Friday, April 20, 2007
Potty Training and other household related incidents (HRIs)
Having a not quite two year old who virtually potty trained herself seems like a dream come true – right? We’re certainly relishing the fact that for all intents and purposes we’re only changing two sets of diapers per day. For Erin, we basically replace dry pull ups and rush her to the bathroom every time she utters the words potty, poop or pee. There in lies the one small twist to this potty training experience. Erin has developed a potty preference. Since the renovation, our house has two full baths – the old non renovated one and the new one that is bigger than most kids bedrooms. Guess which one she likes? Right, the old one. For any of you that have been to our house, you know that it’s tricky at best to maneuver in that bathroom. Now add hoisting a 30lb 23 month old who has to potty NOW onto her drop in potty seat. Two people have now been afflicted with the injury we like to call Erin potty training back. Seriously though, we’re very proud of our girl.
In other kid news, Sarah has now been in physical therapy for several weeks. I took her today to the private PT and am thrilled to report that she sees noticeable progress. She feels that Sarah is making significant strides in catching up. While Sarah still whines and moans when the therapist makes her do any real work, she’s really grown to like her. She even graced her with a smile today which is huge since she usually sees her and scowls.
Sloane is our happy little sensitive girl. She takes the longest to warm up to people but once she does will sit contentedly in your lap and cuddle for long periods of time. We’ve determined she might be our cheerleader because her favorite phrase seems to be RAH RAH RAH!
In Karen & Matt news - we were pretty lucky with this most recent noreaster. Our backyard took the brunt of it with just minor flooding in the basement. Other people in our county weren’t so lucky – losses of homes, business or significant damage. Please keep them in your thoughts.
For viewing pleasure, some pics of our tip to the Turtleback Zoo this weekend with Erin’s best friend. We didn’t include any of her best friend simply for her privacy (so, E&E– if you want us to send the pics to you directly, just let us know)
In other kid news, Sarah has now been in physical therapy for several weeks. I took her today to the private PT and am thrilled to report that she sees noticeable progress. She feels that Sarah is making significant strides in catching up. While Sarah still whines and moans when the therapist makes her do any real work, she’s really grown to like her. She even graced her with a smile today which is huge since she usually sees her and scowls.
Sloane is our happy little sensitive girl. She takes the longest to warm up to people but once she does will sit contentedly in your lap and cuddle for long periods of time. We’ve determined she might be our cheerleader because her favorite phrase seems to be RAH RAH RAH!
In Karen & Matt news - we were pretty lucky with this most recent noreaster. Our backyard took the brunt of it with just minor flooding in the basement. Other people in our county weren’t so lucky – losses of homes, business or significant damage. Please keep them in your thoughts.
For viewing pleasure, some pics of our tip to the Turtleback Zoo this weekend with Erin’s best friend. We didn’t include any of her best friend simply for her privacy (so, E&E– if you want us to send the pics to you directly, just let us know)
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Easter
No funny posts today. Just wanted to share pictures from a wonderful family Easter. We were thrilled to spend the day with our cousins from both near and far. Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Drew joined us from across the pond - our first visit with them since they moved last summer.
We hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Go Team!
Most of you who’ve known me for a long time know that my best friend since middle school is also named Karen and that she and her beautiful family live down in Texas now. Karen was one of the first of us to have children and her oldest, Katie is now going on 14. Karen has many reasons to be proud of all of her children and I have to highlight one of their achievements in this post and reach out to our readers.
I’m going to paraphrase here, so for the full details check out http://ninetexans.blogspot.com. Katie belongs to an Odyssey of the Mind team. Odyssey of the Mind is a creativity competition that has been in place for 25 years and teams must come up with a creative solution to a long term problem without help from parents or any other adults. Katie’s team went above and beyond and not only won regional and state competitions but also prestigious Odyssey of the Mind awards. They now have the opportunity to travel to the World competition, located in Michigan this May. The kids have 6 weeks to raise $10,000 to be able to attend with their chaperones/parents and compete with kids from all over the world. The kids are going all out with fundraisers locally and doing their best to raise the funds. If you’d like to contribute, the link is http://sahero.org Choose “Click and Pledge” and make sure you enter the amount where it specifies Odyssey of the Mind World. Any donations, positive thoughts or prayers would be greatly appreciated.
My heart is obviously with Katie and her team and I’m going to do my best to try to help them get to World. Thanks for reading!
I’m going to paraphrase here, so for the full details check out http://ninetexans.blogspot.com. Katie belongs to an Odyssey of the Mind team. Odyssey of the Mind is a creativity competition that has been in place for 25 years and teams must come up with a creative solution to a long term problem without help from parents or any other adults. Katie’s team went above and beyond and not only won regional and state competitions but also prestigious Odyssey of the Mind awards. They now have the opportunity to travel to the World competition, located in Michigan this May. The kids have 6 weeks to raise $10,000 to be able to attend with their chaperones/parents and compete with kids from all over the world. The kids are going all out with fundraisers locally and doing their best to raise the funds. If you’d like to contribute, the link is http://sahero.org Choose “Click and Pledge” and make sure you enter the amount where it specifies Odyssey of the Mind World. Any donations, positive thoughts or prayers would be greatly appreciated.
My heart is obviously with Katie and her team and I’m going to do my best to try to help them get to World. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
My old friend Bobby
We're struggling in our house to say goodbye to what seems like a family member. Bobby. As many of you remember, Erin's first word was "Bob" and we spent weeks trying to figure out what she was referring to. Not one for patience, she finally crawled over -held up a pacifier and literally yelled "Bob" while shaking it at us. We got it. Since then, Bob has metamorphosed into "Bobby" and has become Erin's faithful companion.
Blue Bobby, her most recent, has become a permanent fixture. She used to wake up and call for Mommy. She now wakes up and says hello to Bobby. We cajole and promise the riches of the world if she'll leave Bobby in her crib. Um, no. She'd rather take a trip to a Turkish prison with Bobby than leave it in the crib. We offer the story of the Binkie (in this case Bobby) fairy who comes to collect pacifiers for new babies who need them. She calmly informs us that Sarah and Sloane already have pacifiers and don't need hers. We offer her rewards to take out Bobby. She usually declines them. We're waiting for her to rip out her be.dazz.ler and add some bling to that bobby so that it coordinates with her outfits.
Our pediatrician allayed our fears months ago telling us her son had his pacifier until 3 and that no one goes to college with a pacifier. Why is it then that I have visions of Erin with a cell phone in one hand, a laptop in the other and a bobby hanging from her belt loop?
Blue Bobby, her most recent, has become a permanent fixture. She used to wake up and call for Mommy. She now wakes up and says hello to Bobby. We cajole and promise the riches of the world if she'll leave Bobby in her crib. Um, no. She'd rather take a trip to a Turkish prison with Bobby than leave it in the crib. We offer the story of the Binkie (in this case Bobby) fairy who comes to collect pacifiers for new babies who need them. She calmly informs us that Sarah and Sloane already have pacifiers and don't need hers. We offer her rewards to take out Bobby. She usually declines them. We're waiting for her to rip out her be.dazz.ler and add some bling to that bobby so that it coordinates with her outfits.
Our pediatrician allayed our fears months ago telling us her son had his pacifier until 3 and that no one goes to college with a pacifier. Why is it then that I have visions of Erin with a cell phone in one hand, a laptop in the other and a bobby hanging from her belt loop?
Happenings
A few new happenings around our home. The house next door has been placed on the foundation, so Erin has been watching the progress with fascination. Hopefully our neighbors will be back by summer and Erin will have a friend her own age to play with.
I start working part time next week. I recently realized that other than maternity leave this is the first time I'll be working outside the house less than 40 hours a week in over 15 years. For now I'll be taking one day off and telecommuting one day. This will help us tremendously in trying to schedule physical therapy appointments, well baby checks and just the general doctor visits all kids require. And since my commute has becoming 90-100 minutes in each direction (for 38 miles. Welcome to NJ), this will go a long way in reducing commuting stress and giving us some more time as a family.
With Easter coming up this weekend we've been trying out the concept of the Easter Bunny on Erin. How exactly do you explain a human sized mythical rabbit that sits in the mall to take pictures during the week but leaves treat laden Easter Baskets while she sleeps? And we why wonder kids become afraid of the dark - Santa Claus comes down through the chimney while you sleep, and the Easter Bunny hops through your room. Heck - I'd be terrified too! That being said, Erin seems to recognize the Easter bunny and associates colored and plastic eggs with "Boony" - her version.
Sarah and Sloane are both doing well. Sarah has proven to truly take after both sides of her family. Both physical therapists have noted how strong willed she is for an 8 month old baby. There's a shocker coming from a child that belongs to the two of us! Sloane has kept her newly sunny disposition and has taken to making what we call the grandpa face - wrinkled nose, pursed lips and a head shake. We'll have to capture it on video for you to truly appreciate it. Sloane's new favorite activity is to pull the pacifier out of Sarah's mouth, hold it out of her reach and taunt her with it. We're in for loads more fun once these two get mobile!
I start working part time next week. I recently realized that other than maternity leave this is the first time I'll be working outside the house less than 40 hours a week in over 15 years. For now I'll be taking one day off and telecommuting one day. This will help us tremendously in trying to schedule physical therapy appointments, well baby checks and just the general doctor visits all kids require. And since my commute has becoming 90-100 minutes in each direction (for 38 miles. Welcome to NJ), this will go a long way in reducing commuting stress and giving us some more time as a family.
With Easter coming up this weekend we've been trying out the concept of the Easter Bunny on Erin. How exactly do you explain a human sized mythical rabbit that sits in the mall to take pictures during the week but leaves treat laden Easter Baskets while she sleeps? And we why wonder kids become afraid of the dark - Santa Claus comes down through the chimney while you sleep, and the Easter Bunny hops through your room. Heck - I'd be terrified too! That being said, Erin seems to recognize the Easter bunny and associates colored and plastic eggs with "Boony" - her version.
Sarah and Sloane are both doing well. Sarah has proven to truly take after both sides of her family. Both physical therapists have noted how strong willed she is for an 8 month old baby. There's a shocker coming from a child that belongs to the two of us! Sloane has kept her newly sunny disposition and has taken to making what we call the grandpa face - wrinkled nose, pursed lips and a head shake. We'll have to capture it on video for you to truly appreciate it. Sloane's new favorite activity is to pull the pacifier out of Sarah's mouth, hold it out of her reach and taunt her with it. We're in for loads more fun once these two get mobile!
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