Dino Museum Fieldtrip

Annie was very excited to go on her latest fieldtrip for preschool.  Ellie was even more excited as she put on her sister's extra preschool shirt from last year.  But, of course, as we got in the van to drive to the museum, Ellie started crying, "No!  Going to Ms. Jenny's house!"   I hadn't realized she thought she was getting on the shirt because she was going to actual preschool -- I thought I'd explained the whole fieldtrip thing, but apparently Ellie was quite distraught we weren't just getting ready to go play at the preschool. 

Once we got there though, Ellie cheered up, while playing with some of her favorite friends . . .

Annie, Ellie and Sarajayne pretending to be gorillas.

Always the favorite -- playing in the dinosaur bones digging area.

Two sets of sisters -- Sarajayne and Kate, and Ellie and Annie.

One of Ellie's meltdowns.

Best friends.  And a triceratops.

Annie being all nurturing and stuff with Ellie at the erosion table.

Kate, Ellie, Annie, Sarajayne and Kian checking out the fish.

Annie & Ivy bouncing to see how much they could make the scale register.

Isaac and I were there too, but he was strapped to me in either the front carrier or a sling, so there are no pictures.  I attempted to get him down for a nap for a solid TWO HOURS.  And it never worked.  Then we drove home -- not a short drive either, and in all that time he refused to fall asleep too.  He's six months old, and the first time I got him down for a nap that day was at almost 2PM.  My kids are sleep-hating freaks!  :-)

And later that day, my girls were just having fun playing in front of the cameras.  I have several videos of them singing, dancing and talking -- but they're all ridiculously long and too much of a pain to upload.  :-)

Losers

It's on again.

Family Biggest Loser Competition.

Well, a competition between two of my sisters and myself.  We voted Talina off the 'Biggest Loser' island, 'cause she's too skinny.  But the rest of us are having a race to lose the first 20 lbs.  My baby weight is not getting the message that I'm so over it, and it looks like I'll need to evict said baby weight by force.

I've been exercising really well -- my body is a nice mild soreness all day.  I don't know what raises my heart rate more though -- the working out, or the listening to the baby cry the entire time I'm so cruelly ignoring him in his exersaucer. 

I'm working on eating better.  My biggest problem right now is that I need to eat like every 2-3 hours (this is my norm when I'm nursing a baby), but I have absolutely NO patience for eating.  I'll eat while standing and cleaning and I'll only get half way through but just be done with eating.  Like it's taking up too much of my time or something.  But, I'm hungry again just a few hours later or less, and I live off of things I can eat quickly. Which isn't always the healthiest.  (Except fruit -- I need more fruit.) 

What are your favorite workouts?

Favorite healthy snacks?

Any ideas on how to sabotage my sisters?

Not For the Faint of Heart (or) I Wish I Could Help, But . . .

So, poor Ellie is constipated.  (See, not for the faint of heart, this is one of those Mommy-Blog-poop posts).

This has never happened to her before, and it's heartbreaking to see her in pain and so very, very confused and upset by the betrayal of her body.  She's just moaned and sobbed out all day, "My bum hurts."  I don't really know what to do to help her.  I've let her spend the afternoon playing in the bathtub, where she seems to be distracted from her pain the majority of the time.  But every five minutes or so, she'll suddenly cry out, hop out of the tub and we'll sit her down on her potty and I'll 'coach' her through trying to go to the bathroom.  It's sad, she writhes around a bit, breaks into tears then climbs back into the bathtub defeated.  This last time though, I was sitting on the floor next to her potty and explaining that she was going to have to push the poop out . . . she exerted her best effort, writhed around in pain, then sadly looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I just can't do this anymore. You do it now?"

Broke my heart.  And made me almost laugh out loud.  Is that bad?


(So, anyone have any great getting-kids-through-constipation-tips?  Seriously, my children have NEVER dealt with this and I feel just helpless!)

I Would Like My (Relatively) Well Mannered Children Returned Please . . .

OK, so is it the full moon or something?!  'Cause my children are just barely this side of possessed.  It's nonstop crying, whining, screaming, fighting and sobbing around here the last few days.  I can't set Isaac down without him crying so hard he forgets to breathe.  The girls are smacking each other around constantly, which is actually quite unusual for them.  Annie wakes up so grumpy that I'm half tempted to go put her immediately back in bed and lock the door behind her.  Ellie is so extremely short tempered and volatile that she's a tiny hurricane of extreme emotions, leaving a wake of destruction (physical, emotional and mental) in her wake.  Even the messes they make seem to be worse than normal.  And I can't keep up with them!  Isaac won't let me set him down without screaming bloody murder, so I'm doing most of my housework single handedly, and I'm getting more behind by the hour.  I tried to work out this morning (needing an endorphin rush something fierce) and ended up getting so distressed by his frantic shrill cries from his (normally beloved) exersaucer, and the girls screaming at each other and threatening each other with bodily harm, that I only made it about 5 minutes in before I nearly melted down and had to shut off the DVD to tend to my needy, ornery children. 

Have I mentioned I haven't showered or changed into regular clothes yet today?

Isaac's only letting me type this, 'cause I'm holding him up one handed so he can stare at himself in the mirror above my computer.  It won't last long.


Over the last several days Greg has got to enjoy several phone calls with a minimum of two children shrieking uncontrollably in the background, and empty threats by his wife of, "You better get home on time tonight, 'cause I can't guarantee I'll be here even 10 seconds after 4:30 comes around." 




Oh, it helped quite a bit that I went to a cake decorating class last night, while Greg stayed home, got all three children down for bed and then cleaned, mopped and vacuumed the entire main floor.  (Probably out of fear I really would take off after another day of such torture.  Either way, he's amazing.)  I felt very refreshed, rejuvenated in a cleaner home, plus I proved myself to be a cake decorating genius (not really, but I was way impressed by my first attempt nonetheless.)  Of course, then the children all woke up this morning just as pissy and my mood has turned foul again.



Please tell me it's the full moon . . . and that things'll get back to normal soon . . .

Yet More Comparisons . . .

. . . 'cause I find them kinda fascinating.

Top row: Ellie, Isaac, Ellie.  Middle row:  Isaac, Annie, Isaac.  Bottom row: Ellie, Annie, Isaac.

Edited to add:  They can't be that similar looking, 'cause Ellie can name every single baby correctly without any help or even more than a second to think about it . . .

A Horse for Four?

Greg was giving horse back rides to Annie, Ellie and their friends Seth & Aniston . . . 

I don't think four kids quite fit . . .

Then some Isaac-y goodness . . .

Being tickled by Dad

 Playing with his penguin friend

Sitting on the couch

 Getting kisses from his sister, Ellie

Loving tummy time . . . which he's just starting to get into

 

 

Why I Hate Solids . . .

I'm not a fan of feeding babies solids.  It's a lot of messy work to get a tablespoon or two of food into them.  It messes with their little digestive systems, not to mention the fact that my spitty babies go from having gross curdled milk spit up to having gross orange milk spit up . . .

And then just to follow up the grossness of the picture above, 

here's a more attractive picture of my baby boy during tummy time . . .

Ellie's Curly Hair and a New Makeover . . .

Just a few recent pictures . . .

First off, Ellie's curls -- these kinda show how curly her hair is getting.

Sunday night at my parent's house.  We had all the grandparents over to celebrate Talina's birthday (Happy Birthday tomorrow Beans!)  Annie and Ellie got their Christmas presents from Great Grandma Kay and Great Grandpa Pete -- new baby dolls!  They were so excited.  And, I think it's possible we are now done with Christmas gifts.  Maybe.  :-)

 Isaac hanging out with Great Grandma Betty and a new toy . . .

Then, some pictures to show off Ellie's artistic side . . . here she is after playing with make up today . . .

 And then Ms. Grumpy Pants was suddenly done with the photo shoot.

Everyone was Kung Fu Fighting . . .

Annie and Ellie are currently into the movie "Barbie and the Three Musketeers."  It horrifies Greg, "Really!?  She's fighting off the guards with RIBBONS!? . . . Now that one's using a FAN!?  These are not even weapons!"

My favorite part though is watching the girls get an intense workout every time they turn it on -- they dance to all the music and 'fight' right alongside the Musketeers.

Ellie, in particular, gets very into it . . .

(See how she starts out all sweet and innocent, then goes all Musketeer on you . . . he he he . . . that's my favorite!)

And how cute is she in her little ballerina outfit!

She loves it and insists on wearing it pretty much every day . . . best $25 I've ever spent (it was Annie's dance recital outfit from last year.  Ellie cries every time it has to go through the wash.)

Not Fair

So, just a few days ago, I wrote about Ellie's constant use of the phrase "No Fair!"  Well, it's already morphed a little, and become "Not Fair!"  And I heard a lot of it today.

"Ellie, don't stick your hand in the Kitchen Aid while it's mixing."
"Not Fair!"

"Ellie, don't touch the cake pan that just came out of the oven."
"Not Fair!"

"Ellie, you can't lick the knife until after I'm done frosting the cake."
"Not Fair!"

I am like the meanest Mom ever. 

Performance Artists . . .

Ellie singing for the camera . . .

Isaac 'talking' . . .

 

Ellie singing (while chewing a gigantic wad of gum) with Isaac 'accompanying' in the background . . . 

Ellie spinning . . .

My hyper little ham . . .

Isaac and his 'big' sister Ellie . . .

No Fair

Ellie has a new phrase she uses a lot.  (A couple actually, she says "Actually" before most of her sentences now.)  But the one I'm hearing the most is, "No Fair!" 

"Ellie, don't hit your brother."
"No Fair!"

"Ellie, stop pushing your sister."
"No Fair!"

"Ellie, don't jump off the back of the couch!"
"No Fair!"

She is picked on.

This morning she had to go in time out.  After her bath, I rinsed her off in the shower, then let her and Annie stay and play in the shower (they LOVE to squeegee) while I went and fed Isaac.  When I came back, Ellie had dumped half a bottle of my expensive salon brand shampoo (that stays in the shower so the girls don't get into it in the bathtub!  D'oh!) all over the floor of the shower, and rubbed it onto every square inch of the shower walls that she could reach.  I stuck her in time out (after rinsing her slippery body thoroughly), all the while she's crying, "No fair!  No fair!  No fair!"  I spent the next twenty minutes scrubbing and rinsing my shower.  Which I had already cleaned out that morning.  It really didn't seem fair.

Shrimpy McShrimp the Third?

So, Isaac was pretty much giant at his two month and four month appointments.  He'd doubled his birth weight before four months old -- as all of my kids have.  But then, just like his sisters, right around the time he hit the 'double' mark, he just stopped putting on weight.  To the tune of less than a half pound in the last two months.  Meaning his weight plummeted from 75 percent to the 34th percentile in about two months.  His sister's weight curves took similar nose dives at the same age.

The difference this time?  I have a pediatrician who isn't freaking out about it!  I can't tell you how happy this makes me!  She walked in with his chart in hand, laughed out loud and said, "Wow, this is interesting!  What happened to you, Chunk?"  We went on to discuss both of my girls growth curves taking similar dives at the exact same age, and the very nature of how breastfed babies grow, and she said, "Well, just take one look at him -- he's obviously not failure to thrive!  He's healthy and pudgy, and the kid put on SIX lbs in SIX weeks when he was younger, there's no way he could've kept up that growth!  He'd be huge!  As long as he's eating, you're not worried, and he doesn't start losing weight, I'm not worried."  Oh, be still my heart.  I cannot even put into words how great it felt to have a doctor not freak out at what is apparently my childrens' norms.  He put on another half inch, and his head is still growing (89th percentile, of course), so he's obviously growing and thriving.  To have a pediatrician who looked at the whole picture, actually looked at my son's chunky thighs (while squeezing them to make him giggle) and inspecting his buddha belly by tickling it -- a pediatrician who looked at my son, and not his chart -- it was the greatest feeling.  She had him standing on her lap, holding tight to her fingers, checking out his development simply by getting him into her arms and playing with him.  She jabbered back and forth with him.  She exclaimed how strong he was when he was pulling himself up.  She continued to win me over yet again when she was the first pediatrician I've had whose answer to our 'slow weight gain' situation wasn't "solids."  I mean, she wants him eating solids as he gets older, of course, but she warned, "You realize, as he begins to eat more and more solids, he will probably fall a little further on the growth charts.  Don't worry, that's normal."  With both Annie and Ellie I was told by their doctors that they needed to be eating more solids to put on more weight.  I remember being SO stumped by that!  Really?  So, if I replace the baby equivalent of straight cream in their diets with pureed green beans and squash they'll just pack on the pounds!?  I remember with Ellie in particular, arguing with the doctor, "So, you're telling me that if I replace half of a feeding with a couple tablespoons carrots, she'll suddenly start packing on the pounds?!"  His response was, "She just needs more food in her, than she'll gain."  So when our doctor yesterday said, "Baby food is basically diet food -- I mean vegetables and oatmeal, that's what I eat to lose weight!" I almost got up and hugged her. 

So, my big boy isn't quite so big anymore (he still seems big to me though . . . he is more than three pounds heavier than Ellie was at this age -- and he's my first kid to EVER be above 50% on the charts in height, at 66%).  I guess I should've seen this coming, as I'm now three for three on kids who basically stop gaining weight between four and six months.  I'm just glad I have a doctor this time who isn't trying to freak me out about it, and is looking at the whole picture that is my son, and not just a line on a chart.  "Don't worry, that's just his normal," has to be my new favorite phrase.  :-)

Last night Isaac tried squash -- probably like a whole 7 calories worth :-)

 Then right before I stripped him down and stuck his little squash covered self in the shower with his Dad . . .

The News is Scary These Days . . .

So, I was watching the news tonight while feeding Isaac.  I was struck by an almost eerie feeling as I took in several distressing stories back to back.

The complete devastation caused by the floods in Australia.  Entire cities facing "post-war type of reconstruction."  Their third largest city destroyed.  

Next, video from all over the East coast of people digging out of feet and feet of snow.  People out in the street using screwdrivers and golf clubs to try and chisel the ice out from underneath their tires.

Then, Brian Williams, all nonchalantly, "And when we come back, amazing pictures of a volcano roaring to life."  An active volcano spewing all over the place in Italy.  A freaking volcano!  A VOLCANO!

Seriously!?  Is the Earth turning on us?  Seems a little 'Mother Earth on a Rampage' to me!


Then, to top it off, they've apparently redone the entire astrological charts, due to our ever shifting (and apparently mightily pissed) Earth.  Apparently, I'm no longer a Gemini!  I'm a Taurus now!  A Taurus!  (You too, Jessi!)  This is seriously messing with a core part of my identity.*  It's all just a little too much . . . I'm turning off the news and I'm gonna go put in a DVD of 'Gilmore Girls' . . .









* Not really.  I don't really care about my sign, but I've always liked being a Gemini, because most descriptions of Geminis are pretty dead on, and point out some of my favorite traits.  (I ignore the flaws.)  I'd actually just called Greg in to do a mini-rant about the three back to back disaster stories on the news when it suddenly switched to the astrological signs story and I just threw up my hands and dramatically said, "Now they've changed my sign!  Where does it end?!"  Obviously the whole Australia thing is a much bigger, and more heartbreaking story. 

Six Months Old

Six Months Old -- Clockwise, starting in the top left corner -- Isaac, Annie, Isaac and Ellie.

Two Years Apart

I need to get a picture of the back of Ellie's hair.  What you don't normally see in photos, is that the entire back part of her head is covered in blonde ringlets now.  Every bit as curly as Annie's was at this age.  The big difference is that Ellie's hair is bone straight in front, and she doesn't have as much of it.  Which got me thinking about Annie's hair at this age . . . 

 

The top two photos are Annie at the same age as Ellie is now, and bottom two are pictures of Ellie in the last couple weeks. I found it is near impossible to find a regular picture of Ellie smiling -- in pictures she's usually pulling REALLY excited faces, or pouting. :-)

Isaac's Six Months Old

So, Isaac's six months old today.  I can't believe it's gone by so fast!  We don't have our check up until next week, but I know he's hovering around 17lbs.  That's less than a half pound gain in the last two months, which would be worrisome if it wasn't for the fact both of his sisters did the exact same thing -- gained like 7 ounces between four and six months old.  It's apparently our norm around here.  So, with the stretching out, he's hovering around the 45th percentile for his age, but is still quite tall.  He's sitting better and better, but it's not something I'd leave him alone doing -- and he's tried solids now and loves them (avocados, to be exact).  Unfortunately, his little stomach does not seem to enjoy the avocados as much as he does, and after two tries on avocados, he's had horrible digestive issues (we obviously stopped the avocados when problems presented -- in the form of waking every 1-3 hours all night long, usually with a poopy diaper of a very unnatural dark green.  What?  You don't wanna hear about baby poop?  Then you're reading the wrong blog, sorry.  :-)  But it's four days later and he's still not back to normal yet, and we haven't touched solid foods again.)  He's been a bit grumpier, as I'm imagining diaper rash does that to a person, but he's still mostly his happy self.  This last six months has been (while sometimes difficult) among the happiest of my life -- I live in a pretty blissed out 'I love this baby' haze of coos and slobbering baby kisses.  His sisters are adorable with him; Ellie assures us several times a day, "Isaac love me!"  He loves to watch them sing and play and dance and laugh -- he's less thrilled when they want to hold him (which is often.) 

Isaac at six months old (i.e., this morning).

Then just some other pictures from this last week or so -- 

Greg and Isaac this week (Greg's trying to keep his eyes open for the picture, which cracks me up)

Then Uncle James and Ellie on James' birthday.

 Ellie feeding Isaac -- this is her FAVORITE thing to do with him.  Imagine her angst at the fact we cut all solids with all the tummy troubles.  I'm actually a little worried now -- we made such a big deal about how babies DO NOT EAT food to keep Ellie from trying to give the baby stuff.  And now we suddenly started feeding the baby.  I now watch fruit snacks and raisins like a hawk, fearful that it'll click in Ellie's little two year old mind, "Oh wait!  We feed him now!"

 We had hot cocoa with peppermint sticks on Monday night as a family . . .

Crazy Ellie Face #1

 The girls hiding under their table while drinking cocoa . . .

Crazy Ellie Face #2

Look Ma, no hands!

Crazy Ellie Face #3.  Then Ellie spilling her hot cocoa.  Of course.

Ellie Was Here . . .

Ellie summoned me into the front room with an excited, "Mom!  Mom!  Ellie!  Ellie!"  I came in to find her proudly pointing out the chalkboard on our new puppet theater.  And there it was, she'd written her own name, all on her own, without anyone else even in the room to offer any help.  She was so proud of herself!  And I was so excited about her accomplishment that we ran upstairs together to get the camera.

(There are the E's on the beginning and the end -- the one up front has too many horizonal lines, and the one at the end only has two, but it's the general idea.  In the middle are just a series of vertical lines . . . but really, isn't that all L's and I's are? :-)  And then there's an "S" over the top.  That was for Aunt Star.  It's just an added extra.  :-)  It's obviously not perfect, but of course, she is only two.)

Grumble, Grumble . . .

My head hurts and I'm tired. 

Someone explain to me how it is my kids stayed awake 'til 9:45 last night (later than their father!) and yet they popped out of bed all super chipper at 6:40. 

And while you're explaining that, tell me why it is Isaac woke up EVERY one to two hours last night.  And then would NOT fall back asleep, even after being nursed for a solid half hour.  He'd just fuss or coo and babble in his bed instead of sleeping, despite it being midnight.  Then 2AM.  Then 3:45.  Then 5.  And 6.  And according to the doctor, it's not an ear infection.  Demon possession is all I can think of, but he's so darn cute and sweet during the day . . .