Playing together

This evening I was updating the kids' drawers, working in their bedroom, so Levi decided to join me and play with his trains. At one point I had to get Ellie and change her and Levi said to me "Put Ellie down here ma, have her sit here on the floor." I was surprised and happy that he wanted her company. No sooner was she seated then he came over and presented her with some track, "Here Ellie, you can play with this." WHAT? Who is this child? Sharing without being asked?! Awesome!


Eventually of course the party crasher showed up. BeBe likes to hang out with the kids. She is never far away.

Black Friday

I hate clothes shopping. I really do. I know it's completely wrong for me to be a woman and not have shopping as an item on my résumé, but I really just do not enjoy going out and spending money on necessities...unless it's food. I don't like spending half the day trying things on and coming away with only a handful fitting as well as I like. But, it's a part of life, and if I must shop I at least try to be thrifty.

Enter Black Friday. SALES!

Matt and I drug the kids along to Macy's for their after-Thanksgiving sale. Most of the kids sleepwear was 60% off. There were various other sales but kids clothes were the reason I went since they both seem to be outgrowing their wardrobe at the same time right now. That, and most of Levi's shirts right now are t-shirts, not great for this colder weather.

Here's what I came home with;

For Levi, a pair of Levi's, a dressy sweater and a turtleneck. I know, it screams Preppy, but the collared shirt options were either the wrong size, or $40. I'm sorry, there is no way I am spending $40 on one shirt, that he will wear about 5 times. Thus the turtleneck. I'm sure he'll laugh at the photos when he's my age.

Levi jammies. Isn't he cool. I questioned the footie ones since they will be hard to manage if we can ever get him potty trained. But they are cozy for winter.

Ellie jammies. I think it's amusing how 3 of the 4 have some kind of character on the feet. Probably because babies grab their feet so much, this will give her something else to look at and talk to.

Ellie dress and long underthings. Forgot the stockings!!

Ellie day wear. I still don't know how I came home with three shades of pink pants. I was trying to find anything not blatantly pink.

I meant to get myself some things but after gathering up the above I just didn't have the willpower to struggle on with kids in tow. We stood in line about 20 minutes. I plan to go back when it's not Black Friday.

Thanksgiving 2009

I was up late (or should I say EARLY?) making the pumpkin cheesecake, so I was really hoping to sleep in today. I had turned off the alarm so it wouldn't wake up the kids. Ellie got me up at 1:30 and again at 4:30 am. I was exhausted. I heard a little rustling and opened my eyes to spy Levi climbing into the bottom shelf of Ellie's bassinet. I whispered for him to go back to his room to play so he wouldn't wake her up but - too late. Her little eyes popped open and that was the end of it for me. The clock said 7:14 AM.

Needless to say I was not feeling very motivated, I wanted to crawl back into bed. But there were dogs that had to go out, and little mouths to feed. I think I finally talked Matt into getting up around 9:30 and he made some Malt-O-Meal for us with eggnog.

After that we lazed around the house, watching the Macy's Parade in NY. Levi wanted to know the names of all the balloons and floats. We had a nice time snuggling on the couch. Ellie joined us eventually and started pulling Levi's hair and that was the end of that. Nap time!

While the kids napped I did get some more done on the model horse I have been trying to customize for my Secret Santa partner. He is coming along. Tedious work, and I am not thrilled with the overall product but I think it will be ok. I have learned a lot about remaking and sculpting and sanding and primering. I just wish I had more time. Well, chances are if that was the case it might take me a year to get it done instead of a couple months.

We got the kids up and dressed and headed out about 1:30 pm. Dinner this year was at Warren & Debbie Rood's house. I don't think the lot of us would have fit comfortably anywhere else! It was a brisk and foggy day, mid 30s-low 40s.

When we arrived, there was a lot of activity - greetings, hugging, talking, photos. Ellie went to Joanie and my grandma Joyce pretty well, but as soon as Wes took her the lower lip quivered and the brow furrowed and she started crying. Poor Wes!

The ladies wanted a group photo and Levi joined in.

The table was set beautifully and there was such an incredible display of food! Everyone had contributed something and Warren commented that this was the first time that he could remember that the food had to be set out in multiple places. There were indeed three tables of goodies. Turkey, gluten steaks, 2 kinds of stuffing, 2 kinds of gravy, creamed corn, peas, salad, relish plate, mashed potatoes and Kim's homemade braided breads. Everyone ate their fill.

Here is my cheesecake, not quite as neat as I had hoped but everyone thought it was delicious. There was also an incredible apple pie and pumpkin pie.

After the meal we all had a pleasant time visiting and catching up.





Wes showing Levi how to play games on his iTouch



Ellie loves to play the piano - who knew?!

Levi and grandma Gail

We had a lovely time, thank you to the Roods for their hospitality and to everyone for the awesome food! I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving :D

When I grow up...

This morning Levi was telling me that Thomas doesn't have a heart, but that he (Levi) does - in his chest. I was pretty impressed, so I asked him if he was going to be a doctor. He said he wasn't, so, being curious, I asked him what he was going to be then. He said "Oh - I'm going to be a teacher, like to Kidnastics."
-Matt

Horses - model, that is

I got a box of horses in the mail today. Levi loves to help me unpack them, it is so exciting for him to see what will come out of the paper and padding. Today he lined them all up and then he counted them.

I put a couple up on the shelf but let him play with the others, they are "bodies" and I plan to repaint them at some point in the future. He brought the two into the living room and had them nuzzling each other. I asked him what he was doing. "They are eskimo kissing," was the response. Then Matt asked him what their names were. "Um....Hasta la vista, and..... um.... Steam Locomotive." Matt said "that's right, the Iron Horse." "Yeah, Iron Horse," said Levi. Only one problem... Iron Horse is a mule.

Nice head

Levi loves playing with my model horses. Apparently he also loves playing with Brenda Breyer. I had asked him "Where's the pen that goes with this cap Levi? If you don't keep the cap on, it will dry out and you can't draw with it anymore." Levi's response? "Oh, the girl." And he scampered off and came back with this.

My oh my.

Sweet dreams

Ellie fell asleep in my arms. This rarely happens and it was so precious I tried to have Matt get a photo. Notice the little wisp of hair that is out of place.

Ellie's six month stats

Today Ellie went in to visit Dr Jen for her six month check up. Once again she was hailed as a perfect baby. "This is what I like to see, it's why I keep coming back in to work." Her current stats are: weight is 17 lb 14 oz, 85th percentile; height is 26 1/2", 78th percentile; and head circumference is 17 1/2", 92nd percentile. Wow! Giant headed baby!

She received three shots today - didn't seem to notice the first one but after the second one she started turning red! After a brief scream she realized it was all over and was easily distracted. Good, brave girl!

Levi was very talkative and inquisitive, telling Dr Jen "I have brown eyes" and "I love this book, I do." He wanted to see all the exam instruments and have her check him out too. Kindly, she obliged and carried on a conversation with him half the time.

He wanted a dump truck sticker for being such a good helper but Camille didn't have one like that, so she let him look through the basket. He settled on some tiny medical stickers and put them all over his pants on the way home.

Just updates.

Ellie has taken to growling lately. Kind of a determined, I can't get where I want to go, sort of noise. I mostly hear it when she is in her walker and is up against something immobile. However she also will do it when I am holding her to get a reaction out of me. What a silly goose! I really enjoy tickling her now because she has such a wonderful bubbly laugh. We'll have to get it on video one of these days.

She can sit when I put her in position but has not sat up on her own yet. I tried to give her a bath in the big tub last night and it about killed my back holding onto her the whole time. I guess we really aren't quite ready for that yet, but she seems too big for her baby tub.

Ellie has her six-month appointment tomorrow with Dr Jen.


Levi is the master of pushing limits. He was so wonderful as a two-year-old, I am really not sure what has happened to my child. He has his wonderfully sweet moments but it is so tough knowing when to allow him freedom and when to crack down. Is it so much to ask, to have a polite obedient child? Sure is a struggle some days. Three is tough! For all of us!

We have been nudging him towards potty training but no real success there to report on. I have had the cursed potty song stuck in my head the past two days from the video Levi seems to enjoy. We read potty books. We put underwear on him. We encourage and talk about it and show him what is expected. We offer rewards if he will use his potty. It turns into a big frustration for us all. I am not convinced that he really understands yet what is happening when he does have to go. He tells Oma that he will use the potty when he's four. I guess that's not so far off. (Sigh)

Matt has tried moving Ellie over to Levi's room lately and has not had any success with that (getting the kids to sleep/nap). Ellie might be asleep when he puts her in the crib but Levi is likely to shout about something (today it was "Squirrel!!") and wake her up. If Levi is napping and Ellie makes noise, it wakes him up.

We have outgrown our house! There is one we would like very much but will have to do some creative accounting to make it happen. It's a good time to buy, interest rates are low, so we're hoping we'll be able to sell our house and move on to bigger things. :) In the meantime we have taken to packing up stuff into boxes. There is no end to the things that need to be packed. How we ever crammed this much STUFF into this house, I'll never know. I hope it is not all for naught. All those extra cars are going to come in handy when I run out of space in storage, the garage, the camp trailer, to put these boxes.

It is late and I must retire. Happy trails to all of you.

Ellie stats

Ellie is 17 lb 7 oz today, and that puts her in the 75 percentile. I don't remember her length but it put her in the 90th percentile for girls her age.

The dietitian couldn't stop commenting on how beautiful she was. "She should be in the movies, I mean really! Look how that smile just lights up the room" I said thank you, that was very kind.

This was all for her WIC check-up. I am really impressed with how the program has changed in the past month. Less milk and cheese and more fruit, vegetables and cereal options. Finally they are practicing what they preach as far as healthy eating. I was beginning to think the main sponsor of the program was the dairy association. :D

Assisting

Dr. Sarah was looking for an assistant to help her with her dental practice on horses today and I told her I could help for the first part of the day. We scheduled 10-1 and then she called me back and asked if I could start at 9. No problem. It's a RARE day that I get to sleep in anymore anyway.



I assisted with the weight tape, and then loading the horses, holding while she administers the sedative, lowering the chest bar, removing the halter, holding the "spit bucket", strapping on the speculum, and then lifting the head up into the padded ring. I keep the horses' head upright while Dr Sarah works on them with her power tools and files, then lower the head, hold the spit bucket again, put the halter back on and back them out of the trailer.

While I was there we worked on Nugget, Derby, Shaiela, and Goldie. They were all fairly simple since all have had dental work in years prior and this was just a basic job today. We made pretty good time and had them done by 12:30 pm.

WOOT!

I feel two bottom teeth coming in!! Ellie's joining the ranks of the fanged... :D

She has slept great the past two nights, but the week before she was up every couple of hours. Wonder if this has something to do with that?

Things to love about Ellie

Just a couple of notes before Ellie grows up and I forget all the little details.

I love how she...

* blows bubbles at things that excite her

* smacks my arm with her little hand, or "gives me five" with her feet when we're grocery shopping

* cups my elbow in her little palm while she's nursing

* scrunches up her nose just like me when she smiles

* gets so excited about bath time, kicking and splashing and laughing the whole time

* makes incredibly hilarious faces when eating a new food (the latest - applesauce - you'd of thought I was feeding her lemon juice!)

* pulls Levi's hair when they are both trying to sit on my lap, and he doesn't react.

* is just so darn curious

* lights up a room with her smile when she sees me

* her blue eyes. I hope she can keep them. I never would have thought I could have a child with blue eyes.

Thanks Laura for giving me the idea to jot down this list!

Hee Haw

A co-worker (Cheryl) told me that tonight there would be a program at the Milton church for the kids and there would be a miniature donkey, so we went down to check it out.

As we entered the room, I looked around and saw a lot of senior citizens. Not so many kids. Hmmm.

Matt asked me "Do you know anyone here?"

"uh, no."

Levi asked me where the donkey was. I did not know.

Matt took Ellie and went and sat by the fireplace. I spotted a counter with popcorn and apples and cider so I wandered over there (even though I had just eaten, it's food, I can't resist, maybe I have a problem) I got a cup of cider and went back over to where Matt was seated.

Then I spotted Cheryl. Finally a familiar face! We went over and sat down next to her. They started playing a slideshow of photos from last year's cowboy camp-meeting.

The Kyle's showed up and discovered the donkey before I did. Yay!

Levi wanted to go over and see it, so we did. He even went up to pet it. I guess all that time at the barn has increased his confidence. They had him all dressed up with a pack and a hat. The handler told Levi that his name was Zacchaeus. But instead of being a wee little man, he was a wee little donkey. Ha ha.

Well, turns out it was a dry-run for a program geared towards "Snow Birds." That would explain all the seniors in the room. They played a round of donkey trivia, which was ok, I got some of the questions right but wasn't one of the participants. I don't think it was a very good program for little kids because it was pretty slow and drawn-out. They called Cheryl up and had her dress up and changed the donkey's clothes a couple times.

We didn't stay until the end. Levi got bored and I think the rest of us did too.

BeBe and Ellie

Matt was relaxing with Ellie on the sofa when BeBe wandered over and started snorting around for some attention. Ellie acted as though that was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen! I can still hear her shrieks and laughter as I look at these photos again.

These weirdo dogs really seem to enjoy the kids pulling on their ears and at their throats. Leave it to a Boston Terrier. I have been really impressed with how BeBe is with the kids. All the dogs have been great, but BeBe in particular seems to seek them out for this twisted attention all the time. While it's not an excuse to leave them unsupervised together, I am relieved they can benefit from each other's company.

Raspberries

Today we had a photo shoot at work that involved a young child and raspberries on her fingers. Pretty cute idea, I thought. And I got to take some of the raspberries home (a bonus for working in the photography department!) so I decided to try and get a cute shot or two of Levi since he's getting harder to photograph these days. I feel like everyone is getting overloaded on Ellie photos and Levi is hardly in any of them. Its not because I don't want to take his photo, or forget about him. It's because he would rather not be in them. But bust out something fun, like raspberries, and he's game.

Kid logic

This evening I was sitting down and Levi wandered over and asked me "Momma, is that your chestnut?" He had me stumped for a minute, then glancing down at my elbow I saw the spot where I rubbed off some skin on Sunday, which was now scabbed over. Yesterday I had a conversation with him about how horses have chestnuts on each leg. He put the two together and figured it must be my chestnut. Man I love this kid.