Thursday, January 26, 2012

Tractor Love

We do not own a tractor. I myself have never been on a tractor (that I can remember). But we do live in the country and so tractors are a way of life. Often I find myself describing to Jay "I am just passing the big green tractor," when he asks how close I am to home. Or sometimes I mention the house where the chickens always wander along the road.

When I drive the kids home in the afternoon Trey always asks if the cows are in the road because sometimes I have to drive real slow and honk the horn and Trey yells, "Cows go home!" when we drive down Grandma and Grandpa's dirt road and the cows have gotten past the fence. Yeah, I would say that's the country.

We have had some unseasonably warmer temperatures the past few days so we have been trying to get the kids outside to get some energy out and get some fresh air. Trey was playing around and came up with the brilliant idea to hook his beach wheelbarrow to the back of tricycle so now he could have "my tractor." It is very useful for carrying rocks and sticks.

Tonight he played in the garage because it was getting dark outside. Jay backed out the cars and he had a grand time with the rocks and tractor.



Then apparently the mud in the garage was too much for him because he came running inside and asked, "May I clean up the mess?" I didn't know what he was talking about but I told him sure. I figured he couldn't do any harm cleaning up whatever mess there was. I went out in the garage and found him sweeping away.



I think he just pushed the dirt into a pile and drove the "tractor" right over it.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sick Day

When Charlotte woke up this morning at 5 am I knew something was not right. She had a fever and bad congestion. I am hoping it is nothing a little bland diet, Tylenol, and extra hugs and kisses can't cure. Whenever I go to the doctor because one of the kids has a fever I get told it is just a part of a cold or virus and sent home. So now I wait until something else seems up instead of wasting a whole day of rest at the doctor's office. Charlotte and I got to spend some quality time this morning when the boys went off to church.

We played some music.



Had a tea party.



And did some laundry.



And I may or may not have let her have her paci all morning because she wasn't feel well.

Anyways, Charlotte kept looking for Trey. She wandered around downstairs a little lost without anyone to chase. As soon as the boys came home from church she was so excited. Trey gave her a hug and told her he missed her. Then they had a good time playing under the dining room table.

"Come on let's crawl Charlotte!"


"Cheese"



"Charlotte, stop hitting me!"



"I love you Charlotte. Charlotte says she loves me too!"



And then Jay and I had to discuss the great working parent debate- who stays home with the sick child? Seriously, this is one of those times when it really stinks being a working mom. It is Jay's turn and Mondays are not easy days for me to miss at school, so he gets to stay home tomorrow and wipe this lovely nose and give kisses and hugs and watered down apple juice.

Boo Boo Remedies

Last weekend the fireplace man came to get our fireplace working. Something about not having the right size valve in place... I am not really sure what the problem was. Anyways, Charlotte was very excited about having a new person at the house, especially one who was taking apart her favorite thing- the fireplace! She watch him at first, then she wanted to get much closer to the action, so I took her upstairs to join her brother, who broke out screaming when the fireplace man came into the house and was only calm again after being whisked away upstairs to watch some Thomas on his 'puter.


Charlotte was not happy about being removed from the exciting taking apart of the fireplace to the boring upstairs so she banged her head against the metal gate at the top of the stairs. It was not a pretty sight. Neither was the massive bruise that popped up on her forehead immediately after wards.



In order to reduce the swelling I used her pink teething ring that we keep in the freezer. In fact we have two teething rings in the freezer, one pink and one blue just for this occasion. One time when Trey was a little over a year old he hurt his head on something and wouldn't let us put a boo boo bear or bag of ice or ANYTHING on his head to help reduce the swelling. Except his trusty teething ring. He knew what that was, he had used it before in his mouth, so he didn't mind letting us hold it on his head. After that anytime the kids bump their heads we get their respective teething ring and use it for an ice pack.



Trey bit his lip the other afternoon and he was a little upset about it. He announced he would go get his blue ice to make him feel better. And just in case a sibling has sympathy pains, Trey makes sure they both have their "ice" when one of them gets a bump.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dinner Wars

5:00 at our house is not a fun time unless there are filled plates on the table or dinner is about to come out of the oven. I try to pick up the kids between 3:00 and 3:30 each day so you would think an hour and a half is plenty of time of get a nice real food dinner on the table. Ha! Between diaper changes, toddler potty breaks, refereeing play time, keeping the toddler engaged in a non-destructive activity and keeping the baby from putting every small piece of lint or toy in her mouth it is a little hard to concentrate on dinners. I try work Sunday afternoon/evening on getting meals prepped for the next week. Having veggies cut, pizza dough made and frozen, casseroles put together and meat cooked ahead of time make a huge difference. Unfortunately, all that work is for nothing if no one eats what I cook. I don't make crazy weird dinners, just normal ones that are all from scratch.

Yesterday Jay and I were discussing dinners and how much harder it is for me to provide 3 different meals than just one meal. Plus Charlotte is such a good eater, but when she sees her brother only eat fruit and cheese for dinner that is all she wants now too. So we decided everyone is going to get the same dinner and they can eat what they want, but they have to take one bite out of each item on their plate.

Tonight I served baked spaghetti, salad for the adults, toasted rolls and bananas for the kids. Nothing fancy but plenty filling if you actually eat the food. Charlotte ate two helpings of spaghetti, a whole banana and half the roll. She had an appetizer of frozen peas while I was setting the table. Trey ate one bite of his roll, declared he did not like it, and then proceeded to eat his banana. Honestly I was hoping he would ate least eat the whole roll to fill him up, but that's okay.

Here was the kicker, when he asked to be excused Jay told him he had to eat one bite of his spaghetti before he could get down. We have one stubborn child. He sat there for about 10 minutes refusing to take a bite. Then he continued to drop noodles on the floor, resulting in time out. After which, Jay brought him back to the table to sit until he ate one noodle from his spaghetti. About 20 minutes later a noodle was finally eaten. Only after Charlotte got a small piece of a cookie because she had finished her spaghetti. Nothing like a little bribing to get your child to eat something.

I recognize that Trey is a picky eater. But everything I have read says that you often have to try something 20 times before you like it. Jay is also a picky eater. Tonight he was very understanding of Trey's predicament, but also very firm that he had to eat one bite of spaghetti. Trey even declared he liked the noodle after he ate it, but he didn't want to eat another one. I think the process was just as emotionally and physically hard for Jay as it was for Trey. He said making Trey eat one bite of his food brought back a lot of painful memories for him.

Seriously, who knew dinner time could be filled with so much drama?

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Cupcake Party

Last Saturday Charlotte had her first birthday party. We did a cupcake theme for the party. I looked online and got tons of ideas for a cupcake party.

Ready for the party to start.


This is how Charlotte looked most of the day. She was on the go!


Trey was so excited for her party. He kept telling her Happy Birthday all day long!


We decorated the house with cupcakes as centerpieces. Jay was in charge of cake decoration again this year and he did a great job!


My mom quilted a table runner with some cupcake fabric that added a nice touch to the dining room.






We started off the party with lunch. Charlotte enjoyed the mexican food and gobbled up some black bean salsa and quesadillas!


Charlotte had fun opening her presents.






Opening all those presents wore her out!


Charlotte loved everyone singing to her!


She liked the cupcake okay, but wasn't really into diving herself head first into it. She mainly just licked some icing and then spread it all around her high chair. We tried to break up the cupcake for her and then she took one bite. Trey just ate a few licks of icing on his cupcake as well. You can't tell we don't have cakes/cupcakes a lot because my kids really didn't know what to do with them! Now cookies on the other hand....





The best thing about this party was that we only had to decorate a few cupcakes. We left all the other undecorated and then had a cupcake bar. Guests got to choose their cupcake flavor then they could ice their cupcake and choose from a variety of sprinkle and candy toppings.




After her nap Charlotte was ready to party some more!

Monday, January 9, 2012

One year old

5 days old


1 month old


2 months old


3 months old


4 months old


5 months old


6 months old


7 months old


8 months old


9 months old


10 months old


11 months old


1 year old!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Happy Birthday Charlotte!


Dear Charlotte,

Today you are one year old. I cannot fathom that you are no longer a baby and are moving into toddlerhood. I don't think I am ready for that yet! I love your baby kisses, baby squeals and baby laughs. You are such a happy baby. You love to crawl all around, explore new things, and be right in the middle of people. The first thing you look for in a room is your brother. If you find him you make a beeline for him, but if you don't you will find something else to do. You still love to try new foods and this month some of your favorites were frozen peas, cheese toast, black bean salsa, and french toast (whole wheat and homemade of course!)

You are sleeping so well that I almost forget we didn't sleep for a good 9 months out of this year! In the mornings you are usually trying to pull up in your crib and have a big smile ready for whoever comes to get you. Your favorite game is peek a boo. Your favorite toys are Trey's chunky beads and his train set. You love to read books and your favorite ones are the small board books that you can turn the pages on your own and chew on.

You have adjusted pretty well to the sippy cup. But when the milk is too cold you will just spit it right out! Right now you take whole milk in your sippy cup and only nurse right before you go to sleep. Mommy will cut that out pretty soon too. You like to say your prayers and read a story before you go to sleep. Mommy loves to cuddle with you and sometimes you will lay your head down and snuggle, and sometimes you want to push away and just be laid down in the crib and have your own space.

Mommy, Daddy and Trey love you so much! We can't wait to see how much fun you will be and how much you will grow and change in the next year!

Love,
Mommy

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Wisdom from a 2 year old

Trey continually makes us laugh by the things he says. I want to remember this stage so I am writing them down because I know I will forget too soon.

During tonight's prayer,
"Dear God, Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Trey and Charlotte. And for my poop in the potty and my pee in the potty. Amen."

Charlotte can touch her feet to the table in her highchair. Trey tells her every night after dinner to
"Get yous feet off the table Charlotte!"

This is how I know he is my child.
"I no wear my elmo pajamas. Its gots tags. I wear my elephant pajamas. Its gots no tag."

We have been talking about Trey's right and left every time he gets dressed and when we are driving in the car. Yesterday dinner he told me something and asked for confirmation.
"Right, Mommy?
I told him yes he was right.
"Left, Mommy?"
I think we still have a little work to go on that one.


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Open Yous Mouth

Tonight for dinner I decided to make a new recipe. It was a delicious homemade with real food mac and cheese recipe that everyone in my house ate. Yes you read the correctly everyone. I can't remember the last time everyone ate the same main dish at my house, but I digress...

Unfortunately the recipe involves standing at the stove stirring the milk and pasta constantly for 15 minutes. Upside: dinner is ready in 15 minutes. Downside: I have to be at the stove stirring for 15 minutes. That means for 15 minutes I cannot watch the children crawl under the table, tell Trey to stop hugging Charlotte, eagle eye Charlotte to make sure she isn't eating random dust off the floor, or wipe a snotty nose. And we have a lot of snotty noses around here, but I digress again.

So to keep Charlotte happy and not eating dust off the floor, I put her in her high chair to eat her favorite appetizer. Frozen peas. I read somewhere they were really good for teething babies and one night when she was fussy I gave it a try and they are now her favorite food. I can't complain I just pull the bag out of freezer, plop some on her highchair, and she is content to eat away. Except for tonight when I can't reload her highchair after the initial serving because I am stirring the milk and pasta.

Have no fear, big brother is here! He was carrying his plate to his place at the table and he saw Charlotte's plate was ready for her. He carried it in the dining room too. Then he yells out, "Open yous mouth Charlotte, I feed you!" And proceeded to feed her everything from her plate and when she was finished with that he hand fed her frozen pea after frozen pea until we told him she had had enough! And Charlotte ate every drop he fed her. At one point he yelled to me it the kitchen, "I feeding my sister peas, Mommy." I told him he was such a good big brother.







After dinner they spent the evening chasing each other on the floor. Really who needs baby toys when you have a 2 year old brother available for entertainment. And he gets a kick out of her laughing and crawling after him. Trey got a slide for Christmas from his Grandma and Grandpa. He loves to go down it, but he really loves it when Charlotte goes down with him. I will put her in his lap and hold on while they slide down together. Now if Trey is on the slide alone Charlotte makes a beeline for him so someone will put her up there too.



Amazingly, no baby or toddler has been hurt in this activity. Yet.