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. Sophia Kellogg was born in 1828, and would go on to give birth to Irinda, who had Jennie, who had Helen, who had Kay, who was my Mom's Mom. Then my Mom obviously went on to have me and then Ellie's the latest in the line. So, I figured it out, just how many greats were in the picture.
But then, as always when I pull out the family album, I can't help but become engrossed in the names and people who came before me. I love some of the names I've come across. When my Grandma Kay was born, she had two cousins born at around the same time, who were named Ray and Fay. I've been harrassing my sister Talina ever since . . . our babies will be three months apart, what names can we rhyme?! :-)
There were the twins Elbert and Wilbert, who pose in a picture with their nephews, Pennell and Parnell. (Pennell being my grandfather).
The four sisters who all had 'v' in their names: Belva, Elvira, Verona and Olive.
Apparently the 'themes' are big in my family, as we have our A(nnie), E(llie), I(saac) vowel thing going (although it really did start out accidentally!) So I got a few new ideas for 'O' names we could possibly use for our new baby from my family history: Olive or Orville. Surprisingly, Greg's not jumping at either of them.
If we opened it up to all vowels (just from within my Mom's side of the family) we could go with: Irene, Upham, Elvira, Adelia, Ella, Almer, Amasa, Amanda, Edward (there's a line of like 7 or 8 Edward's in a row in our family tree), Albert, Anderson, Anders, Ingeborg, Elizabeth, Esther, Emerson
If we left the vowel theme altogether but stuck with family names, we could pick from such awesome choices as: Petronella, Movell, Phylinda, Cordelia, Sophronia, Spicer, Moses, Rhoda, Lucinda (who's full maiden name was Lucinda Blood), Spinda (Sophia's daughter), Lemar, Parley, Prudence, Burns, Morrel, Bethia, Gunhild, Niels, and of course, the 'V' names that weren't started with vowels, Verona or Belva.
But to this day, my favorite names ever belonged to my great-great-great grandparents on the other side of my family. Wilmurth LaMaude married Mahonri Moriancumer (those are their first and middle names). I am convinced that they met and fell in loved, based at least in part on the fact that they both had tremendously horrible names. :-)
Seriously, these people were creative -- you don't come across names like these every day! :-) (Unless you're indexing names of pioneer stock or something, of course.)
And people thought my daughter's names were 'unique' (Annalise and Elliana) . . . I guess it's just in my blood! :-)
Turns out that Sophia is Ellie's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. Sophia Kellogg was born in 1828, and would go on to give birth to Irinda, who had Jennie, who had Helen, who had Kay, who was my Mom's Mom. Then my Mom obviously went on to have me and then Ellie's the latest in the line. So, I figured it out, just how many greats were in the picture.
But then, as always when I pull out the family album, I can't help but become engrossed in the names and people who came before me. I love some of the names I've come across. When my Grandma Kay was born, she had two cousins born at around the same time, who were named Ray and Fay. I've been harrassing my sister Talina ever since . . . our babies will be three months apart, what names can we rhyme?! :-)
There were the twins Elbert and Wilbert, who pose in a picture with their nephews, Pennell and Parnell. (Pennell being my grandfather).
The four sisters who all had 'v' in their names: Belva, Elvira, Verona and Olive.
Apparently the 'themes' are big in my family, as we have our A(nnie), E(llie), I(saac) vowel thing going (although it really did start out accidentally!) So I got a few new ideas for 'O' names we could possibly use for our new baby from my family history: Olive or Orville. Surprisingly, Greg's not jumping at either of them.
If we opened it up to all vowels (just from within my Mom's side of the family) we could go with: Irene, Upham, Elvira, Adelia, Ella, Almer, Amasa, Amanda, Edward (there's a line of like 7 or 8 Edward's in a row in our family tree), Albert, Anderson, Anders, Ingeborg, Elizabeth, Esther, Emerson
If we left the vowel theme altogether but stuck with family names, we could pick from such awesome choices as: Petronella, Movell, Phylinda, Cordelia, Sophronia, Spicer, Moses, Rhoda, Lucinda (who's full maiden name was Lucinda Blood), Spinda (Sophia's daughter), Lemar, Parley, Prudence, Burns, Morrel, Bethia, Gunhild, Niels, and of course, the 'V' names that weren't started with vowels, Verona or Belva.
But to this day, my favorite names ever belonged to my great-great-great grandparents on the other side of my family. Wilmurth LaMaude married Mahonri Moriancumer (those are their first and middle names). I am convinced that they met and fell in loved, based at least in part on the fact that they both had tremendously horrible names. :-)
Seriously, these people were creative -- you don't come across names like these every day! :-) (Unless you're indexing names of pioneer stock or something, of course.)
And people thought my daughter's names were 'unique' (Annalise and Elliana) . . . I guess it's just in my blood! :-)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Family Home Evening & Buffalo Poop
Tonight was Family Home Evening -- the kids were so excited. (Well, Annie & Ellie -- I don't think Isaac cared much.) Annie helped Daddy fill out the 'chart' . . . it was decided Ellie would pick the song (or as Ellie put it, "I will sing the song for you"), Annie got to say opening prayer, Daddy was doing the lesson, Mom made the dessert (and oh my goodness, can I just tell you how much we highly recommend these?!), which left Isaac in charge of the activity. We all figured he'd want to do Patty Cake. So, it was all decided. We gathered our little family in a circle in the front room and asked Ellie to pick the song. "Buffalo Poop!" she excited offered. (In Yellowstone last year, Ellie and Uncle Cody would point out all the bison droppings and excitedly sing a song of their own making, that goes, "Buffalo poop! Buffalo poop! Buffalo poop, poop, poop!") Annie helpfully offered, "Um, maybe we could sing 'Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam'?" "Nope! Buffalo Poop!" an enthusiastic Ellie reiterated. "Give said the Little Stream?" I asked. "No, Buffalo Poop!" Ellie confirmed again. I think I hear the words, "Buffalo Poop!" no less than 20 times a day. She even told me her diaper was so stinky the other day 'cause she ate too much Buffalo Poop. She's a child obsessed.
Uncle Cody would be so proud. :-)
Uncle Cody would be so proud. :-)
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Patty Cakin' Baby
Isaac LOVES playing Patty Cake, and it's become a new obsession. He also loves feeding himself. This is when the two come together when he's overly tired, teething and grumpy. Enjoy!
Oh, and you can kinda see this in the video, but Isaac now FINALLY has a tooth. In came in this last week -- just in time to turn 11 months. I think there's three others closely following, but then again, 'closely' could mean three months, just like last time . . .
Oh, and you can kinda see this in the video, but Isaac now FINALLY has a tooth. In came in this last week -- just in time to turn 11 months. I think there's three others closely following, but then again, 'closely' could mean three months, just like last time . . .
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Sleep Talker
Ellie's been waking up a lot at night lately. There's nightmares of cows pouring water on her, and tigers and the occasional monster. Tonight, it was only 9:30 or so the first time she woke up upset.
"Mom!" she cried from her bed, still mostly asleep, "Mommy!"
"What is it?" I quietly ask as I crawl into her bed with her.
"Mom?"
"I'm here baby . . . what's wrong?"
"Something . . . " long pause as she falls mostly asleep again, then a sudden, "smells."
"Something smells?"
"Yeah."
"Um . . . what smells, Ellie?"
"Snow White . . . " long pause again as she drifts off.
"Snow White smells?"
"Yeah. Smells like . . . " asleep again.
I sit there, wondering how long I have to wait 'til I crawl out of bed again.
The her eyes fly open, "Snow White smells like dinner." She's out like a light again.
"Snow White smells like dinner?" I whisper.
She sleepily answers, "Yeah, like dinner."
Then she's asleep again. For good. (Or, until midnight or so, is my best guess.)
Weird. :-)
(Add to the frequent night wakings due to Snow White's odor issues and water tossing cows, Isaac's also dealing with serious teething issues (and a possible ear infection, I'm thinking of taking him in again, 'cause his level of 'angry baby' is off the charts, and overly-tired-and-nauseous-first-trimester-Hilary is possibly not dealing with screaming-all-freaking-day-long-Isaac as well as she'd like to.) He went from FINALLY sleeping through the night (well, until 5:30AM, at least, but I'll take it) to waking up every 2-3 hours all night long. It's like they're conspiring against me. I'm not sure to what end, 'cause they may not realize this, but it's not like their life will get suddenly super awesome or fun if Mom ends up institutionalized. But for some reason, they're co-conspirators in the great 'sleep-deprivation-torture-campaign-against-Mom&Dad-of-2011.)
"Mom!" she cried from her bed, still mostly asleep, "Mommy!"
"What is it?" I quietly ask as I crawl into her bed with her.
"Mom?"
"I'm here baby . . . what's wrong?"
"Something . . . " long pause as she falls mostly asleep again, then a sudden, "smells."
"Something smells?"
"Yeah."
"Um . . . what smells, Ellie?"
"Snow White . . . " long pause again as she drifts off.
"Snow White smells?"
"Yeah. Smells like . . . " asleep again.
I sit there, wondering how long I have to wait 'til I crawl out of bed again.
The her eyes fly open, "Snow White smells like dinner." She's out like a light again.
"Snow White smells like dinner?" I whisper.
She sleepily answers, "Yeah, like dinner."
Then she's asleep again. For good. (Or, until midnight or so, is my best guess.)
Weird. :-)
(Add to the frequent night wakings due to Snow White's odor issues and water tossing cows, Isaac's also dealing with serious teething issues (and a possible ear infection, I'm thinking of taking him in again, 'cause his level of 'angry baby' is off the charts, and overly-tired-and-nauseous-first-trimester-Hilary is possibly not dealing with screaming-all-freaking-day-long-Isaac as well as she'd like to.) He went from FINALLY sleeping through the night (well, until 5:30AM, at least, but I'll take it) to waking up every 2-3 hours all night long. It's like they're conspiring against me. I'm not sure to what end, 'cause they may not realize this, but it's not like their life will get suddenly super awesome or fun if Mom ends up institutionalized. But for some reason, they're co-conspirators in the great 'sleep-deprivation-torture-campaign-against-Mom&Dad-of-2011.)
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