k has really been surprising us with her conceptual learning these days. it's also been a lot of fun watching her imagination take over and add a whole new level to her play. from hearing her interpretation of what a cloud looks like (look mom! it's an elephant in the sky!) to watching her wave her corndog around, saying "ding dong! it's time for school!" we are having fun watching her mind grow.
the most surprising concept she has mastered is grandma's relationship to mom. husband's aunt was over a couple of weeks ago and asked k where she got a toy she was playing with. k replied, "grandma c gave it to me." aunt k asked, "grandma c? who's that?" little k simply said, "she's my mama's mom." i couldn't believe she grasped that idea already. i have definitely told her that's how it works, but i was totally surprised that she could internalize it and use it when someone asked.
little smartypants :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
don't touch the stove!
yep. It happened. k touched the stove and i felt horrible.
k had slid one of the chairs over to "help" me fix eggs. the whole time i was cooking those eggs, over and over again I reminded her "don't touch that, it's hot, don't touch." so, i turn off the burner, slide the eggs off onto a plate, and turn my head to see my little k's index finger make contact with the bare burner. oh my goodness.
i scooped her up and threw her finger under the cold running water at the sink. she was, of course, sobbing and a bit inconsolable. but after a few minutes, she was calm enough that she let me hold her on the couch. we curled up with the lion king and i kept rubbing fresh aloe on the tip of her poor finger. after a few minutes of that, i soaked a tea bag in cold water and made a compress out of it for her finger.
for the next couple of days, she reminded me that her finger still hurt and liked showing off her blister. then, just last night, she showed me her finger and asked where her bubble went :)
poor girl! we really are growing up :)
k had slid one of the chairs over to "help" me fix eggs. the whole time i was cooking those eggs, over and over again I reminded her "don't touch that, it's hot, don't touch." so, i turn off the burner, slide the eggs off onto a plate, and turn my head to see my little k's index finger make contact with the bare burner. oh my goodness.
i scooped her up and threw her finger under the cold running water at the sink. she was, of course, sobbing and a bit inconsolable. but after a few minutes, she was calm enough that she let me hold her on the couch. we curled up with the lion king and i kept rubbing fresh aloe on the tip of her poor finger. after a few minutes of that, i soaked a tea bag in cold water and made a compress out of it for her finger.
for the next couple of days, she reminded me that her finger still hurt and liked showing off her blister. then, just last night, she showed me her finger and asked where her bubble went :)
poor girl! we really are growing up :)
grandparents
at this point in our lives, we live within 2 hours of all of k and baby b's grandparents. the 2 sets of grandparents are the 2 hour drive away. the 2 sets of great-grandparents are in town. in fact, currently, one set of great-grandparents is just upstairs!
k adores all of her grandparents. it is so lovely to see the relationships develop and then build as she grows. having grandparents in the house has been so great. k plays with them on a daily basis and they love having her there, or so they tell me.
i have a plethora of memories with my grandparents. until i was about 13 we saw them once or twice a year, as they lived in another state. when we moved in with my grandparents for a couple of years, i really developed a different relationship with them than before. i was older, sure, but we were so close in proximity that i was able to appreciate them as people so much more. i learned many lessons, heard many stories, and loved much more than before. it is a very cherished time in my life.
for this, i am beyond grateful that k has 7 of her grandparents so close. even those 2 hours away, we still manage to see about once a month. i hope she will be as close to her grandparents as i was to mine.
k adores all of her grandparents. it is so lovely to see the relationships develop and then build as she grows. having grandparents in the house has been so great. k plays with them on a daily basis and they love having her there, or so they tell me.
i have a plethora of memories with my grandparents. until i was about 13 we saw them once or twice a year, as they lived in another state. when we moved in with my grandparents for a couple of years, i really developed a different relationship with them than before. i was older, sure, but we were so close in proximity that i was able to appreciate them as people so much more. i learned many lessons, heard many stories, and loved much more than before. it is a very cherished time in my life.
for this, i am beyond grateful that k has 7 of her grandparents so close. even those 2 hours away, we still manage to see about once a month. i hope she will be as close to her grandparents as i was to mine.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
party planning
i've started working on k's birthday party. she turns 3 in a couple of weeks! when i stop to forget about the days that run into one another of living with a toddler, i am shocked that she has been with us for three years. and at the same time, i marvel that she wasn't here three years ago. where was she? it is bizarre.
i quite enjoy working on birthday parties for miss k. i can say that now because i've only had to plan one party per year. i'm sure i'll still like doing birthdays when baby b turns one and for several parties after, but i wonder when the time will come that they become a headache and a chore? my babies were born in february and september, so at least that spreads the chaos of birthday parties out a bit...
i also realize that birthday parties can be as simple or as chaotic as you want them to be. we have yet to do any friend parties (of course) but in brainstorming for this third party, i have gotten a bit excited for the first friend party. games, crafty things, favor bags??? fun! i'll give myself a couple more years before we hit that stage :)
i quite enjoy working on birthday parties for miss k. i can say that now because i've only had to plan one party per year. i'm sure i'll still like doing birthdays when baby b turns one and for several parties after, but i wonder when the time will come that they become a headache and a chore? my babies were born in february and september, so at least that spreads the chaos of birthday parties out a bit...
i also realize that birthday parties can be as simple or as chaotic as you want them to be. we have yet to do any friend parties (of course) but in brainstorming for this third party, i have gotten a bit excited for the first friend party. games, crafty things, favor bags??? fun! i'll give myself a couple more years before we hit that stage :)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
the sleepy fight
i'm not one of those people who think babies come to us as blank slates who know nothing at all. but i find myself completely surprised when my little baby b can put things together and let me know how she feels about it - already??? for example, about a month or so ago, she really started letting me know how she feels about that carseat. she hates that thing. and, for some reason, it was so crazy to me that this little 3 month old knew just when she was going to get strapped into it. her new thing is that she knows when she's going to be put to bed and cries because she either hates it or hates being left alone. of course babies know things and of course they have opinions on such things and of course they can express their feelings on those opinions. but sometimes it just blows my mind for a second that they can "already do that." i'm getting lost in deep thought...
so putting her down for a nap is usually when i get this mad reaction. when b is really, genuinely tired, she is the easiest baby to put to bed. she goes in there awake and doesn't make a sound and just falls asleep. but when she's not quite tired but it's naptime or bedtime? oh boy. she starts crying as soon as she makes eye contact with her crib. she starts screaming as soon as i turn on the lighted toys and mobile. and the worst part? she looks up at me like, "how could you?" it's kind of heartbreaking.
most of the time, it lasts for about 30 seconds and she gives up. but boy, when she has decided she is just not ready? she will hang onto that opinion until you do something about it...
in great news, k has gotten so much better. when we first moved her to her toddler bed, she was fantastic. a few months later, it all changed. that means, that for about 7 months or so, we have endured the "stay in your room or i'm going to ______" fight. we've been through it all: leaving the door open/shutting the door all the way, taking toys away, bribes, screaming, crying, spanking, bungee-cording the door to "lock" it from the outside, letting her do whatever she wants, ignoring her, letting her play in the hall until she's tired, and on and on and on. but once we moved baby b into her room (about a month ago) it has been wonderful! not every night is perfect, but i'd wager 9 nights out of 10 are great. k stays in her room most nights and plays quietly until she's ready to go to sleep. once she makes that decision, she tucks herself in bed and conks out. it's great!
while k is doing great these days, i still have one complaint: the endless "i need to go to the bathroom," the "i need a drink," or the "i need help getting back into bed." apparently i was full of the same crap, so while it's infuriating, i have to smile inside and just breathe.
so putting her down for a nap is usually when i get this mad reaction. when b is really, genuinely tired, she is the easiest baby to put to bed. she goes in there awake and doesn't make a sound and just falls asleep. but when she's not quite tired but it's naptime or bedtime? oh boy. she starts crying as soon as she makes eye contact with her crib. she starts screaming as soon as i turn on the lighted toys and mobile. and the worst part? she looks up at me like, "how could you?" it's kind of heartbreaking.
most of the time, it lasts for about 30 seconds and she gives up. but boy, when she has decided she is just not ready? she will hang onto that opinion until you do something about it...
in great news, k has gotten so much better. when we first moved her to her toddler bed, she was fantastic. a few months later, it all changed. that means, that for about 7 months or so, we have endured the "stay in your room or i'm going to ______" fight. we've been through it all: leaving the door open/shutting the door all the way, taking toys away, bribes, screaming, crying, spanking, bungee-cording the door to "lock" it from the outside, letting her do whatever she wants, ignoring her, letting her play in the hall until she's tired, and on and on and on. but once we moved baby b into her room (about a month ago) it has been wonderful! not every night is perfect, but i'd wager 9 nights out of 10 are great. k stays in her room most nights and plays quietly until she's ready to go to sleep. once she makes that decision, she tucks herself in bed and conks out. it's great!
while k is doing great these days, i still have one complaint: the endless "i need to go to the bathroom," the "i need a drink," or the "i need help getting back into bed." apparently i was full of the same crap, so while it's infuriating, i have to smile inside and just breathe.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
cereal
baby b got her first taste of rice cereal the other night. i know, i know, she's only 4 1/2 months. she gives me a good, solid 6 hours at night but i figured since she's as old and growing as well as she is, she could stand to go longer at night without eating. i've been told by my doctor that after about 4 months they can, generally, start to give up any night-time feedings. and, since the girls are sharing a room, it would be great to have a longer sleep stretch for b and k, not to mention for me!
the cereal, if you can call it that, was of course very runny - which means some went in and most came out. i gave her a few bites the first night and that is just how it went. but guess what? it added another hour! just a few bites of runny milk and cereal added 60 minutes of glorious, uninterrupted sleep! so the next night, i fed her again. she caught on surprisingly well for a 4 1/2 month old - she started opening her mouth and leaning forward for each bite. it was so cute. she ate quite a bit more and slept for 2 hours longer! it has been a great adjustment in our little household.
on that note, i was taking k to the bathroom during those night-time feedings and was hoping that giving those up wouldn't send us backward in her night-time potty training. guess what? i haven't taken k to the bathroom in 4 nights and she's either woken up herself to go or stayed dry all night long! what a great week we've had!
the cereal, if you can call it that, was of course very runny - which means some went in and most came out. i gave her a few bites the first night and that is just how it went. but guess what? it added another hour! just a few bites of runny milk and cereal added 60 minutes of glorious, uninterrupted sleep! so the next night, i fed her again. she caught on surprisingly well for a 4 1/2 month old - she started opening her mouth and leaning forward for each bite. it was so cute. she ate quite a bit more and slept for 2 hours longer! it has been a great adjustment in our little household.
on that note, i was taking k to the bathroom during those night-time feedings and was hoping that giving those up wouldn't send us backward in her night-time potty training. guess what? i haven't taken k to the bathroom in 4 nights and she's either woken up herself to go or stayed dry all night long! what a great week we've had!
Monday, January 24, 2011
i know it's just the age
i feel like i've been saying this a lot right now. except in the last few days. we've had a string of great, manageable days with miss k. anyhow, she definitely is in a stage right now.
k is hard - most of the time she is defiant, bossy, rebellious, pushing boundaries, testing me... call it what you will, she's doing it. i was talking to a woman the other day who had been to a series of parenting classes when she had grown tired of dealing with her 9 year old who used to be so easy and mellow and who now seemed to be possessed by some sort of body snatcher...
apparently there is this stage that comes around as a toddler, then again at 8 or 9ish, and then again around 13. kids reach these ages and turn, momentarily, from your sweet, pleasant child into one that is defiant, bossy, rebellious, pushes boundaries, tests you... you get the idea. really? at least three times they will do this??? yuck and double yuck! and while we're at it, triple yuck!!!
but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. with each of these ages, they gain a bit more independence, they are capable of doing more than they previously were, they are given more privileges than they used to have, of course they are going to push you and test you and see just how far they can go with this new-found-freedom.
so, while it makes perfect sense, it brings some a-ha to the picture and makes it slightly better to deal with and muddle through. but, while it makes sense, it still continues to be difficult and i find myself asking, "so just how much more of this do i have to experience with k before it comes around again in another few years?" if i'm lucky, maybe k will go through it at 8-9 at the same time as baby #3 (when there is a baby #3) goes through it as a toddler. oh boy!
k is hard - most of the time she is defiant, bossy, rebellious, pushing boundaries, testing me... call it what you will, she's doing it. i was talking to a woman the other day who had been to a series of parenting classes when she had grown tired of dealing with her 9 year old who used to be so easy and mellow and who now seemed to be possessed by some sort of body snatcher...
apparently there is this stage that comes around as a toddler, then again at 8 or 9ish, and then again around 13. kids reach these ages and turn, momentarily, from your sweet, pleasant child into one that is defiant, bossy, rebellious, pushes boundaries, tests you... you get the idea. really? at least three times they will do this??? yuck and double yuck! and while we're at it, triple yuck!!!
but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. with each of these ages, they gain a bit more independence, they are capable of doing more than they previously were, they are given more privileges than they used to have, of course they are going to push you and test you and see just how far they can go with this new-found-freedom.
so, while it makes perfect sense, it brings some a-ha to the picture and makes it slightly better to deal with and muddle through. but, while it makes sense, it still continues to be difficult and i find myself asking, "so just how much more of this do i have to experience with k before it comes around again in another few years?" if i'm lucky, maybe k will go through it at 8-9 at the same time as baby #3 (when there is a baby #3) goes through it as a toddler. oh boy!
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