I guess it's been a really long time since I last blogged. I wrote a blog a week or so ago, and just never posted it, so I'll add it here next.
Alyssa had her 9 month appointment yesterday. She is 17.5lbs and 27inches. The doctor thinks she is going to be short! My short little peanut. She has really started to get around lately and wants SO desperately to start pulling up on furniture, but she is short! She has 3 teeth now (my next post may say she had 2 - oh the problems of double posting). John and I have a weird parenting development in the last few days. Luke has been kind of naughty lately. He's most contrary and we can fend that off pretty quickly with reverse pschology: Luke: I DON"T WANT those pants Me: FINE then you don't get ANY pants Luke: NOOOOO Give me those pants! It works like charm. But he's also naughty and sneaky and sometimes mean, so we needed a new tactic. After he did a really not nice thing to his baby sister, Daddy and Luke had a MAJOR heart to heart. It went in a direction I wasn't expecting. I was expecting a scolding and a long talk about how to be nice, but it just wasn't sinking in. So Daddy pulled the "scary moose" card and said that we were going to send Luke to live with the scary moose at Target's house unless he started being a nicer boy around this house! That pretty much terrified him. He now asks daily if the scary moose is coming. Tonight at dinner when Preston wasn't listening he warned Preston that they scary moose was going to come get him. And even one small mention of the scary moose gets Luke's attention and he'll stop whatever he is doing. We don't know what the scary moose is. It's in Luke's imagination. We know that he has no hand, no tail and lives at Target's house. But apparently he is terrifying. Parenting is weird. I kind of feel a little guilty that I'm using his own fears against him. It feels kind of mean, but his behavior has significantly improved, so I guess it's motivating. Preston helded me sing "Sweet Baby James" to Luke the other nice - My favorite line is when Preston sings "thinking about women and glasses of beer." I've never really thought about the song much before, but it's really kind of beautiful in it's humble poetry. The boys seems to like it, too, so thanks, Grandpa, for putting it on the train-chasing playlist. Here's the post from the other night: I guess October flew by with hardly any blog updates. It was a very busy month, and a challenging one for me – although the rest of the family seemed to have a good time, so I’m thankful for that. Preston broke his leg, my gala came and went, we had fun on the pumpkin train, at the pumpkin patch, trick or treating, and visiting the zoo! Alyssa cut her bottom teeth without a peep, but is having a much harder time getting her top two teeth. They are taking their good old time, and they seem to especially bother her at night. She has also become VERY mobile in the last few weeks. She went from scooting a little bit on her bottom to full on crawling, getting herself to a sitting position, and generally becoming a flight risk. We have to be diligent about blocking off the stairs. She’s also picking up on the craziness of her big brothers. My sweet, calm, easy going girl is trying her very best to keep up with the big brothers. She can attack them then they are playing on the ground, she always wants whatever Luke is playing with, and she thinks it’s hilarious when Preston gets rough and literally drags her around. When I pick her up at daycare sometimes she’s sitting quietly in the jumperoo. As soon as she sees me she gets a GIANT smile on her face and starts jumping up and down as fast as she can! On trick-or-treat night she was dressed like a peacock, and fell asleep in my arms before we could make it all the way around the neighborhood. She was SO worn out from all of the festivities! Luke got himself breakfast this morning. He’s 2 and a half. I got him dressed and told him to go downstairs and get a yogurt out of the fridge and that I would be down in a minute to help him get started. 5 minutes later he yells upstairs “MOVE MY CHAIR” which means that he sitting in his chair at the table, but he legs are pointing the wrong way. I went down to move him and he had he had is yogurt open and ready to go, a spoon, and his water bottle. I tucked his chair in and went on my merry way. He’s also making a lot of progress with potty training! We haven’t tried underpants, yet, but he is doing his thing when he sits on the potty; he goes at home AND at school. It’s a little more challenging with him than I think it was with Preston. When Preston was potty training we didn’t have any other children to think about. This time we have 2 other children to worry about, and reminding Luke to go potty isn’t always my first priority. He’s doing a great job, though, and I’m very proud of him. Luke dressed as Nemo for Halloween. At first he didn’t want to do it, but we forced him to go trick-or-treating. Once he realized he could get a bunch of candy out of the activity he was completely on board! Preston has had a crazy month with his cast. It’s coming off TODAY, 4 weeks later. Over the last week he has been able to walk on it, and doesn’t really need his walker anymore. It will be SO nice to not have to deal with the cast. I think he has had a total of 4 baths since he broke his leg, one a week. He’s so stinky, but it’s really a pain to give him a bath with the cast on. He wanted to be a volcano for Halloween, so I made him a costume that worked with the stroller. I built the volcano around the stroller, and made him a shirt with lava down the arms. When Halloween finally came, he didn’t even use the stroller. He took the wagon. The costume worked out anyway, and was a hit for his classroom party! As I mentioned we did manage to get to a few Halloween festivities – the pumpkin train, the pumpkin patch, and Boo at the Zoo. We’ve had really nice weather on the weekends, so we’ve been able to enjoy it. There are a million pictures – you can go look through the albums HERE. All summer we have been working on our backyard – we took down a bunch of trees, got a new shed, planted new grass, and are now working on filling in some of the new open space. I’m finally feeling good about our back-yard – it’s been a work in progress since the day we moved in, and John took over this year so we made a dramatic change. And some photos: There is a first time for everything! We can count our blessings that this break was easy to treat and will hopefully heal quickly. Preston was playing on the playground with all 3 kindergarten classes yesterday afternoon as part of their collective “Rainbow Reward” that all of the classrooms earn for good behavior and hard work! He was standing on the ground under the monkey bars waiting his turn when his friend who was hanging on the monkey bars fell off and landed on Preston. He must have landed pretty hard and at a bad enough angle to cause the break. We weren’t sure anything was broken, we thought at first that he had hurt his ankle. The nurse wheeled him to her office to try to get him to calm down. He finished out the day in the nurses office and then went to Y-Care after school where I could pick him up. He looked so scared and sad when I picked him up. He couldn’t walk or really move his leg. Somehow I got him home, he crawled into his car seat, and then once we were home he rested on the couch until John got here. John took him to urgent care where the confirmed the break via x-ray. They splinted it until we could get him to the orthopedic doctor today. He now has a bright red cast! It still hurts him, he can’t bump it and moves around very gently.
The next 4 weeks are going to be tricky for us! He needs to use a walker to get around, so it will be tough to have it in his classroom at school. He wants to be carried everywhere at home, but he’s really heavy! He is sleeping in our bed for a few nights because he can’t get into the top bunk of his bed. I think we’ll be able to move him in to Luke’s bed to share tomorrow night. We have to give up soccer for the rest of the season, which is a bummer. He has really be enjoying soccer. I just hope that the 4 weeks go by smoothly and that he can get back to normal! It’s just another adventure. In other news, I never got a chance to blog about Tracey and Jamie’s Wedding. Congrats you guys! We had so much fun at the wedding! We have a ton of pictures on Shutterfly. Alyssa finally wore the dress that I knitted for her. Luke wore Preston’s ring-bearer outfit from Siobhan and Chris’ wedding, and Preston wore the vest from Alyssa’s baptism. I love being able to re-use the beautiful handmade clothes! It was fun to have the kids at the wedding, but John and I were both exhausted from tracking down kids every few minutes. We did our first overnight as a family in a hotel room, and it went remarkably well! For once I slept better than John. The boys thought it was funny to sleep in the same bed and were stealing covers from each other, but they were tired enough that they fell asleep pretty quickly. Alyssa slept really well, too, in the pack and play. This weekend is my Gala at work. I’m exhausted already, but it’s almost over. It’s a tough week to have a broken leg thrown in the middle, but John did ALL the work to get Preston patched up – he took the day off to take care of it, because I have so much going on with my event. He’s the best daddy. They even went to the pet store to buy a Halloween decoration for the fish tank. I want to introduce you all to Vissenger Video Messaging. Some of my more regular readers (Mom, Dad, Grandparents, you know who you are) know about Vissenger and have used it a few times, which is great. We should all be using it more! I’m particularly proud to tell you about Vissenger because it’s a family business! My sister-in-law is a tech entrepreneur doing great things for improving communication and lifestyle – Vissenger is her own. So, what is Vissenger? It’s a video messaging platform – make a video, e-mail it to someone special/cool/important. Rinse and repeat. Here’s why it’s different (and BETTER) than say… skype/youtube/facebook/etc:
Have I conviced you to try it? Here’s some incentive: The next 5-10 people (give or take) who send me a Vissenger message ([email protected]) will get… a VISSENGER message back from me and at least one of my adorable children. I have one ready to go of me and Lukey singing the ABCs. You know you want to see it! And follow them: Today was Preston’s first day of Kindergarten, and he rocked it. I am so proud of him and excited for him! I didn’t think it would be like this. I thought I would cry and get emotional and follow the school bus all the way to school. I envisioned myself making sure that I personally handed him off to his teacher and then calling the school to check on him. I had NOTHING to worry about. He is SO ready for this, and that, to me, is amazing. I know, every kid goes to Kindergarten, millions of them. Somehow I couldn’t wrap my head around my little guy taking this big step. He did it! And he seemed to love it! Enough emotional Mom stuff, here’s how the event went down. We started last night with getting everything ready for the big day. We packed his backpack together, we labeled everything, we set out clothes to put on in the morning, and we made a special sign for the bus stop. Then we went to bed. In the morning we got up, got ready, ate breakfast, and we ALL walked to the bus stop to see Preston off on his first day! We were at the bus stop 15 minutes early! So we waited. Finally the bus came around the bend! She stopped for Preston, and we took his picture. And then they drove away. Just like that. I thought there were going to be a ton of kids at the bus stop, but there was only one other kid…. In a few years that will be totally different! Lots of toddlers are appearing all over the neighborhood just WAITING to go to Kindergarten. Luke cried and cried when Preston went on the bus without him. He wanted to go, too. John and I both got home a few minutes earlier than usual, so we went over to pick him up from after school care together. Again, I thought there would be a TON of kids after school, but there were only 4 – and we were early! I hope it’s not too boring for Preston, but I guess we’ll see. He was happy to see us, and had a great day! He said he mostly did work, but he got to play 2 times, and they have really fun cars at Kindergarten. He colored a picture of his name, learned some of the rules, ate lunch with his classmates, and had a great day! He didn’t get to play outside today, but that’s ok. He had one project to do at home: put 3 special items that are important to him in his paper bag. He chose his stuffed monster from his old school, his painted sea shell, and then he made us all pose in front of our house so that he could take a picture of his family and his house. Then Daddy helped him print it out and put it in the bag. Mommy and Daddy have lots of reading material from school, but that’s ok, too. Luke wants to go to Kindergarten. He had to have a back pack today just like his big brother, and then he had a rough day at school, maybe because Preston has been getting a lot more attention. Tonight, when we were helping Preston collect items for his special bag, Luke was finding pictures, too. He said “I take THIS picture to Kinnergarden.” The poor guy has 3 more years!! He wants to be just like his big brother. Luke DID catch his first fish this past weekend! We were at the lake for Labor Day, and lots of exciting things happened. As I said, Luke caught a fish, and Preston randomly decided he could paddle his kayak all over the lake, and Alyssa was the star of croquet with her Flamingo hat. There were LOTS of kids to play with, because Liora and Talia, and Stella were all there. Preston and Stella seemed to have a fun time together. They are finally old enough that they can play like real kids. Preston is a bit of a show-off, but Stella seemed to tolerate it. He toned down after a little bit. I think they established that they could actually be friends, and Preston didn’t need to try to be so impressive all the time.
At one point we had 4 kids all together in the canoe for a treasure hunt, and even though it was starting to get a little cooler, the kids all swam. We luckily had beautiful weather. Luke saw a picture of Poppop on the refrigerator and knew immediately who it was. I always said that Luke and Poppop were kindred spirits. I think they had a special bond even at 1 and a half and 89. It was different to not have Poppop at the lake this year. I keep learning new things about him, even though he is gone. Every now and then you would find some garden fencing in the woods around a baby rhododendron. I always thought that it was a bush that had grown there on it’s own, and the Poppop was just protecting it. In fact, Poppop was trying to root them from cuttings, and it often worked! I’m just now discovering the fun of cultivation, and I like to think that I got it from him. I still have a pretty brown thumb, but I’m figuring it out. I wish I had known what he was doing so that I could have apprenticed under him (or something). I think next year I’ll continue the tradition of putting random rhodeys in the woods. Alyssa is still the easiest baby. She is ALWAYS happy, and if there is something that she doesn’t want to do, she’ll let you know. She’s 7 months old tomorrow! She can scoot and roll all around on her belly, and she LOVES animals still. She’s working on using a sippy cup, and only like pureed foods (nothing chunky). Alyssa reached her half birthday over the weekend – basically at lightening speed. She is still just as sweet and easy as ever! Six month milestones: -She can stay in a sitting position for at least 20 minutes, but can’t quite get herself to a sitting position yet - She can easily rotate on the floor on her belly – to watch brothers, tv, the kitty, etc. - She LOVES the Kitty – she wants to get him and grab his fur – he is not as interested in her – Over the weekend she spotted Hugo sitting nearby on the sofa at the lake. She got super excited about him, bouncing and kicking her legs. He saw her excitement and meandered away to a less exciting spot on the floor, and Alyssa started to cry. She really wanted that kitty. - She loves to eat food and sit in her high chair. - She LOVES her brothers. She thinks they are hysterical even when they aren’t paying attention to her. She just loves to be with the family and gets sad if I leave her in a room with no one to look at. - She finally graduated from the Rock and Play to the crib! And she is sleeping pretty well. She does 6-7 hours at a time (Yay!) - She loves to party at bedtime. Sometimes she needs a 10 minute power nap at 7:30 or 8, but after that she is ready to party until 9 or even 10 at night (Mommy is not impressed, but at least she is pleasant) - We haven’t found a food she doesn’t like – apples, pears, peaches, bananas, sweet potato, green beans, squash, avocado, melon. She likes to eat! - She is basically the daycare favorite and loves to sit in the jumperoos and wonder why all of her friends are crying. She doesn’t sleep much at daycare, though… - She loves to swim and take baths - She loves to look at herself and her brothers in the mirror - She can sit up in the wagon and the shopping cart now. She’s such a big girl! She’s basically our little lovey who almost never complains and is a very easy baby. I have a hard time coming up with things that she doesn’t like aside from feeling like she’s being left out of the action. We all love our little Liss Biss!! Lukey Updates: Luke has quite the vocabulary now, which is fun. Some of his Lukey cutisms: - Dats MY East Penn! (Referring to all pens and writing utensils – the East Penn is a local railroad and a favorite for Grandpa and the boys) - I yike FAS nugget! (I like fast music) - Yukey Negit! (His name) - I tinkle potty with my friends! (we wish, but keep trying kid) - I live on dat bus! (I rode on that bus, figuring out some verbs) - I go in way way back! (He got to sit in Preston’s seat in the car) I have a lot to catch up on. We went to the beach for almost a week, and I have some fun pictures to share from that. And then this past weekend Mommy took Preston and Alyssa to the lake while Daddy and Luke stayed home for some special Daddy-Luke bonding time. It was pure spoilage of Luke, and he loved every minute. The first night they went to the pet store and bought a fish. Then they went to Dunkin Donuts, Dorney Park (TWICE), bought a giant lollipop, rode ALL the big kid rides together, got to ride in the way way back all weekend, went to Target and bought a Nemo bath toy, Burger King for breakfast, and had Daddy all to himself the whole time. There was no crying, whining, fighting, or taunting. One child is so easy! All 3 kiddos at 6 months old:
Little kitty, Susie, one of our first babies got sick. We had been struggling for a few days with the best thing to do for her, and sadly came to the conclusion that it was best to end her suffering. The treatment options for her condition were very long-term, expensive, and not guaranteed to greatly improve her quality of life. She was a sweet kitty who mostly kept to herself and loved to be brushed. She was so soft, and we'll always remember her as the softest kitty we have ever known. We brought her and her brother Jack home in September 2006 - nearly 10 years ago.
It was a sad day to say good-bye to her, but we are grateful that she is at peace. Rest warmly sweet Susie. <3 We have a treasure in our house. It’s the kind of treasure that you only hear about in legends, but we are one of the luckiest families ever to have this treasure. It’s special, and it might be magical. It holds a kind of power that makes little boys instantly happy, yet possessive, withdrawn, and sullen. Both boys know about this treasure, and they want it. They each want it so badly that they fight over who will find it, who will get it, and who will eventually inherit it. It causes such ghastly fights and meltdowns that we have had to lock it away in a secret place just to keep the peace in our once happy home. It’s as if “The Ring” has made its way into our lives creating not one but TWO Gollums who search incessantly for the treasure of all treasures, their Precious.
I feel as though it is important to share with you all the power of this treasure, so that you know what you are dealing with should you ever mysteriously find yourself in the presences of this revered object. It is none other than this Blue Cup: |
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