Fear of large rodents

Feed Me!

Alaina's first bite of food

Alaina getting ready to go outside--I told you she has grown!

Alaina shoveling the driveway.

Boy—I was just rereading this before posting—and you can tell that I write at different sittings. Funny how your mood changes the way you write things….On to the blog…

Ky was invited to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. It was his first time ever there and boy, did he have fun---that is until the mouse came out…

So cute—so they feed the kids pizza & juice and then they start a five minute count down until Chuck E comes out. The kids are out of their seats and dancing next to the stage. Ky was having a blast—and then out came that mouse and headed right towards Ky. You should have seen how quickly Ky’s happy face turned to utter terror. He let out a scream and then ran crying to me. I tell you—there is something scary about people dressed up as oversized animals. Even Ky felt it. The boy would not go near Chuck E after that—though now he talks about Chuck E like he is his best friend.

The rest of the time he spent playing games. He loved this bee like game—where he had to catch the bees in a net. He also enjoyed the rides. Yeah—he was pretty well tuckered by the time we left. ?Fortunately? The candy he won helped keep him awake until we got home. Speaking of sugar---

Ky has been on an “anti-food” kick. The only thing he wants to eat is sugar—and well since we don’t really feed him sugar, he has pretty much been going hungry. He used to be such a good eater! I am very glad to know that this is only a phase. After some advice though, we have decided to go with the “Peanut butter or eat what we are having” diet. And let’s just say Ky has been eating A LOT of peanut butter lately. Before this advice we were just letting him not eat anything, if he wasn’t having what we were having. Then we started having sleeping problems. The last straw was Saturday night when he was up pretty much until 3:30 AM crying. Oh what a night. That one will go down in the record books…It was quite miserable for all of us—especially since Rob and I knew that Alaina would have us up by 7 or possibly 8.

My angel is just growing so fast. Today I nuzzled with her and stared into her brown eyes encased by dark blue. She is changing and getting bigger. The outfit I put her in today is too short in the legs. I have already pulled out the next size up wardrobe—and have been dreading moving into it. She plays with strings on my sweater and giggles at me waiting expectantly for me to say something to her. I begin to sing and her eyes light up, the nuk moves faster and faster between her lips with excited gulps, and then beneath her pacifier a smile sneaks out of the sides. She so expertly holds that nuk in her mouth as she smiles and gurgles. Just months ago, it would have fallen out if she had tried to talk. She has so quickly learned. I know that if she wanted to she could now pull that nuk out of her mouth and put it back in.

My friend Rachel had her baby several weeks ago, and this past week I saw him for the first time—all 6 lbs 14 oz of him. He was so tiny…Here I can’t say I ever saw my little girl much less than 8 lbs. However, when we brought Ky home from the hospital he was 6 lb 7 oz—however I don’t remember him ever being that small. The time is so short and it just shows how important it is to savor every moment. *SIGH* My kids are growing up.

Two kids are difficult. You can’t possibly keep your eye on them all the time—and you need to get things done around the house. And no matter how much you trust your child—they are still children and forget what you tell them. Case and point—I was downstairs putting laundry in the washing machine. Alaina was in the swing. Ky was upstairs playing with his Thomas flashcards. Suddenly, I hear Alaina scream—and it was a pain scream. All these images begin to flash in my head---the swing is by the fireplace, what if Ky knocked the swing over into the fireplace—but wait I didn’t hear any thud. I run upstairs to see Kylan with his doctor stethoscope in his ears, the tongues suppressor and then doctor scissors in both hands and leaning over Alaina in the swing. He looked like Dr. Jekyll. She was just screaming her head off. I pushed him aside and pulled her out of the swing. I couldn’t visibly see what was wrong with her—so now here comes the interrogation of the two year old. “What did you do to her?” Ky, such a sensitive soul, yet at that moment my Dr. Jekyll, began to sob uncontrollably. He knew he hurt her and felt bad. I felt bad for him, but I needed an answer. “What did you do?” More tears. I sat him on a time out. After several minutes of calming her down and getting him to calm down he then told me he stuck the tongue suppressor in her mouth—while she was swinging in the swing. I asked her if she started coughing and gagging. He said yes. My poor girl was her little brother’s unsuspecting patient. I fed her right away and she seemed to swallow fine, which was a good sign that no damage was done. But what a scary moment. I am sure I will have many more of these. Ky knows better than to touch her in the swing—yet his doctor--self was calling. Phew..at least we made it through that okay.

We have started Alaina on rice cereal. She was starting to smack her lips every time I was eating—that and trying to grab the food off our plates, so we figured it was time. So far so good. I hope to try out avocado with her later this week. Pics above of her first rice cereal experience…

Ky went to a train show with Grandpa and Dad here in Madison. He had a blast. We were a little worried about the weather—we got like 8” of snow in 24 hours, but it all worked out. Alaina and I, however, were snowed in. BLAH! Soon it will be warm again. The pics above are what Rob took of the train show.

I introduced Ky to “Stranger Danger.” It is very hard to have a conversation with a two year old on this—and I have been thinking about it for a while now. The last straw came when a scary hairy man (there is something about that scraggly-wash-me-please hair that just doesn’t seem right!) offered to rock Alaina while I picked out books at the library. She was crying because she was in her car seat (of course). I was just ignoring her—something I have to do when I take her anywhere in her car seat. Anyway—I am sure the man had good intentions, but ummm…”no” you aren’t rocking my baby. I guess Alaina was really disturbing the peace—because a librarian came over several minutes later and asked me if she could help me pick out my materials. Yeah---didn’t need that either. Hey—but I have yet to get kicked out of a library---and if it happens, I will be sure to blog about it!

Back to my story…so a few minutes later the man comes back over to me with his daughter “Cicada”—…hmmmm…So this of course does make him a little less scary—he has a child named after a bug, he can’t be too bad…but then he makes a comment that Cicada is the only daughter he knows he has—unless he has other kids that he wasn’t told about—so hairy man with bug daughter now becomes scary again. Then he starts up a conversation with Kylan—asking his name and such. Then he wants to know my name & Alaina’s—he probably had good intentions, but it just didn’t feel right. Was he trying to hit on me? Was he just trying to forget about his bad hair day? I think everyone has probably been in one of those conversations where it just didn’t feel quite right. So we then politely told the man we had to get on our way and left.

Anyway, after that encounter I decided it was imperative to have the “Stranger danger” conversation. I started out by explaining to Kylan that people we don’t know are strangers. And when he is approached by a stranger, he should not talk to them unless I say it is okay. Then, he wanted to know why. I told him that some strangers are bad people and could hurt him, but most are good. Mom just wants to make sure he is okay and that is why he shouldn’t talk to strangers. I also told him he should never go with a stranger or take anything from a stranger unless I say it is okay.

I felt the conversation with him went alright, at the same time I wonder how he is going to interpret this talk. I could just see him yelling out “stranger—you could hurt me!” next time someone he doesn’t know talks to him. I will let you know how this turns out….Until next blog!

Brotherly Love

Big brother feeding little sister for the first time!

3-6 month snow suit--which is a bit tight!

He will always be my baby!

She hates her mittens and manages to take them off every time we go somewhere. This time she put her mittens by her ears!

Hmmm....I wonder how Ky got that black nostril.....

Oh...now I know why!

Alaina loves it when Ky plays with her!

An icicle!

Alaina didn't like being bundled up outside....

Alaina is my big girl. Before her 4 month appointment we were taking guesses on weight. Rob and I were in the 15 lb range, my friends in the 16 lb range. Well turns out she is 16 lb. 14 oz (96% for weight) and 25.75" (92%) for height. The funny thing is ---Ky, at this age, was a pound heavier and an inch shorter!! So he was definitely the "chub" of the family--unfortunately for Alaina she carries much of her weight in those cute little cheeks of hers. And those cheeks get pinched by people WAY TOO often! Along with this her feet have just become enormous--and I mean fat. They were so tiny and thin and then they blew up. She can't fit into most of her shoes anymore. :(

She is growing so fast and doing new things all the time. Now when I go to feed her she gets so excited she starts to giggle! Yes giggle! She also grabs everything! I am losing a lot of hair because she grabs and yanks!

Alaina smacks her lips. She learned this from our friend Wendy. It was very neat to see her copy Wendy. Now she quite regularly smacks her lips. She also has become a regular giggler. She squeals and laughs. It always puts a smile on your face to hear her.

Alaina has also become a master razzer. However she is a very messy, drooly razzer. You may notice that in a lot of her pics there is a big pool of drool on her chin--that's because she spits as she razzes. It is very messy and gross--good thing she is a baby and can get away with it. If I walked around razzing like she does I know I would just get funny looks.

Tummy time has become null and void with Alaina now that she is rolling over. I have been trying to work with her on sitting -and she can sit a few seconds on her own--but she wants to stand. So trying to get her to sit is a real battle. She will plant her heels down and then arch her back to get out of the sitting position and into a standing position. I am thinking she may end up skipping crawling like Ky. We will have to wait and see.

She has also become quite the giggler. She cracks herself up. She will be by herself and then just shriek and laugh. She is very silly. Her greatest obsession is her brother though. She really loves him and could just watch him forever. Aunt Liz and Uncle Adam got the kids the big bro and lil' sis shirts--I love these shirts!. You can see in the pics how she just likes to watch him--and grab him--she is a very grabby girl.

Kylan loves fire alarms. The boy is obsessed. We can never go anywhere without him checking that there are fire alarms. And when people come over, he shows them all of our fire alarms. He became obsessed because unfortunately we have had the fire alarm at the YMCA go off way too often--I think 4 times in the past year or so. Then I had to explain to him what the alarms were and why they are there--and TADA---obsessed boy. Perhaps he will grow up to be a fire fighter?

In the last blog, I mentioned Ky and his love for bowling. Well, I convinced my play group to go again and he had just as much fun as before--and this time I brought my camera!

OK--I am not going to put any gross details here (Ky you can ask me when you are all grown up and I will be happy to tell you--and this will not be one I will forget)--but Ky had a potty incident--his first public incident the other day at the bowling alley. Let's just say I ended up in the men's restroom with him--the women's was closed due to cleaning--and there was NO waiting--the boy had to go. I am very glad there were no men in there. (and yes I did knock before I entered) and surprisingly nobody walked in on us.

I am not sure if I mentioned this in the last blog, but at the beginning of January, Ky went for his 6 month eye checkup. We were told that he is 20/60 & 20/70. The doc was going to write Ky a prescription for glasses since he is near-sighted. I asked him if we could hold off for now--especially since he isn't in school or anything. The doc agreed and will continue to keep an eye on how his vision develops. Ky will need glasses once he gets in school for sure. I am sad about this, but at least his vision is still better than his daddy's at this point.

I caught Ky "black" handed the other day. We have been having issues with the boy picking his nose--EWWW!! Well the other day he was coloring with markers, and then I saw him disappear in the living room. He came back a few minutes later with black hands and a black nostril. I asked him "did you go in the living room to pick your nose?" and the nice thing about 2 year olds is that they don't lie. "Yes I did" he responded. You can see the pic of that above---I couldn't let a memory like this get away. Also if you look at his hand you will see that there is marker around his fingers. He LOVES to trace hands. It's his new thing right now.

Last Blog I mentioned Ky and his tantrums. Well I am happy to report he (and I ) are doing much better now. I have begun to simplify my life and spend more time with him. Alaina's naptime in the morning is critical for us to get that good one on one time together. The house is a little messier and I am not accomplishing as much as I would like, but it is definitely worth having a happier boy. Today begins week 3 of this new journey with him. He has become more affectionate not only to me, but also to Alaina and I think Daddy as well. I feel so bad that it took me this long to figure this out. But at least now I can be sure I am keeping his love tank on full--and if there are future tantrums that seem out of place I can reflect on how much time I have been spending with him.

We celebrated Ryan, Lisa's, and Debi's b'day on Super Bowl Sunday. This is probably the first year in a very long time that I had no idea who was playing. Rob told me that he was very disappointed in me when I told him I didn't know who was playing. I think the added kid has made it a lot harder to pay attention to things like that. Birthday time was good--however scattered since it was the Superbowl. Ryan made a brief appearance to blow out his candles and then disappeared. Ky had a lot of fun playing with his cousin Dominic. They rolled the ball in the hall for awhile and then they chased each other around. They were too cute. They are good friends.

We had an extremely warm day the other day--I think it got into the 50's--so we went on one of our family walks--something we haven't done in a LONG LONG time. The pics of Alaina bundled up in her white snowsuit show her on that day. I think she really enjoyed the walk. We were all soaked due to the giant puddles by the time we got home. I can't wait for it to get warm again!

There are also pics of her and Ky outside on a snowy day. It was a warmer snowy day and I wanted to get Ky out. Ky really had fun making snowballs and getting icicles. Alaina however did not enjoy the weather. My neighbor and I ended up doing a trade off. She sent out her kids and I watched them and she took in Alaina. Next thing I know my neighbor is walking back over because Alaina is crying. She thought she was hungry or maybe upset over a scratch on her leg. I told my neighbor it was probably "stranger anxiety" since she doesn't know her well. My neighbor didn't think so. Then I really started to doubt my instincts with my own parenting (I mean hey she had three kids, I only had two.) The funny thing is that I took Alaina back inside all concerned about this scratch--just to be reassured that I did know my child. Alaina became instantly happy when she was back in my arms. Boy parenting always has you second guessing yourself!

And finally....

In case you didn't notice, I have been putting my blog to work for me. I have had a lot of people asking for recipes and such--and lets just say my cookbooks are starting to look ragged. So I thought I would start my own online cookbook. There are lots of online cookbooks out there, but many don't allow you to give access to others--so that is where I put my blog to work. If you notice on the right hand side of my blog is "Jess' Recipe box". From now on I will be updating the food categories with my favorite recipes. Please feel free to look through some of the recipes--and give me feedback if you try some. It is going to take some time for me to get all my recipes up--so visit often to see what new stuff I have put up. Also--criteria for the recipes to make it in the blog--It has to be something I make or have made which I thought was good, or it needs to be a family recipe. There are a few family recipes up already which honestly I haven't tried, but I will soon--if they are dreadfully awful I will take them down. If you have a recipe you would like me to try out--please send it to me.

Also I have a preschool box of links. This is some of the curriculum I am using for Kylan as we work through the alphabet. Feel free to browse--or if you have any good websites let me know so I can use them too. BTW--bragging moment--my boy now recognizes all his letters big and small! YEAH KY! I know he will be reading soon! He already recognizes probably about 10 - 15 words. Back to the blog...

I love my blog! It really has been great at helping me keep memories and now keep my life more organized....Soon I also hope to add my favorite craft links. Let me know what you think!

Appetizers

Artichoke Dip

So simple and so yummy! Serve with crackers or bread.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Ever-Hot-Artichoke-Dip/Detail.aspx

Big Feet, Lil' Feet

Kylan decided he was going to try Alaina's pants on....amazingly, they fit him rather well!

We were so proud that Kylan put his coat on all by himself, we didn't bother to tell him that he put it on backwards! And yes, we left like this....

It's official...Ky is now in a big boy bed!

First night asleep in the big boy bed...

Figured I would snap a pic of Alaina sleeping as well...

Nothing better than feeling the fresh air on your tush!

"Are you taking pictures of me!?"

Ky's underwear fit Alaina very well....especially when you are in a pinch!

Grandma & Grandpa came for a short visit shortly after New Year's!

Too much exersaucersizing!

"I love to stand! And eat fingers!"

Tummy time....

So much to write--I just never seem to have enough time....so memories & milestones:

Alaina

My little girl growls--yes she does. No joke. She looks at you and "grrrr...." She is a very happy growler--but man it is odd to have this little baby girl growl at you...

Around Christmas, one of my coworkers told me to put Alaina (then a brand new 3 months) in an exersaucer. I disagreed and said she was too young...after some debate I put her in the exersaucer to show my coworker that she was wrong and Alaina wasn't ready--well wasn't I the joke when Alaina stood up with good body control and started spinning and dancing around. I have now pulled the exersaucer out of the basement and it is her favorite pass time. Especially at dinner--we will put the exersaucer by the table and she will sit in and play with her toys--yes plays---she grabs things now and of course puts it in her mouth. Dinner time is especially fun though because she gazes adoringly at her father the whole meal. Big smile on her face, big brown eyes (yes, they are definitely brown now). It is too cute! She has a special bond with her daddy. When he looks at her she gets so excited and jumps in her exersaucer and does a little squeal. WOW! This is the neatest thing to see! I only wish every little girl could have that special bond with her daddy.

Speaking of daddy, we refer to Rob as the "pokey man". That is how she identifies him. When he picks her up or gets near, she likes to grab his face and feel his facial hair. She ONLY does this with him. It is like her special way of identifying him. So Rob is the "pokey man" I am the "milk Lady" and Ky is the "loud crazy one". She love Ky. She could spend all day just watching him and what he does. She will definitely be the little sister that follows her big brother around --sorry Ky! At least she will have a good role model--and I think he will look out for her.

Alaina also razzes now and rolls over from her stomach to her back. Tummy time is very little anymore since she would just prefer to roll onto her back. However, sometimes she forgets she can roll over and then she gets a little tummy time until she remembers again.

As far as personality-wise, right now I think Alaina will be more active than Kylan. The girl won't sit. All she wants to do is stand. If you sit her in your lap, she will arch her back until she starts scooting out of your lap or you stand her up. Right now I am predicting that she will be walking sooner than Ky. We will have to wait and see....

Kylan

Kylan's latest saying is "you are in an adicament, no tasting or eating until you are thin". This is from his pooh book. The word is actually predicament. It is so funny when he walks up to you and says "You are in an adicament!" It is amazing the big words he picks up!

So my little boy is heading towards 3 years old. He is now over the 2 1/2 mark. *SIGH* He is growing so fast! A couple of weeks ago he told me he was putting himself to bed. He then proceeded to crawl into his crib (yes I said crib--we haven't transitioned him to a big boy bed yet because he never tried to crawl out. In fact he still has yet to try to crawl out, he only crawls in.) So Rob and I decided to go ahead and convert his bed to the toddler bed. *SIGH* Tonight we are trying it out for the first time. My little boy is not so little anymore...

Last week Ky went bowling for the first time--and I forgot my camera! I am so mad! Anyway--the boy had a blast. He got shoes and a ball--and he had fun. We put up the bumpers and the alley has a special ramp for him to roll the ball down so it can get acceleration. He scored higher than me. His first game he got a 69. Go Kylan! We will definitely have to take him again.

Ky keeps becoming a pickier and pickier eater. We have determined that he tries to fill himself up on breakfast and lunch food in order to avoid eating dinner. Often the only thing he will eat for dinner is the vegetable that is served (isn't that bizarre!) He will eat bowls--yes bowls--of cereal in the morning, eat a whole PB & J sandwich plus all the sides for lunch and then just eat veggies for dinner---perhaps this is the secret to his slim figure? Speaking of which, the boy is thin. We are having problems finding 3T pants that fit him around the waist. Thank goodness for adjustable waist bands!

On to stories...

When looking at the pics you may have found yourself wondering why Alaina was wearing Ky's underwear. Well it finally happened to me. We ran out of the house and I did not have any diapers in the diaper bag. Alaina peed through, I had to change her. I had the extra outfit but no diapers. However I did have an extra pair of Ky's underwear and a burp cloth and rubber pants. So that became my make-shift diaper. It worked out pretty well. And well I thought I was pretty clever at the time....Sorry Alaina--there was a time where you were wearing boys underwear and now it is captured forever on camera...

Then of course I am sure you noticed Ky wearing Alaina's pants--we did not tell the boy to put them on --I SWEAR! I was changing Alaina into her pj's and I threw them out in the hall. Next thing I know, Ky comes strutting in the room with them on--backwards of course...I have to say they looked kind of nice on him! And shockingly they fit!

Ky had a sleepover with Nana. It was nice. She came on a Friday night and spent the night at our house. Rob and I took off to have a nice dinner while she babysat. Unfortunately our date ended too soon. That night was the night Alaina decided to have separation anxiety and cried 1.5 hours straight for Nana--poor Nana. And ever since Alaina has become aware of when strangers hold her and she cries...Right now it's cute, in a few weeks it won't be so cute anymore. Saturday morning Nana left with Ky and took him home with her. They had a good time. She took him to the airport and he had fun watching the planes take off. They played games and watched movies. He slept at their house Saturday night and Rob and I came and picked him up after church--which ended up being bad timing. He had such a great time with Nana he didn't want to leave. And by the time we left he was overtired and needed a nap. He was cranky for the drive home and then for the last 20 minutes he was crazy. Screaming and crying and kicking daddy's seat as he was driving. He also threw his drink cup and unbuckled the top buckle of his car seat. This became a scary situation as it had started snowing and the roads were already slick. I ended up holding his legs down for the remainder of the drive as he screamed. At home things only got worse and it wasn't until we sent him to bed for a while that he straightened up. We were very disappointed in his behavior--not to mention it just became a dangerous drive home. We will have to rethink things next time.

So I have been really struggling with some things in my own life. Really been doing some praying about it...and this past week God revealed to me the answer in one word "simplify." Ky's tantrums have been getting exceedingly worse over the months. I now expect them multiple times a day. When I can, I ignore them--otherwise he gets put in his bed or sometimes spanked when I am unable to get his attention any other way. I hate spanking, but when he gets himself into such a frenzy and putting him to bed doesn't solve it, I honestly don't know what else to do. A whack on the bottom usually does get his attention though and get him moving. Anyway--enough about that.

So this past Tuesday I was in the shower at the gym. The morning had been bad--I think three tantrums from Ky in less than 2 hours. And realize these tantrums aren't just a few minutes long--they can last up to 30 minutes. I broke down crying. I needed an answer, I was tired of yelling--I didn't want to yell--I don't want to be a parent that yells. I don't understand why he just won't do as he is told, why does everything have to be such a big deal. I know he is two--okay I am getting off track. I am feeling stressed as a parent. I don't have answers to fix my child. I know that this is just a phase and he will eventually grow out of it--but man it needs to be sooner than later.

So simplify. I realize now that I need to uncomplicate my life. I have so many goals and so much I want to accomplish that I think it is really make my life more difficult. I am becoming more and more impatient with myself and thus with others. Now that I am the parent of two--I cannot do the same amount of things I did that I did with one and still give my children the amount of attention that they need. For now I have to stand back and forget about my lists--yes I have lists--and realize that my dining room is going to remain unpainted for a while yet, that I am going to continue to have blankets hung up in my bedroom as curtains for now.

Simplifying Life is hard for me since I am a driven person. I also am one of those people that wants to do more than expected. I also often feel like I am looked down upon because I am not a working mom--but I am and so much more. I do so much every day. I honestly have very little time to myself which is really starting to wear me thin. If I had a paying job, I would at least have that lunch hour to myself. Here at home I am lucky to have both kids napping at the same time--especially now that Ky is really fighting naps. ARGH! It will get better. I will make it through this. I just have to continue to remind myself how blessed I am to have the privilege to stay at home and raise my own children. I get to see ALL of my children's first and be a part of those moments. I also get to choose what they are exposed to as I see way too many young children exposed to "stuff" before they should be. Blessed is what I am--and simplifying is my goal. I will expect less of myself and more of my mothering. I need to spend this time to focus on my children. Who cares if I didn't vacuum the family room. What I do care about is that I was able to spend that 15 minutes playing with Kylan and creating memories with him that I will always cherish. He is only this little for so long, and before I know it--it will be gone and I will miss these days with him. So for 2009 I will do more to focus on my children and less focusing on my lists. I will work harder to love the mom that I am--not the SUPER MOM I would love to be.

Happy New Year!