Monday, June 29, 2009

Kitty Kate

Kate has started her separation anxiety phase. She ALWAYS wants mommy. I love it and hate it. She is so snugly and always wants to be held. She still loves to crawl around and explore, but if Tyler or I are in the room, she'll crawl up to us and rub against our ankles like a cat. She tries to climb up my leg just so I will pick her up. I love holding her and snuggling with her, but we've gotten into some bad habits when it's time for bed. She wants to be rocked to sleep. When we put her in the crib, she throws everything out of it and stands up crying until we come back in. She also wakes up once a night between 3:30 and 6:00 and wants to nurse. I'm working on weaning her, so that's not gonna work. I miss my sleep.

There may (or may not) be a method to her nighttime madness: after 11 1/2 months, she's finally getting her first tooth! I felt it for the first time today. I think she'll get another bottom one soon. It's about time, because we've been using the teething excuse for months.

She is learning and understanding a lot. When I ask where her binkie is, she gets it. When I ask where her nose is, she points to it. Her favorite song is 'The Eensy Weensy Spider' and she tries to do the actions. She folds her arms when we pray, and we didn't even have to teach her how. She is loads of fun.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

At least she makes me laugh


Ada and I have been through some rough times lately. I don't know how to control that girl. She now throws multiple tantrums a day. Once she gets started, it's a long road back to sanity. She screams, moves around furniture, opens all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen, turns on the lights in the bedrooms and then shuts the doors, attacks Kate, etc. Yesterday she hit a new low by smacking me with a toy after I told her to apologize to Kate. We can't confine her to her room anymore (she pulls off the thing we put on her doorknob to keep her in) so the only thing we can think of is to put her in her carseat until she calms down. When she get like this, she is completely disobedient. It has been very difficult for me. My patience is at a new low and my anxiety is at a new high. I got a few library books to give me some ideas on what to do. I'm at a loss here. I haven't read much yet, but one thing that sometimes helps is to tell her stories about people being naughty. She usually calms down enough to listen. Anyone out there have any advice?

She has said a few hilarious things lately. She really absorbs everything she hears. Some gems:

*We were driving in the car and she said, "Mommy, did you know that penguins are birds? But they can't fly."
*We were at the playground and whenever she came up to me I'd ask her if she wanted to go home or stay. She kept saying, "I want to stay...and be myself."
*My personal favorite: Last night as she was eating dinner, she turned to me and nonchalantly said, "Mommy, did you know that Santa Claus is called pere Noel in France?" She then added, "And papai Noel in Brazil, and Saint Nicolas in Belgium." So random! Yes, she still sometimes wants to listen to Christmas CDs and watch Christmas movies. In June.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Kate the Great


I'm such a slacker these days. Kate is 11 months now. She will have her first birthday in less than a month. I don't want to talk about it.

A few updates on my sweet Kate:

*She is starting to understand a lot more. She can identify things by pointing to them or by saying her own version of words. For example: 'da' is ball, 'na-na' is num-num, and 'DA-da' (the 'DA' is very high pitched) is baby. She can also say 'da-da', 'mama', 'Ada', 'hi', and 'uh-oh'. She LOVES to drop things on the ground and say, "Uh-oh!"
*She might become our little athlete. She loves balls and loves to play "catch". She and I sit on the floor and bounce a ball to each other. She's pretty good at it, and is SO happy when we play.
*She seems to prefer eating things she can pick up with her hands to things fed to her with a spoon. She spits a lot when we spoon feed her.
*She had a high fever for a few days last week. I took her to Kids Care and they said it was probably a virus. The gave her a catheter to make sure she didn't have a UTI. Poor kid. Then on the day her fever finally broke, she fell down the stairs. Hard. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen.
*She loves to crawl and around and explore everything, but she will still sit on my lap for a while and still lets me hold her. I just love her!

Monday, June 8, 2009

This warrants a post of its own

My SIL Morgan likes to come over about once a week so we can hang out, go shopping, etc. We also occasionally like to get adventurous in the kitchen, usually with cake. We once made a Boston cream pie completely from scratch (which ended up looking more like a giant Moon Pie) for Jordan's birthday. Tyler and I hosted a party to watch the final results show for American Idol, so Morgan and I decided to try out these s'mores cupcakes to serve our guests. They didn't turn out nearly as pretty as the picture, but they were sure fun to make.

Morgan toasting the marshmallow frosting


Don't mess with a girl with a torch!


Ada helping add the finishing touches


The finished product


We had to test them out before we served them


Mmm!!


Two happy (and messy) cooks!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

I was told I needed to update my blog

I don't have anything specific I want to write about, so what better to do than give an update on the two things that rule my life?

1. Kate: She is sleeping much better at night, but she has been waking up really early lately * She gets into EVERYTHING now. We're going to have to bolt the cabinets * She loves to stand up * She has a runny nose that she has given to me and which she got from Ada * Her favorite thing to say, besides 'da-da', is 'hi'. She now likes to put phones (or objects that look like phones) to her ear and say, "Hi!". So cute! * Her new favorite food is Velveeta Shells & Cheese. She ate tons at Morgan's house tonight * She still doesn't have any teeth.

Cute hair

"I love this phone!"

I swear if she wasn't going to be tall she would be a gymnast

2. Ada: Getting her to go to bed before 9:00 is impossible * Her temper is as bad as ever. You have to walk on eggshells around her these days because the littlest things will set her off and then she throws ridiculous tantrums * Her memory is incredible. Today she said, "Remember when Daddy painted his toenails red?" That was back at freakin' Halloween! * As far as I can tell, her definition of marriage is when two people stand facing each other with their arms above their heads and they hold hands while dancing around. Anyone can get married to anyone else * Something funny she said a while back that I don't want to forget: She was in a bad mood while I was trying to comb her hair. She said, "Don't touch my hair! It's too hot! A candle burned it." She comes up with some crazy things when she's mad * Her favorite food, hands down, is cereal. If she had a choice, she'd eat like twelve bowls a day. She's a girl after my own heart.

She put this outfit on by herself and said she was dressed up as Goofy


The day I straightened her hair (and subsequently decided that it needed a trim)


Blowing bubbles on the porch

While we're updating, Tyler is in Milwaukee (again) for a work-related trip. He left yesterday morning and gets home late tomorrow night. It's always kind of depressing to be home alone with the girls. I'm getting used to it though.

It looks like the Lakers are going to win another title. Boo.