And The Pool Is Open!

Emma and I broke in the swimming pool on Saturday for a few hours...And yesterday, the whole family took a little trip to the pool, which was Kate's first time.  Something about summertime just makes you feel good!  Certainly helps that the pool is about 1/2 mile from our house!

A few pool-related  items:

Love this "puddle jumper" float - it is an approved floatation device - and provides a lot of peace of mind.  It came highly recommended by the swim instructor at the YMCA, and Emma even doesn't mind wearing it.  You can find it at Toys R Us and Target, but I ordered through Amazon because I wanted a cute color (very important...we have the yellow one).  

I just bought this gigantic pool bag...still waiting on its arrival.  Can't believe how much stuff is needed for a successful trip to the pool.

We've had a lot of success with Blue Lizard baby sunscreen.  I am a sunscreen fanatic, plus want to make sure whatever I use is gentle.  It's pricey, but still cheaper than California Baby (which is also good).

And here's your reward for stopping by...some sweet summertime fun pictures.

Hodgepodge

"Hodgepodge" - one of Emma's new words, so funny when she says it, usually to describe a very randomly put together dinner of leftovers - and it also describes this blog post.  A little bit of this.  And a little bit of that.

Sisters
Here's a picture that warms my heart...


















Emma
Questions and assertion: Emma has begun asking a million questions all the time.  Everything I say is followed by a "why?" from her.  I know this is part of normal development, and most of the time I enjoy explaining a little bit more. She has also started saying "I don't want to" when I ask her to do something.  That isn't nearly as much fun to deal with!

Potty: Emma is doing pretty well using the potty, though we have not begun full-blown potty training.  She sits on the potty to pee a lot and can go pretty long stretches with a dry diaper.  AND the big milestone last week was her finally pooping on the potty.  She was quite proud of herself and was rewarded with some yummy chocolate.

Kate
Eating: Kate is 7 months old, but still feels like a little baby to me...she is on the small side and finds herself still wearing 0-3 month clothes once in a while...but I'm guessing it is more because I'm comparing her to Emma's size now.  She is a very sweet, usually quiet baby, but she is the most impatient eater.  As soon as I put her in the highchair, she is screaming and flapping her arms.  I can't get food to her fast enough.  And she will eat, eat, eat, rarely ever signaling that she's full.  Guess she could use the extra weight.  Emma tells her all the time to "be patient," which is pretty funny.

Milestones: She sits up really well now and has started to crawl just a little bit. I need to lower the crib because she is now sitting up in her crib and trying to chew on the side rail.

Me
I've lost 6 pounds so far and have been running 5 days a week. Yesterday, I did a 5 mile run and it felt great.   My goal is to lose an additional 13 pounds, hopefully by the end of July.  We'll see.

I guess that is enough hodgepodge for now.  Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!!

Weight Watchers

Up until doing IVF with Emma, I was pretty thin.  I was very conscious of my eating, I ran 5 miles at least 5 days a week, and I took a regular pilates class.  I even did pilates and continued to run past 30 weeks pregnant, until the doctor forced me to stop because I had a low amniotic fluid level.

I was finally able to lose all but about 5 pounds of the Emma-related weight and then...I got pregnant with Kate!  I exercised up until about 20 weeks with Kate, but my hips and back hurt way more than they did with Emma.  So I stopped.

At my heaviest with Kate, I was a good 40 pounds more than my pre-Emma weight.  Since giving birth to Kate, I've lost about 15 pounds, still making me a good 25 pounds more than I wanted to be.

I'm kind of lucky because I'm tall and no one really notices the extra weight on me.  But I sure do!

And now I've had enough!  I am back to running at least 4 days a week (though, admittedly, more like 3 miles at a time, not 5).  I've already run 2 races since March.  And I'm signed up for a 1/2 marathon in September.

AND I've signed up for Weight Watchers.

Since having kids, I've totally stopped paying attention to what I eat.  If I'm hungry and something sounds good to me, I eat it.  It has to stop!  What I like about Weight Watchers - I'm just doing the online points tracking, where each food has a certain number of points and you get a set amount of points a day - is that I'm back to paying attention to what I'm eating.  And since fruit and veggies have ZERO points, I'm eating so much better.

I've been on it now for 2 weeks and I've lost 5 pounds.  Not bad.  My goal is to lose 15-18 more.  I'll keep you posted.

Emma at 2

While there are a lot of things that come with a child this age - a strong will, the start of a sassy mouth, and quick mood changes and temper tantrums, just to name a few - there are so many more awesome things.  

Like...

• An unsolicited "I love you"
• Emma sweet showing ownership by calling us "my mommy" and "my daddy"
• Talking, talking, talking (and a lot more understanding on our part)
• Learning, learning, learning (like how to spell her name, numbers, colors, new words used properly, pretend play)
• Showing more love to her sister

She is such a ball of fun and energy these days.  

And here are a few pictures from Emma's 2 year photo shoot with hubby's cousin, who did a terrific job.

Second Year Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

I just finished Emma's 2nd year photobook.  While I do get $10 for posting this to my blog, I have to say, I love making these books on Shutterfly.  It is so easy and they have tons of ways to personalize, just like a scrapbook.  I made one for Emma's 1st year, as well, and plan to do the same for Kate.  Much easier than getting hard copies stuffed into photo albums, in my opinion.

Love and Logic - A must read for parents!

I am in the midst of reading: Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years and I must admit, I think I'm a believer.

Here's what the book is all about (at least as far as I've gotten):

• Choices: In any situation that doesn't really matter to you, giving your kid two acceptable choices and letting her decide. "Would you like to wear your red shirt or your blue shirt?" "Should we go inside now or in five minutes." The premise is that you teach your children to make decisions and then, when something does matter and there shouldn't be a choice, you are more likely to not have a fight if the child has felt like they've had some control over other decisions.
  
• Making Mistakes and Learning Consequences: The book talks about asking your child questions and letting them think through the answer. For example, instead of saying, "don't go into the road, you'll get hit by a car," asking the child "what do you think might happen if you went into the road without holding my hand?" Obviously you'd never let your child go into the road by herself, but this helps them learn about consequences. There is an emphasis on the importance of letting kids at an early age make mistakes, because the consequences of mistakes at the age of two are usually much less severe than the consequences at the age of 16 (wrecking a tricycle versus wrecking a car). The book says that you should look forward to having your toddler screw up because that provides teachable moments.
  
• Enforcing: The book teaches you to sing the "Uh-Oh" song when a child does not obey the first time. The Uh-oh signals that something went wrong and that discipline is about to come. And the emphasis is on discipline with empathy. "Uh-oh, it's very sad that you wasted your carrots and threw them all on the ground, you need a little rest in your room." Then doing a time-out in the room until the child has settled down. At the end of the timeout, you give the child a big hug and move on.
• Enforceable statements: I really like this one. For example, besides using physical force, you can't make your kids pick up their toys or stop fighting. But you can say "feel free to keep all the toys that you pick-up" and whatever doesn't get picked up, you put away where the child can't get to until they earn them back. In the instance of the kids fighting, you can say "I charge $2 to listen to you fight, would you like to pay me with money or by doing chores." I think this is so clever!

I've been reading the book for just a few days - it's a quick read - and I've already seen some of the methods work. For example, last night, Emma was playing on her swingset outside and we wanted her to come in because Kate needed to go to bed. Obviously she didn't want to come in. But we asked her if she wanted to come in to read a book or play in the playroom. She came in with no fight!

Or instead of asking her if she wants a banana for her fruit - where she'll often just say "no" - we ask her if she'd like grapes or a banana. It takes away the option of saying "no."

Instead of asking her to put on her coat, we gave her a choice of which one to wear. And she put it on without saying a word.

And it's fun trying to figure out choices you can give her - even silly ones - like "do you want me to tickle your belly or your feet." The book definitely emphasizes the importance of having fun with your kids, which builds up a cycle of trust. Trust you're gonna need when the child becomes a teenager!

I'm sure there are a lot of different methods out there - for example, I also just finished reading 1-2-3 Magic, which I think has some good ideas, too - but I'm really digging this one. Highly recommend!

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Emma turned TWO last Tuesday. Happy Birthday, sweet, precious little girl!

We celebrated with a crayon-themed party at our house that turned out to actually be a lot of fun. We had about 12 kids ranging from 3 to 17 plus a bunch of parents. It would have been extra crazy, except it was absolutely beautiful outside so we sent the kids out to play on the swingset once they finished eating.

Here are a few pictures.

I found these inflatable crayons on Amazon and they were a hit! Sent one home with each child as a party favor (along with a little bag that included a coloring book and crayons).

We put paper over the dining room table and let the kids go to town with the crayons. And it served the dual purpose of helping keep the table clean!

Reused the birthday sign I got off Etsy for her 1st birthday party. I wish I could have had crayon themed cupcakes but it was going to cost too much to get a special order. So we topped them with little plastic crayon toppers from Amazon.

Emma with her cousins, Matthew (3) and Anna (2).

Cute shirt from Old Navy (with a cute girl wearing it).

Getting a little help from Mommy with the candle. Even though we discussed what she needed to do when the cupcake came, she froze under pressure.

On the playground in our backyard.

Enjoying the bag more than the presents. I think her favorite gift was a Melissa and Doug easel from Grandma. Mommy and Daddy got her a dollhouse.

All worn out at the end of the party. A two hour+ nap followed, which is very unusual for this little girl.

Being a martyr

I find myself, on a regular basis, being the martyr in the household. Weird, huh? Let me explain.

Example, husband offers to help me with something...I say, "no, I can do it" even though I would actually love some help. Why do I do this? It most certainly is not a positive thing because it only puts me in a bad mood and thinking "I do everything around the house." Do I want hubby to force me to let him help with something? Maybe. I guess I don't know what I want. I think part of it stems from my own independence, thinking I can do everything (or wanting to do it because I want it done my way).

Anyone else ever do the same thing or am I just a weirdo?

Recently I've been thinking a lot about some of my personality characteristics that I don't particularly like. This is just one of them. Perhaps some warm spring weather will put me in a better mood!

Where, oh where, did my sweet baby go? And breastfeeding nightmares.

I knew it was too good to last. And I was right.

Kate, who has been a dream since about 10 weeks - sleeping like a champ, rarely fussing, great eater - had turned an unfortunate corner.

Her sleep pattern has deteriorated significantly. While previously I could count on a regular 3 or 4 hour nap, now I'm lucky to get 1.5. And she's been waking up more at night, I think in large part to rolling on to her back and then not being able to get back over. Also, she's getting up much earlier than she used to (used to be about 10am, now it's closer to 8am).

And probably the most frustrating part has become feeding time. She literally starts screaming bloody murder as soon as she sees the boppy I use to breastfeed. Then she grunts and groans the whole time I'm feeding her - that's if I'm even able to get her to latch on. I don't know if she's paying me back for being gone last week for an overnight?

Yesterday I was about in tears as she was screaming. It is a very frustrating feeling to know that your baby needs to eat but then have her refuse. She seems to take a bottle ok - with formula, not breastmilk - but I don't know if I'm exacerbating the problem by getting her dependent on a bottle as I'd really like to breastfeed the full year like I did with Emma.

Any advice? I might call the hospital lactation consultant if it continues given how tiny Kate is to start with. Hopefully this is a short-lived phase. Could she be teething already?

Two new pictures

Wanted to share these two new pictures of my sweet girls...just because I think they are so cute! Enjoy the weekend.

Kate in the exersaucer for the first time. She's still much too small and we have to prop her up with a towel. Sometimes I wonder if she ever blinks, her eyes are so big!

Emma is wearing a hat that my Grammy knit for me when I was little. On this morning, she knew exactly what she wanted to wear and dug through all her hats until she found it.