Since it is the time of year to reflect on the things you have and are grateful for, I figured I'd stop grousing about the crap the kids do that annoy me so much and focus on what I love about them.
When they smile, laugh or giggle I join right in.
When they play together, even with the age difference.
Kieran is an amazing big brother. I expect him to be completely and utterly over-protective. Future boyfriends will likely have more to fear from Kieran than Ken. (though Ken may debate that)
Amelia loves to imitate. Whether it's mimicking Kieran, 'reading' a book, or tickling the dog (or her own belly), she is learning by doing - and that's amazing.
They both love to help. Kieran actually wants to help put his clothes away. Granted, it usually helps him delay bedtime by a few minutes, but still...Mia wants to help by being held by you while you try to do whatever it is that needs done. Doesn't really help but she feels involved, I think.
Kieran telling me about his day, honestly.
Amelia, trying to see and touch everything around her.
Their big hearts.
Ken, we have made amazing kids. I hope we can help them be wonderful adults (someday in the FAR future).
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Bedtime Battles
It used to be simple to get Kieran to go to bed. Sure some nights he would delay and others he'd be downright stubborn (no idea where that came from), but generally he'd follow orders and do what needed done.
Last night, however, he lost it. First mistake, letting him play on my Fire while I finished up with dinner dishes, etc. When I told him it was time to go upstairs, he did nothing. I asked if he heard me and he said he had. So I took the Fire from him and shut it off. He seemed OK with that (though not happy).
We got to his room, I told him to get naked and get ready for a bath (he had helped me scrub the tub so he could have one), he said he wanted to put his laundry away first. Knowing this for the delay tactic it was, I said we could do it after his bath but not before. He sat down and refused to do anything. I had to threaten to take away his toys to keep him from playing with anything. Finally I told him if he did not get moving in the next minute he would have a shower. Again, nothing.
Frustrated and at my wits' end, I treated him like a baby. Took his clothes off and bodily carried him upstairs to the bathroom. He is thinking this is funny, I can tell. I turn on the faucet and then the shower. He looses it. I put him into the shower and he yells "I'm not going to get clean!" I let him sob (and I mean SOB) for awhile.
Then I hear a "Mommy!" Not a cry, but a demand. He wants to tell me he's not going to get clean. I told him I'd give him a minute to reconsider and then I would do it for him. Time goes by, he does nothing, so I clean him up. He fights me every step of the way. Finally, shower is off, he's out and his nose is running. I get him some toilet paper to blow his nose, which he does and then throws the toilet paper on the ground.
I lost it. I told him in no uncertain terms he would have to pick it up. He fought me for 2 minutes before I grabbed his hand, put the tissue in it and bodily carried them both to the trash can (thank goodness he's still under 40 lbs), where I had him put the tissue away.
I took him to his room, where he still fought me on getting ready for bed. He was crying after his shower, which woke up his sister, who started crying. Ken was at his wits' end with her (she didn't want to go to sleep), so we traded.
Ken got Kieran to bed and I got Amelia back to sleep. For some reason, every time I put Kieran to bed, he fights me. Its frustrating because we don't spend as much time together and I don't like to fight with him, but he's got to know his behavior is not acceptable.
This morning, without prompting from anyone, he said to me "Mom, I'm sorry about last night." I thanked him and left it alone.
Maybe if I push his bedtime back by 1/2 hour it will be better. Maybe I'll just tell him he can put himself to bed from now on.
Last night, however, he lost it. First mistake, letting him play on my Fire while I finished up with dinner dishes, etc. When I told him it was time to go upstairs, he did nothing. I asked if he heard me and he said he had. So I took the Fire from him and shut it off. He seemed OK with that (though not happy).
We got to his room, I told him to get naked and get ready for a bath (he had helped me scrub the tub so he could have one), he said he wanted to put his laundry away first. Knowing this for the delay tactic it was, I said we could do it after his bath but not before. He sat down and refused to do anything. I had to threaten to take away his toys to keep him from playing with anything. Finally I told him if he did not get moving in the next minute he would have a shower. Again, nothing.
Frustrated and at my wits' end, I treated him like a baby. Took his clothes off and bodily carried him upstairs to the bathroom. He is thinking this is funny, I can tell. I turn on the faucet and then the shower. He looses it. I put him into the shower and he yells "I'm not going to get clean!" I let him sob (and I mean SOB) for awhile.
Then I hear a "Mommy!" Not a cry, but a demand. He wants to tell me he's not going to get clean. I told him I'd give him a minute to reconsider and then I would do it for him. Time goes by, he does nothing, so I clean him up. He fights me every step of the way. Finally, shower is off, he's out and his nose is running. I get him some toilet paper to blow his nose, which he does and then throws the toilet paper on the ground.
I lost it. I told him in no uncertain terms he would have to pick it up. He fought me for 2 minutes before I grabbed his hand, put the tissue in it and bodily carried them both to the trash can (thank goodness he's still under 40 lbs), where I had him put the tissue away.
I took him to his room, where he still fought me on getting ready for bed. He was crying after his shower, which woke up his sister, who started crying. Ken was at his wits' end with her (she didn't want to go to sleep), so we traded.
Ken got Kieran to bed and I got Amelia back to sleep. For some reason, every time I put Kieran to bed, he fights me. Its frustrating because we don't spend as much time together and I don't like to fight with him, but he's got to know his behavior is not acceptable.
This morning, without prompting from anyone, he said to me "Mom, I'm sorry about last night." I thanked him and left it alone.
Maybe if I push his bedtime back by 1/2 hour it will be better. Maybe I'll just tell him he can put himself to bed from now on.
Friday, November 02, 2012
My Little Goblins
While Halloween is over, I know I have been frighteningly lax in keeping up the blog. If only someone had told me how hard it would be to keep up with two kids... oh wait. Nevermind.
Amelia continues to grow and amaze. She's got a few words but they are pretty much indistinguishable from her babble. She is quite content to give you full details about an object, her day, or life in general. Just don't expect to understand a word she says. She'd probably walk more if we set her down, but when we're trying to keep up with Kieran, I admit it's easier to have her in the stroller or in our arms.
Kieran amazes me. Just last night we were talking about the word 'reflective'. He was able to give me a great description (when light hits something and bounces off). I'm still not entirely sure about school this year. I feel like progress there is a lot slower than he would otherwise go. He is content with it, however, so we're reserving judgement until his report card comes in. Which may be today or early next week.
We weathered Sandy well. Worst part is that Devin (new puppy) would not go outside and so we were constantly cleaning up after him while trying to keep two kids entertained in this small house. It is times like that when I do wish for a bigger house in the burbs. But, after the storm, there was trick-or-treating. City Halloween ROCKS. People sit on their front steps if they have candy and in an hour kids can hit nearly 100 houses. It was cold but clear and the kids had fun. The only thing that seemed to scare Mia was the scream masks.
OK, I gotta go get Kieran ready for school and walk the dog one more time. Love to all blog again when I remember. (sorry!)
Amelia continues to grow and amaze. She's got a few words but they are pretty much indistinguishable from her babble. She is quite content to give you full details about an object, her day, or life in general. Just don't expect to understand a word she says. She'd probably walk more if we set her down, but when we're trying to keep up with Kieran, I admit it's easier to have her in the stroller or in our arms.
Kieran amazes me. Just last night we were talking about the word 'reflective'. He was able to give me a great description (when light hits something and bounces off). I'm still not entirely sure about school this year. I feel like progress there is a lot slower than he would otherwise go. He is content with it, however, so we're reserving judgement until his report card comes in. Which may be today or early next week.
We weathered Sandy well. Worst part is that Devin (new puppy) would not go outside and so we were constantly cleaning up after him while trying to keep two kids entertained in this small house. It is times like that when I do wish for a bigger house in the burbs. But, after the storm, there was trick-or-treating. City Halloween ROCKS. People sit on their front steps if they have candy and in an hour kids can hit nearly 100 houses. It was cold but clear and the kids had fun. The only thing that seemed to scare Mia was the scream masks.
OK, I gotta go get Kieran ready for school and walk the dog one more time. Love to all blog again when I remember. (sorry!)
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
The Incredible Growing Girl
Amelia had her 15 month checkup yesterday. She shot up from the 10th percentile in weight and height to 25th and 50th, respectively. She's close to 20 lbs now. Still a peanut compared to most kids in her class but definitely getting to the point where it's a pain to haul her around all the time. Her head circumference is back on the charts, so that's good too.
She got 2 shots and handled them like a trooper. Cried for a minute but was silent before we left the doctor's office. The doctor said she's doing everything she should be and is pretty much right on target for growth. So, hooray!
Kieran has finally spoken up about the amount of time I've been spending with Mia. I knew it was a lot (I put her down most nights, while Ken puts Kieran to bed), but my heart broke a little when he admitted that he talked like a baby because "Mom, you do more fun things with Mia than you do with me". This coming week we'll see how it goes, working on spending more time with him (when I'm not yelling at him to pick up his room, get ready for school or do his homework).
Our other big news is the dog. Well, puppy, actually. Can't believe we did this again. What were we thinking?
Oh, right, he's cute.
She got 2 shots and handled them like a trooper. Cried for a minute but was silent before we left the doctor's office. The doctor said she's doing everything she should be and is pretty much right on target for growth. So, hooray!
Kieran has finally spoken up about the amount of time I've been spending with Mia. I knew it was a lot (I put her down most nights, while Ken puts Kieran to bed), but my heart broke a little when he admitted that he talked like a baby because "Mom, you do more fun things with Mia than you do with me". This coming week we'll see how it goes, working on spending more time with him (when I'm not yelling at him to pick up his room, get ready for school or do his homework).
Our other big news is the dog. Well, puppy, actually. Can't believe we did this again. What were we thinking?
Monday, September 17, 2012
Juggling
So much is going on, I'm having a hard time keeping up and on top of everything.
Ken and Kieran have been pushing for a dog, so my codicil was that we had to clean house - and keep it clean - regularly before the dog got here. We'd been working on that but the last two weeks got away from us and the house was a wreck. So after Kieran's soccer game on Saturday, Ken went with Mia grocery shopping and Kieran and I cleaned house. Kieran told me on Sunday that he likes our 'new' cleaner house better. When I told him we'd clean house every week he actually cheered. Something is wrong with that kid.
Amelia is doing very well at daycare. She's walking tons, spending a lot of time in the pre-toddler room, which she likes. Some mornings she doesn't want us to leave and others she's running away from us. Still hard to get her to nap and sometimes hard to get her to sleep but her night-time pattern is much better. Most nights she sleeps from about 7 or 7:30 until 5:30 or 6 the next morning. Ken showed her so much new stuff on Saturday that she slept until 8 on Sunday morning.
We have been exceedingly neglectful of taking photos. Like many parents, the 2nd child suffers from a lack of our ability to do five things at once (play with older child while changing diaper of younger child, while talking to someone on the phone, while trying to answer the door - just an example). This is something I want to get much better about. Since Kieran has soccer games on Saturdays, I think I'll go back to what we did with Kieran, which was try to take photos each week.
Anyway, tons going on at my office (and Ken's too), had a few minutes while I was waiting for a project to complete to type this out. Beyond work stuff, I've been trying to get more involved with the community now that I am not bodily tied to Amelia. I've volunteered for a lot of things which is also keeping me hopping. Lots going on, but it's all good. Looking forward to the holidays and some downtime to spend with the entire family.
Ken and Kieran have been pushing for a dog, so my codicil was that we had to clean house - and keep it clean - regularly before the dog got here. We'd been working on that but the last two weeks got away from us and the house was a wreck. So after Kieran's soccer game on Saturday, Ken went with Mia grocery shopping and Kieran and I cleaned house. Kieran told me on Sunday that he likes our 'new' cleaner house better. When I told him we'd clean house every week he actually cheered. Something is wrong with that kid.
Amelia is doing very well at daycare. She's walking tons, spending a lot of time in the pre-toddler room, which she likes. Some mornings she doesn't want us to leave and others she's running away from us. Still hard to get her to nap and sometimes hard to get her to sleep but her night-time pattern is much better. Most nights she sleeps from about 7 or 7:30 until 5:30 or 6 the next morning. Ken showed her so much new stuff on Saturday that she slept until 8 on Sunday morning.
We have been exceedingly neglectful of taking photos. Like many parents, the 2nd child suffers from a lack of our ability to do five things at once (play with older child while changing diaper of younger child, while talking to someone on the phone, while trying to answer the door - just an example). This is something I want to get much better about. Since Kieran has soccer games on Saturdays, I think I'll go back to what we did with Kieran, which was try to take photos each week.
Anyway, tons going on at my office (and Ken's too), had a few minutes while I was waiting for a project to complete to type this out. Beyond work stuff, I've been trying to get more involved with the community now that I am not bodily tied to Amelia. I've volunteered for a lot of things which is also keeping me hopping. Lots going on, but it's all good. Looking forward to the holidays and some downtime to spend with the entire family.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Baby Steps - A Reminder
Our vacation was great this year. We took a full week off work and did nothing, really. Because we didn't think we'd have a ton of money, Ken and I initially planned for a stay-cation. We were going to hit Hershey Park, the DC Zoo, one of the nearby state parks and do Ocean City for one day.
Well, as luck would have it my brother had a place in OC that he couldn't use for the full week, so we happily took it for some extra time at the beach. I'm really glad we did.
Kieran did not react well to the ocean the first time he saw it. It was big and loud and scary. He was nearly 2 and it still took him a few days to acclimate to it (on a cruise). Amelia was no different. When she saw the ocean for the first time she cried and screamed. She liked playing in the sand but did not want to be near the water.
I have nothing but great memories of the ocean. We went to Ocean City at least once each year as I grew up. I remember sticking my head under water and hearing the dolphins far out to sea, collecting shells with my grandmother and playing tennis with my grandfather. I wanted so much for Mia to love the beach at first sight.
Then Ken reminded me that baby steps are the way to go. Our second day there we spent the morning at the beach again. This time we were prepared to keep Amelia entertained playing in the sand while Ken & I took turns playing with Kieran int he water. But then, it happened. I looked up and Ken was standing behind me, holding Mia. She wasn't crying. Or screaming. She was just watching the water. Ken said he'd just taken one step at a time slowly moving toward the water. Once he knew she was comfortable where they were standing, he'd take another step.
And it worked.
Once she got over the sound and the sight, I dipped her toes in the water. She realized that it was like the pool - which she loves - and then tried to faceplant into the water. From then on she had a great time at the beach. We stayed for hours, the four of us, playing and laughing and getting sand everywhere. Just like when I was growing up.
Well, as luck would have it my brother had a place in OC that he couldn't use for the full week, so we happily took it for some extra time at the beach. I'm really glad we did.
Kieran did not react well to the ocean the first time he saw it. It was big and loud and scary. He was nearly 2 and it still took him a few days to acclimate to it (on a cruise). Amelia was no different. When she saw the ocean for the first time she cried and screamed. She liked playing in the sand but did not want to be near the water.
I have nothing but great memories of the ocean. We went to Ocean City at least once each year as I grew up. I remember sticking my head under water and hearing the dolphins far out to sea, collecting shells with my grandmother and playing tennis with my grandfather. I wanted so much for Mia to love the beach at first sight.
Then Ken reminded me that baby steps are the way to go. Our second day there we spent the morning at the beach again. This time we were prepared to keep Amelia entertained playing in the sand while Ken & I took turns playing with Kieran int he water. But then, it happened. I looked up and Ken was standing behind me, holding Mia. She wasn't crying. Or screaming. She was just watching the water. Ken said he'd just taken one step at a time slowly moving toward the water. Once he knew she was comfortable where they were standing, he'd take another step.
And it worked.
Once she got over the sound and the sight, I dipped her toes in the water. She realized that it was like the pool - which she loves - and then tried to faceplant into the water. From then on she had a great time at the beach. We stayed for hours, the four of us, playing and laughing and getting sand everywhere. Just like when I was growing up.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Worst Blogging Mom Award
Yes, I am giving it to myself. I have Amelia's 1 year stats at home (height, weight, head circumference) and here it is, a month later, and I haven't posted them. Blech. I stink.
But I'll cut myself some slack. Kieran was having a good summer until a few weeks ago when his temper showed up (I guess it took a few weeks to find his camp). We're working on it (again) and it is easier to get him to talk once he's calmed down. So, there's that.
Amelia's been sick (she's better now) and that threw us for a loop. A fortunate side effect seems to be better sleep, however. We'll see if she can keep this up.
She's not walking yet (though she cruises along the furniture with ease), but she is definitely communicating a lot more. This morning I asked her if she was ready to go downstairs and she nodded and said "ya". Pretty exciting. Now that I'm done feeding her from my body (WOO HOO. Oh, wait am I supposed to be unhappy about that?), I can spend a bit more time with Kieran which is nice.
In a few weeks we'll be taking our vacation, which is really a stay-cation. We'll be doing some small things in the area (like maybe finally go to the dairy farm that I tried to do last year while on maternity leave) and then heading to the beach for a few days. Really looking forward to it. I need some rest and relaxation.
Kieran and Ken are ready for a new dog (I am not, but am being dragged along the journey anyway). On the upside it's given me and Ken the impetus we've needed to get the house in shape.
Other than that nothing else new. Gotta go and I promise to be a better mom blogger... next month.
But I'll cut myself some slack. Kieran was having a good summer until a few weeks ago when his temper showed up (I guess it took a few weeks to find his camp). We're working on it (again) and it is easier to get him to talk once he's calmed down. So, there's that.
Amelia's been sick (she's better now) and that threw us for a loop. A fortunate side effect seems to be better sleep, however. We'll see if she can keep this up.
She's not walking yet (though she cruises along the furniture with ease), but she is definitely communicating a lot more. This morning I asked her if she was ready to go downstairs and she nodded and said "ya". Pretty exciting. Now that I'm done feeding her from my body (WOO HOO. Oh, wait am I supposed to be unhappy about that?), I can spend a bit more time with Kieran which is nice.
In a few weeks we'll be taking our vacation, which is really a stay-cation. We'll be doing some small things in the area (like maybe finally go to the dairy farm that I tried to do last year while on maternity leave) and then heading to the beach for a few days. Really looking forward to it. I need some rest and relaxation.
Kieran and Ken are ready for a new dog (I am not, but am being dragged along the journey anyway). On the upside it's given me and Ken the impetus we've needed to get the house in shape.
Other than that nothing else new. Gotta go and I promise to be a better mom blogger... next month.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)