February update

I am sorry for the long delay in updating. It takes a set amount of time and a certain mindset to be able to sit down and type out what all’s been going on! We actually have not been doing much lately, so don’t feel like you’ve been missing a grand adventure. The days are still flying by so quickly that it honestly seems like time is in fast-forward.

From where I left off on Jan. 23rd –

We discovered a moldy cabinet, called the home warranty company, had a plumber out, and were told it was a leaky faucet (which the warranty won’t cover). To make a long, boring story short(er), we had a contractor come out to replace the faucet and he found 5 more leaky pipes and quite a mess to clean up. Our house is old (70’s) and was built with galvanized pipes, like all houses back then, so leaky pipes are par for the course and will need to slowly be replaced as they wear out. We managed to get a good bit of plumbing replaced and the mold was completely cleaned up and out, so things are back to normal as far as that goes. One of the joys of home ownership! If we’d bought a new house, though, we would be paying a lot more for less room, and probably higher taxes as well. And we’d have to live farther out from the city too. We love our beautiful neighborhood with the tall trees and interesting old houses, so we will just have to accept the things that come along with the house.

During the home renovations, Addie caught a cold and passed it on to Ryan, who developed RSV. What is just a cold virus in an older child can be very serious in babies. We took him to the doctor, but she said to just watch him and keep a close eye out for signs of breathing difficulty. Luckily, he was ok, but he still has lingering congestion in his chest. He then passed the cold onto Matt, who was miserable for a few days, and last but not least, I got sick in passing, but just for a day. So now we are all ok, and are thankful that it didn’t turn into something worse. I have heard that the flu is going around like wildfire and lots of people are developing pneumonia too.

On Super Bowl Sunday, we had a party for our Sunday school class. I made pots of baked potato soup and chili, and everyone else brought food too. It was a lot of fun…the game was on in the background, but we mainly enjoyed socializing and watching the kids play. Addison had a blast, and wonder of wonders, we actually got her upstairs and into bed while the festivities were still going on.

We are in a very beginning stage of potty training with Addison. She loves to sit on her little potty, but rarely actually goes potty. I have special Dora pull-ups, and I even bought super-special Tinkerbell and Princess underpants for her to wear when she goes potty like a big girl. So far, nothing. She can tell me when she has just gone poop, and sometimes tells me when she’s wet. And frequently, she will ask to sit on the potty and will stay there an hour, but not go. It’s hard for me to really focus on training when my days are so unpredictable, and with the baby too. I think if I had a week or two of just me and her, we could have it down in no time, but I can’t always indulge her when she wants to run around in freezing weather with no clothes on (she wants everything off to try to poop), or when she’s been on the pot for an hour and we have to go somewhere and she cries when I take her off. So, I guess I will have to not worry and wait till she’s old enough to decide she’s ready, because I just don’t have the time to do it! As an animal trainer, I realize that being inconsistent is the worst thing you can do when teaching a new behavior, so I am just going to let it be for now.

Every couple of hours, she makes me laugh with something she says. Yesterday, we walked through the sliding doors at WalMart, and she looked up and said " Oh, Mama! It’s so beautiful" as we came into the store. One morning I was holding both of them on my lap while trying to read her a book. Ryan’s arms were flailing with a bit of purpose, trying to grab the pages and sometimes grabbing Addie’s hair instead. She kept batting his hands away, and finally said "Go on, Baby Ryan!!" (We tell Casey to "go on" when we are trying to get her to move). When I got her up from her nap today, I asked if she had a good nap and she put her hand under her chin and said " I think so.". And earlier today we were refilling my bird feeders and as I hung them up, she turned around to the fence and shouted "No squirrels! That’s for birds, not for squirrels!" She has seen the squirrels out the window trying to get into the feeders, and I guess she felt the need to yell at them! Oh, speaking of the need to yell, I dropped a pan on the floor and she walked over and hit my leg and said "Bad girl, Mama!". It really, really made me think about the mirroring and modeling that kids do….she models my behavior and is a direct reflection of my actions and words. Wow. I frequently try to remember and live by the quote "Don’t focus on raising a Christian child; focus on being a Christian parent,", and this phrase is SO true in so many ways. If you insert the words kind, loving, patient, healthy, friendly, compassionate, helpful, etc. instead of Christian (or along with), it has the same effect. Your kids can make you be a better person, and I have already seen a change in my way of thinking based on this philosophy.

On a side note, Addie has gotten just a handful of swats, one on the leg and others on her hand. The only time I’ve said "Bad girl" is when she yanks Casey’s ears or pinches and pulls Casey’s hair and skin. I have told her not to throw things before, but never swatted her for throwing toys or called her a bad girl for that, so I’m not sure why she thought that was the appropriate response for me "throwing" a pan on the ground.

These are just a very very few of the new things she says. I realize that a child speaking is not a great triumph of mankind, but those of you who recently went through it, or who are just starting to see the changes in your own baby, will understand the significance of your tiny infant suddenly, really, becoming a human being. And the glimpse into their thoughts and feelings is fantastic.

Just now, Addie fell down and I asked her if her foot was OK. She said, "yeah, it’s happy."

Ryan is now rolling from back to tummy on both sides, and has almost gotten a leg under and pushed himself from tummy to back. He is tolerating tummy time longer now, and he can push up a lot higher on his arms to look around. Addison is still his favorite thing to watch, by far. Oh, we’ve also gotten into the lovely stage of Ryan getting distracted while nursing. He will pull off and stare up at me with huge eyes, milk running out of his mouth and out of me, or he will violently turn his head around to stare at other people, usually not releasing me before turning, which is fairly unpleasant. He is finally aware enough of other things that he would rather look around than eat. He laughs a lot, and is sort of getting on a good nighttime routine. He goes to bed aroudn 10-11 and will sleep till 5, then he fusses for a bit and I pat him back to sleep, and then by about 6:45, he’s ready to be up for good. Sometimes I can nurse him and we will both fall back asleep, but not always. I would prefer him going to bed at 8 and getting up at 8, like Addison, but he is doing very well for a 4 month old baby.

We tried some oatmeal last week, but he kept pushing it all out with his tounge, so I don’t think he’s quite ready for any solids yet. We also have a little bath seat that he can sit up in, so now both kids get baths together! It is very cute, and I know they will have really fun bathtimes for the next several years.

I got a mystery shopping assignment at the Movie Tavern this Friday, so Matt and I are going to take an early Valentine’s date and go get lots of food and see a movie. Friends from church are going to watch the kids. And then, next week, we get another date night. The newly-marrieds Sunday school class is doing an angelic favor for all of us new-family couples, and is doing free babysitting for all our babies while we go out. Yay! It is perfect timing, and Matt and I are thankful to have the time alone together. We might just go sit somewhere and talk for 3 hours!

She wants to be just like Mommy - I have to be very aware of what I do and say in front of her.

In my mom's dog's bed

Her hair is long enough for braids now

Princess drinking milk with her royal cloak on her princess couch