My littlest baby is now 2 – yesterday was her bithday. I can’t believe she is 2 already…although, the last couple of years of sleep deprivation some times feels like 40! My time with H has been both up and down…although there have been way more up times. She screamed alot as a new born. I was pretty much wrecked after the 3rd month of her constant screaming. I still am a little gun shy when I hear a baby wailing. Now though, she is a joy to have. She is full of giggles and cuddles. She is beautiful and smart and I am so very blessed to be her mommy.
July 17, 2008
H amazes me. She makes me laugh all the time. She has the most amazing comic timing. I really think one day she will have her own sitcom or make movies, or be on SNL! She is loud. She can be rough and tumble. She would be great in a roller derby (as long as she was on your team). She is smart…so very smart (she can read…I am not just braging here). She loves all things Christmas. She has a devil may care attitude alot of the time. She wipes your tears if you cry. She loves to burp after she drinks a pop. She loves tomatoes…she won’t eat potatoes. She won’t take NO for an answer. She is a leader, definatley not a follower (thank goodness…she is everything I every wanted).
Can Sloths Have 10 Toes? July 17, 2008
Don’t let you babies grow up to be cowboys!!!! Really, it should be don’t let your babies grow up to be teenagers!!!!! I say this in jest….sort of. I think there is a sloth in my house…..this one has 10 toes, not just 3 though. I bug her about this all the time, so having it writen here, won’t be any shock to her.
What is it with those who are over 13 years old….how can they possibly be tired when the don’t move off the couch all day….how can they possibly be hungry when all they do is eat…..how come they don’t make more money if they have all the answers? It wasn’t that long ago that the teenager in my house was a toddler. She was a great toddler. Cute, sweet, all the things that little girls should be made of. She wasn’t too unlike the toddlers we have now. The teenagers memory is awfully short though, as has her temper been with the little ones. E and H adore their older sister. The want to be with her all that they can. I see the way E looks to her sister with complete love. It is amazing to witness. I love that they love her so much…even if she is sometimes refered to as a friend and not a sister!
I hope that our house is good birthcontrol for our teenager. I hope that living with 2 toddlers is scarey enough to make her either avoid sex for a while or make sure she is protected…..not that we want her rushing out or anything (far from it). I hope that she is able to enjoy her sisters a little more….and realises that they don’t like hearing ‘watch me’ any more than she did with her older brother.
All in all, it has been a good visit with the teenager. She will head home tomorrow. Back to her other life. A life with no small children…but where she is the baby of the house. Back to more time alone, where she isn’t so adored. I know she misses the love and attention she gets while she is here…it is kind of like a drug…but I am sure she is thrilled to have her own space, her own life, her own room back to herself again and not have to share it with 2 little ones who don’t leave her alone.
H July 16, 2008
My beautiful H. I love her to bits and pieces. She is a joy in my life…although a little whingy at times. This past weekend our neighbours took some pictures of the girls while S and I were at a funeral. This is one of my favorites.
Sniff, Sniff, Growing Up July 6, 2008
My babies are growing up. I can’t believe the ‘baby’ phase of my life is almost coming to a close. I can’t believe we all survived it in one piece! I am shocked that I have lived this past few years and it soon it will all be just memories.
I say that my babies are growing up because H has reached a growing point in her little life. This past week she started walking down and up the stairs like a real person. No more sitting on her bum, turning over and crawling down the stairs backwards. Now, she holds onto the wall and takes them a step at a time. Other than being in a diaper and using a car seat, taking the stairs is the one of the last baby like things she will ever do…you know, other than throw tantrums, get kisses for booboos, wear Dora bandaids…you know, all the other baby things.
Everytime I look at her she has changed. Her hair is getting longer, her face more toddler like. Her words are coming every day and the other day as I was counting down the stairs she finished eight, nine, ten for me – I didn’t even know she could count! Soon H will be like E. Doing everything on her own. Getting dressed, helping me pack a lunch, going to the bathroom on her own (but needing a wipe).
I guess a part of me is just sad to see it all go. Don’t get me wrong. I would never want to have another baby – it messes me up too much, hormones and lack of sleep is a lethal combination for me. S has been ‘fixed’ so there is no more babies for us…at least ones that we make.
Come the fall E will turn3 and H will be 2. E will be heading to preschool and H will start swimming lessons. I can’t wait and at the same time, I am so sad at the thought of them growing up and growing away from me (trust me, some days I want nothing more than my freedom).
Grateful June 27, 2008
TGIF!
How bad is it that it is nine am and the girls have already had two Oreo cookies each? Hmmm…..some mothers would be having a fit right now! I like to think I am a moderate mom. I sit in the middle of road, half on, half off the fence sort of thing. Some days are healthy, some days are junky.
Of all the things that are important in life, what we eat for breakfast isn’t what is ultimately important at the end of the day! I am grateful for so many things, but here is just the tip of the iceberg…
1. S – he is my bestfriend in the whole world. I share everything with him and he makes my life so much brighter.
2. E – she came into this world and changed my life. Through her, I learned the meaning of MY life. I received the knowledge of how much my parents love me and how lucky in this world.
3. H – she shows me how to love unconditionally all day long. She is the softer side of me and brings out the best I have inside.
4. My mom…she passed away when I was a teenager, but for the years I had her she was amazing. She is who I aspire to be. I want to be that mother to my own children. I want to make memories with them and impart myself and her in their souls.
5. My dad…..is amazing. He is a 2 for 1 package…he is mother and father and friend all in one. He is still who I turn to for support and advice. He is an amazing Papa and it brings me so much joy to watch him love my girls
There are many times in our life where we focus on the bad things. It seems it is so much easier to go to the negative…the pull is much stronger than the positive. I haven’t taken enough time to appreciate the good in my life and that is what today is about. I encourage all of you reading to tell those you love that you appreciate them. Show them you love them. Days are short. Time is fast. Life happens in the bling of an eye!
Not A Circus June 26, 2008
If you have a child who is ‘monkey see monkey do’, do not encourage them to watch any Cirque Du Soile acts…especially contortionists!
E is this child. Yesterday we watched four ladies move their bodies in ways unimaginable. E has been trying to recreate this act using H as a platform. Too funny to watch. H hates every minute of it though.
Feeling Like A Failure June 23, 2008
I feel compared. I do it myself. I admit it. I am guilty. I hate feeling compared to or comparing my children to others, especially ones I really like. I wish it were simple to be a parent. I wish that other parents didn’t sigh or roll their eyes in my direction when my child has done something theirs wouldn’t dream of doing. I wish that parents (myself included) would just appreciate how hard it is to parent well, and understand that we are all just doing the best we can.
I don’t know if the parents I spent the day with today sat in judgement of me and my children. I really hope not. I am sorry that my daughter pulled hair and hit in anger. I am sorry that she is only two and a half years old and is ‘rude’ according to their seven year old. I am sorry that my house is boring and it rained all day forcing us all inside. I am sorry that girls make too much noise. I am sorry that we don’t pull out our video games and computer. I am just sorry.
The thing about parenting, or at least the way I am parenting, is, I am trying not to sweat the little things (which is much easier said than done, right?). When hair is pulled, I try to let the girls work it out. When someone hits, usually an apology is quick to follow…if not, I step in. I honestly don’t think I could sit on top of my kids, watching life a ref, waiting to enforce a penalty for every little transgression. They are kids. They are both under three. Chances are hitting is going to happen! Crying will occur. I get the big things. I have time outs. I work my best at encouraging sincere apologies (no one wants a false one). But, all the little things that little kids do, that is okay with me. I just don’t think it was okay for my company today. I felt like I was constantly enforcing a penalty to E today. It felt like every couple of minutes I was being told all the little things E was doing while out of my sight. It was so tough on me…tougher on her. It was a long day for both. H doens’t come running when E pushes her out of the way to get a toy…she gets another toy or stands her ground. H says NO when E pulls on her hair and usually gets an apology. These are not things I normally have to parent. It just wanted to scream…it’s okay! E took a chip from a plate and was called a stealer. E tried to share some pop and was screamed at. I hope that as E and H grow up they know their bounds of what is and isn’t acceptable. I hope I do a good enough job and making those lines clear. I trust that as they grow up they will not be ‘rude’ or steal or pull hair or push or hit. I understand that they are just little yet and don’t have the ability to rationalise their feelings in ways more accecptable. I just wish that all my kids flaws weren’t repeatedly pointed out by a six year old and I wish that the seven year old didn’t think my kids were so rude!
H’s New Tricks June 19, 2008
H has pulled a couple of new tricks out of her bag….her bag from the sick and twisted carnival it would seem. The first one is head banging. H is only eighteen months old I know. And, I am sure she is frustrated alot of the time….I would be too if E was my older sister! But seriously, banging my head against the wall, the floor, the fridge, the window sills is not a habit I would willing pick up! Come on kid. I do my best to keep you safe and relatively mark free and here you go, bashing your head on any hard surface within heads reach! What’s up with that….am I that bad? I just don’t get it. I stop her as soon as I can because I can’t bear to watch it. I hate that she hurts herself. I hate that bashing her head is what works for her. I hate that people must think I wallop my kid up side the head just by looking at her dented, bruised forehead!
Her other new thing is terror over the toilet. She is okay if I am going to the bathroom or E is. In fact, she is trying to put toys and hands in there most of the time. Try to hang her but over it and you would think I was trying to kill her. This morning she was standing in the dinning room grunting. I asked her if she was pooping which she replied yes! Yeah…off to the toilet we go. I got her diaper off, pulled the step stool over and helped her climb onto it. It went wrong from this point on. Her little arms wrapped so tightly around my kneck, her mouth pressed to the side of my head close to my ear, her screaming NO – I saw stars! H went stiff as a board and would not let go of my kneck. We are done. No poops today. So, I thought to myself…maybe she needs to see me go. I put her infront of me, and I went pee…….and so did she, all over my foot. Awesome! Let me tell you….nothing like cleaning up pee from yourself, your kid and your freshly washed bathroom floor. What a way to start a day! So our first crack at using the potty was a no go. I guess I am going to have to dig up the little potty and get it out. This pisses me off because our bathroom is micro small. In it we have a stool, a basket of bath toys and soon a potty. I don’t know where I will actually stand to brush my teeth, but oh well, maybe H won’t be so terrified to sit on this other one. I have head of kids being scared of the toilet, but I never thought one of my kids would have this fear…those fears happen to other people’s kids right? Hmmm…maybe I should educate myself via internet…ha ha ha.
One Black Tooth June 11, 2008
I would have thought that today would be a better day than yesterday. With the falling down and blood yesterday, things could only go up, right? Apparently, I was wrong. This morning I went into the girls room and noticed H right away. Her lip and face were so swollen, she looked like the boy from the movie Mask. Agh! What the hell….what happened to her in the night and how could I have slept through it?
I panicked of course. I thought at first she had been stung or bitten by something in the night…little spiders can pack an awful punch I hear. So, Benedryl to the rescue. This did nothing. H was still just laying around, not really being her usual lovely, cuddle self. I screwed up my courage and asked to see around her mouth and lip. AGHHHH! It was her tooth. The tooth with the chip that had slightly discouloured had progressed over night to a black, oozing mess in her mouth. A mess that caused massive swelling all over her beautiful little face. Did I mention, AGGGHHH!!
What this means for H, is dental surgery and a big hole in her smile until her adult tooth makes an appearance. This means being put right out, needles and crying. What this means for me is heartache and Ativan! Upon looking in her mouth I calmly walked over to our medicine cupboard and popped a tiny little blue pill under my tougne. Ahhh, that’s better. I feel like Morpheous told me I would go down the rabbit hole if I took the blue pill, but it was worth it. I can be calm about H’s mouth now. I can deal with the phone calls to the surgeons and arranging her penicillin perscription pick up. I can handle just about anything …..other than more blood.
Like E, H is a trooper. She is no where near as upset as I am about this whole experience. She is happily playing ring around the rosie with E. She has her ‘belt’ on (belly dance hip scarf). She ate a good breakfast and seems like she isn’t in any pain. I should learn a lesson or two from the girls. Keep having fun, don’t worry. Just play.
