Wow. I can't believe we've made it a year. The day you were born was a surprise, but a happy one. Your dad and I made it through delivery fairly quickly arriving at the hospital around 9 AM and you were born at 11:06. G'ma was there and so was Zadie and Bubbie and your brother. Uncle Andy, Aunt Wendy and your cousins came to see you as soon as they could. Becca was so excited to FINALLY have a girl cousin.
The past year has been something of a blur. You are still waking up at night, though definitely not as often. You finally said 'mama' (on Father's Day) after weeks of 'dada', but I swear your favorite word is 'brother'. I cannot even remember the blob we brought home from the hospital, the nights I had to wake you every few hours to feed, and I got used to having a baby that could breastfeed with ease.
Now you are almost walking. Annoying your brother. Smiling when I tell you no (as you go to do whatever it is again). Raising you to be the strong amazing woman I know you can be will be difficult, but enjoyable. Be kind to your brother. He has been more than patient while you have needed so much attention and help. If he acts out or annoys you or hits you know that whatever happens, he will always have your back. That he loves you unconditionally. That he will scare off boyfriends.
Be kind to your dad, too. He will freak out on you. Tell you no. Threaten your boyfriends. Know that he also loves you unconditionally. That he sat with you, hand on your back, when you couldn't sleep. He had more patience to sit by your crib until you could doze off than I ever will.
Looking forward to another year of watching you grow, seeing you run, hearing you talk.
Love,
Mom
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
21 Days and Counting
Until Amelia is one year old. Holy crap - where did the time go?
One day you're thinking one kid is enough, the next you're not feeling so well and realize that maybe all the food aversions aren't the start of the flu. Pregnant to baby to nearly a toddler in the blink of an eye.
And Kieran has nearly completed his first year at public school. In so many ways he loves it, he's really looking forward to the summer and his Karate camp. We do the orientation for that this Sunday.
Grandma is coming to visit so Ken and I are frantically cleaning house (which is long overdue since I gave myself the baby excuse to not do a ton of housework this past year) and the weekend of Mia's party should be a lot of fun. There's so much going on right now it's hard to keep it all straight.
Speaking of which, I gotta jet. Love ya, blog again... eventually. Maybe before she's 2.
One day you're thinking one kid is enough, the next you're not feeling so well and realize that maybe all the food aversions aren't the start of the flu. Pregnant to baby to nearly a toddler in the blink of an eye.
And Kieran has nearly completed his first year at public school. In so many ways he loves it, he's really looking forward to the summer and his Karate camp. We do the orientation for that this Sunday.
Grandma is coming to visit so Ken and I are frantically cleaning house (which is long overdue since I gave myself the baby excuse to not do a ton of housework this past year) and the weekend of Mia's party should be a lot of fun. There's so much going on right now it's hard to keep it all straight.
Speaking of which, I gotta jet. Love ya, blog again... eventually. Maybe before she's 2.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Elmo Must Die
Amelia gave me an entire week of sleeping through the night. Then she stopped - just when I thought we were on to something with the earlier bedtime. She is sleeping better overall, with only 1-2 wake ups each night at most. But when she's up after 3:30 AM, I run the risk of her being awake for the day. Which is why Elmo must die.
She was up at 3:40 - but she had gone to sleep early that night, maybe 7:15 or 7:30. So I knew that there was a possibility that she was awake for good. But no, after feeding she seemed relaxed enough for me to put her back in her crib. Then I stepped on something fuzzy - Tickle Me Elmo.
"Hehehe. That tickles a little." Said Elmo.
Amelia's eyes opened then closed again. I put her in her crib.
"Tickle Elmo again." said Elmo.
Her head came up. I rubbed her back and she put her head back down.
"OK, tickle Elmo later." said Elmo.
That did it. Amelia was up, smiling and looking to play.
"Eff you, Elmo." I whispered.
The end of the story is that I went upstairs and told Ken it was his turn. It was 5:30 at this point, which means I probably slept while she fed. He gave me another 2 blissful hours of sleep. I have yet to forgive Elmo.
That is all for now. Will blog again eventually.
She was up at 3:40 - but she had gone to sleep early that night, maybe 7:15 or 7:30. So I knew that there was a possibility that she was awake for good. But no, after feeding she seemed relaxed enough for me to put her back in her crib. Then I stepped on something fuzzy - Tickle Me Elmo.
"Hehehe. That tickles a little." Said Elmo.
Amelia's eyes opened then closed again. I put her in her crib.
"Tickle Elmo again." said Elmo.
Her head came up. I rubbed her back and she put her head back down.
"OK, tickle Elmo later." said Elmo.
That did it. Amelia was up, smiling and looking to play.
"Eff you, Elmo." I whispered.
The end of the story is that I went upstairs and told Ken it was his turn. It was 5:30 at this point, which means I probably slept while she fed. He gave me another 2 blissful hours of sleep. I have yet to forgive Elmo.
That is all for now. Will blog again eventually.
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Baby and The Boy
I've been very remiss in blogging. Too busy lately - lots going on both from a work and a home perspective.
Ken's first triathlon is this weekend - fingers crossed- he's hoping to finish. I told Kieran that Ken was going to be in a race and he got very excited. I also told him that we'd go to see him cross the finish line.
Kieran: But I want to see the race!
Me: The whole race will take 5 hours.
Kieran: Boring!
Me: Exactly. That's why we'll go and cheer Daddy when he crosses the finish line.
Kieran writes and reads very well now. We have a stack of words for him to review each night - sight words from class and words we have added because his sight words are too simple (we got rid of all the 2 letter words and will soon remove all 3 letter words). He's also begun to write stories in his journal instead of drawing pictures each day. In class they begin each day by writing a sentence fragment (example: At the farm, I saw a....) and then the kids can finish the sentence with a picture or with words. Kieran's doing 2 or 3 pages full of words. He also wrote me a card that says "Mommy I miss you wen your gon". I love that card.
Amelia is doing well too. She's doing something I will not discuss here, but suffice to say I am better rested than I have been previously. I will not say more as I do not wish to jinx what has been occurring.
Her babbling is cute and she's waving and clapping her hands. She will even imitate sounds (Hi Dad is a favorite imitated phrase - still no mom yet dangit). Cruising along furniture and sometimes standing for a moment by herself. I doubt she will walk early (as her brother did) but I am not worried about her talking.
I'm gearing up to get details done for her first birthday party - coming in just over a month. I am counting down for multiple reasons (yes, one of them is so I can drink again) but am still blown away by the fact that it has been nearly a year since she was born. The past year has flown by.
On a related (but completely separate) topic... we finally dumped photos from the camera and have some videos that are old to share. So, now that it's nearly June I can post photos from Ken & Kieran's trip to Disney... from last August. Yes, we are that family. Deal with it.
Love to all, blog again sometime.
Ken's first triathlon is this weekend - fingers crossed- he's hoping to finish. I told Kieran that Ken was going to be in a race and he got very excited. I also told him that we'd go to see him cross the finish line.
Kieran: But I want to see the race!
Me: The whole race will take 5 hours.
Kieran: Boring!
Me: Exactly. That's why we'll go and cheer Daddy when he crosses the finish line.
Kieran writes and reads very well now. We have a stack of words for him to review each night - sight words from class and words we have added because his sight words are too simple (we got rid of all the 2 letter words and will soon remove all 3 letter words). He's also begun to write stories in his journal instead of drawing pictures each day. In class they begin each day by writing a sentence fragment (example: At the farm, I saw a....) and then the kids can finish the sentence with a picture or with words. Kieran's doing 2 or 3 pages full of words. He also wrote me a card that says "Mommy I miss you wen your gon". I love that card.
Amelia is doing well too. She's doing something I will not discuss here, but suffice to say I am better rested than I have been previously. I will not say more as I do not wish to jinx what has been occurring.
Her babbling is cute and she's waving and clapping her hands. She will even imitate sounds (Hi Dad is a favorite imitated phrase - still no mom yet dangit). Cruising along furniture and sometimes standing for a moment by herself. I doubt she will walk early (as her brother did) but I am not worried about her talking.
I'm gearing up to get details done for her first birthday party - coming in just over a month. I am counting down for multiple reasons (yes, one of them is so I can drink again) but am still blown away by the fact that it has been nearly a year since she was born. The past year has flown by.
On a related (but completely separate) topic... we finally dumped photos from the camera and have some videos that are old to share. So, now that it's nearly June I can post photos from Ken & Kieran's trip to Disney... from last August. Yes, we are that family. Deal with it.
Love to all, blog again sometime.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Failing and Redemption
This week has been insane - and not in a good way.
Kieran had a horrible start to the week. After a few solid months of improving behavior, we hit a huge backslide when Kieran began hitting his classmates on Monday. It continued Tuesday. Wednesday, I got a call from the assistant principal - he was not allowed to go to the field trip Thursday and they recommended we create a 'task force' style approach to getting him out of this behavior. Basically, have him see the school psychologist.
I HATED the school psychologist growing up. Was sent there after some creative writing assignments upset the teacher (hey, I was an imaginative kid) and I never understood it and didn't like the person. The idea of sending Kieran to that gives me a lump in my throat, but I don't know what more we can do.
We've talked with him about the golden rule - treat people the way you wanted to be treated. Ask him things like "would you like it if so-and-so hit you?" and the answer is always "no". Then is it OK that you hit? "No"
But he keeps doing it.
According to the teacher he's the only one in the class who is hitting. She's worried that one day someone will hit him back (hard). She and I are starting to believe it may be the only thing that breaks through. We take away toys. We take away privileges. We make him write lines. We banish him to his room until dinner and then straight to bed after. Nothing seems to faze him.
Wednesday night I sat with him after Ken had an even worse day (car hit, ran out of gas, etc) and asked why he was hitting his classmates.
"I want them to look at me and laugh at me."
"You want their attention?" I ask
"Yes."
Hmmm. OK, at least we're getting somewhere. We talk about ways to gain friends and that hitting people is doing the opposite of his intention (make friends).
Thursday he sits with the Kindergarten class. He LOVES it. He learns new things, is very energized and had a WONDERFUL day behavior-wise. This goes back to Ken's theory which is that Kieran has been bored this past year. Unfortunately, I did not feel comfortable asking him to get moved up because I did not believe (and rightly so, given his behavior) that he was socially ready for the next grade up. Perhaps one day he may skip a grade, perhaps not. But at least we had a turnaround. And, I am hopeful, that we'll have more improvement as Ken & I work harder to give Kieran some weekend playdates, more time with his friends outside of school, and more time with us that isn't 100% focused on the baby. So glad the story ended on a better note. Fingers crossed he had a good day today as well.
Kieran had a horrible start to the week. After a few solid months of improving behavior, we hit a huge backslide when Kieran began hitting his classmates on Monday. It continued Tuesday. Wednesday, I got a call from the assistant principal - he was not allowed to go to the field trip Thursday and they recommended we create a 'task force' style approach to getting him out of this behavior. Basically, have him see the school psychologist.
I HATED the school psychologist growing up. Was sent there after some creative writing assignments upset the teacher (hey, I was an imaginative kid) and I never understood it and didn't like the person. The idea of sending Kieran to that gives me a lump in my throat, but I don't know what more we can do.
We've talked with him about the golden rule - treat people the way you wanted to be treated. Ask him things like "would you like it if so-and-so hit you?" and the answer is always "no". Then is it OK that you hit? "No"
But he keeps doing it.
According to the teacher he's the only one in the class who is hitting. She's worried that one day someone will hit him back (hard). She and I are starting to believe it may be the only thing that breaks through. We take away toys. We take away privileges. We make him write lines. We banish him to his room until dinner and then straight to bed after. Nothing seems to faze him.
Wednesday night I sat with him after Ken had an even worse day (car hit, ran out of gas, etc) and asked why he was hitting his classmates.
"I want them to look at me and laugh at me."
"You want their attention?" I ask
"Yes."
Hmmm. OK, at least we're getting somewhere. We talk about ways to gain friends and that hitting people is doing the opposite of his intention (make friends).
Thursday he sits with the Kindergarten class. He LOVES it. He learns new things, is very energized and had a WONDERFUL day behavior-wise. This goes back to Ken's theory which is that Kieran has been bored this past year. Unfortunately, I did not feel comfortable asking him to get moved up because I did not believe (and rightly so, given his behavior) that he was socially ready for the next grade up. Perhaps one day he may skip a grade, perhaps not. But at least we had a turnaround. And, I am hopeful, that we'll have more improvement as Ken & I work harder to give Kieran some weekend playdates, more time with his friends outside of school, and more time with us that isn't 100% focused on the baby. So glad the story ended on a better note. Fingers crossed he had a good day today as well.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Mommy Brain
Quick one for you. Though Amelia is doing better this week than she has for the past few weeks (last night she was up only once, at midnight, and slept until 6 AM) I am having trouble with keeping my mind where it needs to be.
Case in point - this morning. Ken took Amelia to daycare, so I was with Kieran, getting him ready for school. I'm frantically packing his lunch, packing my bags, generally getting us ready. I look up at the clock and it's time to go.
We walk to school talking about what makes fog, the caterpillars in his classroom, etc. We get to the street next to his school and there is no crossing guard. I look around - there are no other kids in uniform out. Starting to worry that school is somehow closed (maybe their A/C is out?) and I didn't get the message, we keep walking. Then I stop short - it's not 7:30, but 7 AM. I look at Kieran and tell him my mistake.
Then we head home laughing about Mommy's mix-up.
We get home, I get a cup of coffee and 20 minutes to relax. Kieran gets a 2nd cereal bar. When I tell him its time to go he looks at me and asks "Mommy - are you sure?"
I smile and say "Yes" but secretly check the clock on the wall to verify.
Case in point - this morning. Ken took Amelia to daycare, so I was with Kieran, getting him ready for school. I'm frantically packing his lunch, packing my bags, generally getting us ready. I look up at the clock and it's time to go.
We walk to school talking about what makes fog, the caterpillars in his classroom, etc. We get to the street next to his school and there is no crossing guard. I look around - there are no other kids in uniform out. Starting to worry that school is somehow closed (maybe their A/C is out?) and I didn't get the message, we keep walking. Then I stop short - it's not 7:30, but 7 AM. I look at Kieran and tell him my mistake.
Then we head home laughing about Mommy's mix-up.
We get home, I get a cup of coffee and 20 minutes to relax. Kieran gets a 2nd cereal bar. When I tell him its time to go he looks at me and asks "Mommy - are you sure?"
I smile and say "Yes" but secretly check the clock on the wall to verify.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
If I Could, I Would
If I could change Mia's sleep habits, I would. If I could make it rain money, I would. If I could remember to clean my glasses each day, I would. Same goes for blogging. So, here's what we've been up to...
Amelia is doing better with nighttime (at least the past 2 nights she did) but I'm not ready to call it just yet (given that the previous 2 weeks she was up at least twice each night). Ken believes if we get her upstairs earlier she may sleep better. Kieran had a 7 PM bedtime when he was little, Mia's been working on a 7:30 or 8PM bedtime. Last two nights we put her to bed earlier and it's been better - she even slept from 7:30 until 6 this morning. So, we'll see how we can work that. It'll be hard, but it's not impossible.
She continues to grow rapidly. She's pulling up and cruising along the furniture (and people). She likes to hug and smile and play peek-a-boo. She adores her big brother.
Big brother's reading is coming along so well that he now reads one book to himself most nights after we go downstairs. It effectively makes his bedtime a little bit later (8:15 or as late as 8:30) but he's very very good about turning off his light and not trying to milk the opportunity.
Kieran started his baseball season this past Saturday and had another game Monday night. The big difference this year is that he's doing coach-pitch (not t-ball). He hit 3 pitches at Monday's game and even though he's the littlest one on his team, he still hits better than half the kids. Maybe that's just my mom-goggles, but I swear it's true.
The funniest Kieran story lately is from his game Monday. Last inning of the game and Kieran was 2nd to last to hit. When the last batter hits, all players on base run home and then the game is over. I see the first base coach lean in to Kieran to tell him to watch the batter and when he hits the ball, run around the bases.
The batter hits and Kieran takes off. He rounds second, third and goes all the way home, only to see the batter still standing there. It was a foul ball - so Kieran is directed back to first base to wait for a real hit. As he runs back to his base I hear him yell "Yay! I get to do it all again!"
Amelia is doing better with nighttime (at least the past 2 nights she did) but I'm not ready to call it just yet (given that the previous 2 weeks she was up at least twice each night). Ken believes if we get her upstairs earlier she may sleep better. Kieran had a 7 PM bedtime when he was little, Mia's been working on a 7:30 or 8PM bedtime. Last two nights we put her to bed earlier and it's been better - she even slept from 7:30 until 6 this morning. So, we'll see how we can work that. It'll be hard, but it's not impossible.
She continues to grow rapidly. She's pulling up and cruising along the furniture (and people). She likes to hug and smile and play peek-a-boo. She adores her big brother.
Big brother's reading is coming along so well that he now reads one book to himself most nights after we go downstairs. It effectively makes his bedtime a little bit later (8:15 or as late as 8:30) but he's very very good about turning off his light and not trying to milk the opportunity.
Kieran started his baseball season this past Saturday and had another game Monday night. The big difference this year is that he's doing coach-pitch (not t-ball). He hit 3 pitches at Monday's game and even though he's the littlest one on his team, he still hits better than half the kids. Maybe that's just my mom-goggles, but I swear it's true.
The funniest Kieran story lately is from his game Monday. Last inning of the game and Kieran was 2nd to last to hit. When the last batter hits, all players on base run home and then the game is over. I see the first base coach lean in to Kieran to tell him to watch the batter and when he hits the ball, run around the bases.
The batter hits and Kieran takes off. He rounds second, third and goes all the way home, only to see the batter still standing there. It was a foul ball - so Kieran is directed back to first base to wait for a real hit. As he runs back to his base I hear him yell "Yay! I get to do it all again!"
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