Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone (and now Happy New Year too)!
A post in bullet format, or it'll never get done!

- The above is the best "together" picture I've gotten lately. With Sam crawling and cruising everywhere, she's not easy to get in one place and Katie either turns her head like she doesn't want her picture taken or tries to grab the camera to take some pictures of her own. Taken Dec. 23rd at Home Depot.

- Sam got her 5th tooth on Christmas Day...which explains (I think) her fussiness during Xmas Eve mass and Xmas morning (nap struggle).

- Katie did lots of Christmas baking

- Lots of evenings out! Lots of generous gifts!

- We listened to Fred Penner and Anne Murray CONSTANTLY.

- We made gingerbread houses with Jo-Anne and her girls G and C. They have a very cool trampoline, some dress-up clothes and Sam's first time crawling up stairs.

- Auntie Alli came home for a few days!

- Sam loves Peek a Boo.

- Katie fell asleep in teh car lots but still won't really nap.

- We walked a few blocks through Candy Cane Lane (lots of Christmas lights) and Ben and Katie caught snow on their tongues. Afterwards we went to a nearby church and looked at their (somewhat legendary) display of nativity sets/creches.

- Both girls had Christmas dresses.

- Sam practiced walking A LOT...she can walk with a walker toy now and cruises along walls as well as furniture. Gets up and down with ease...is fast fast fast.

Had a lovely holiday...busy with lots of fun and family. Many more pictures are coming. And more "bullets" if I can remember them. =)

See you soon (and hopefully more often) in this new year.










Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Cute...

I'm in the kitchen doing dishes and Katie comes in, not wearing pants because she took them off earlier. I'm ok with that since though it's -20C outside, it's quite nice inside. (Pick Your Battles)

She says "Hey mom, you stay here ok, I'm going to go pee all by myself!" (wagging her finger at me the whole time).

Cute things like this happen all day long.

Also...Sam is now comfortably pulling herself up to standing on whatever is nearby. And walking from couch to chair or person etc. if she's holding on to something. Kind of scary, but a wonderful sign of independence. Make no mistake, I mean wonderful for her, not for me. Seriously, we have come to the conclusion that we had no idea what childproofing was with Katie. I'll need that cloning thing they talk about to get through this upcoming toddlerhood.

(Katie's also a bit like my spy...she tells me when Sam starts to eat something off the floor...I love it!)

ALSO...while I'm here (doing this 2 second update) Sam officially grew her 4th tooth the other day! Yay! (or did I mention this already?). Back to the dishes!

Friday, December 11, 2009

A nice thing...

I have another blog post started with various minor things that are maybe a bit tough lately...but wanted to post about this instead:

Currently, part of our "go to bed" routine includes me nursing Sam on our bed, while Ben gives Katie a glass of milk in the living room and brushes her teeth. Most often Sam's still nursing when Katie finishes and they stop by the room and Katie stands by the door and says a variation of the same thing. Always "I love you", usually "I love Sam" and "Sam loves you too" (as I had said this back to her when she first started doing this). I'm not sure how much Ben prompts her as they walk to the door, but lately she's also been saying "I love you reading, I love you feeding Sam, I love books, I love you playing, I love you when we paint"...and maybe a few others that I've already forgotten. It's funny because you never quite know what she's going to say and sweet because you do sense true feelings (I think!).

And no matter what time we're waking up in the morning (4 or 5am), how much we don't like washing our hands or getting dressed to go out in -20C, how much we're falling on the floor... That goodnight always makes me smile.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Crawling!

Wow...we had an exciting evening...Sam went from kind of scootching on her bum to what I would definitely call Crawling...Here's a short video...after this she made it all the way to the window in the living room.

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

I'll get more video soon...I'm too busy right now childproofing.

Advice for my friends who are newish parents...even though your first baby eventually gets old enough to play with toys with little pieces...DON'T buy them/play with them, you're just going to have to hunt down all the little bits that are too small for your second baby.

Add that to the hunt for the Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Cookie set that we own that was just recalled and I've got no time to take good crawling videos at the moment. (Though somehow I had time yesterday to make split pea soup, bake biscuits and try making sesame snaps (success!))

See you soon!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

10 Months!

Today we celebrate that Sam is 1o months old!

Sam's standing unbelievably well...apparently she IS an entirely different creature (in this category) than her sister was.
She's not saying any words yet but is definitely understanding some. "Reach" means reach your arms up, "Kiss" means open your mouth and touch someone with it, "Bonk" means to bonk heads (GENTLY please!) and there may be a few others I can't think of. I honestly thought I heard her say Katie and Wave the other day, but I haven't heard it since, So I was probably mistaken.
She's such a daredevil when she's standing...we've even had a few moments of standing hands free. She loves riding on her car.
Loves her big sister too.
Hates tummy time...which I think is why there's no "crawling". She did give us 17 min of tummy time yesterday when she was in a good mood. She does get around a bit though...a sitting up kind of scoot. Reaches hard for things and ends up shuffling forward, side or back a bit. We have a few predictions that she'll be walking before she's a year.

Sam's been a bit grumpy lately which we're blaming on teething...still haven't seen that second upper yet.

Eating is going well...we'll officially begin offering meat today. It's getting easier to feed her from off our plates because she's eating more things. She does love carbs though...do all children love Cheerios, pasta, rice and bread?

It's delightful seeing how fast our little Sam is growing...She's a real screamer when she's fussy but when she smiles there's not a happier baby in the world!

A few videos to share:

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.


Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Strange Napping

We had the strangest napping situation this past weekend. We went out Sat. afternoon to a little event downtown, followed by some errand running. On the way home in the van, Katie fell asleep (around 3pm). She hasn't officially napped in about 6 weeks. Ben managed to carry her in the house to continue her nap...and she did (this was a rare thing even when naps were normal!). She napped until 10 minutes after 5 when I woke her up for dinner. Ben had gone alone to the volleyball game we were all going to go to since we would have been to late waiting for Katie to wake up.

Trouble came at bedtime when she was mischievous and up in her room until almost 10pm!! Maybe not napping isn't so bad after all. Then on Sunday afternoon, we found her curled up in a blanket underneath a "tent" (blanket) we had made in her bedroom. So sweet...pictures are still on the camera...will show next time.

This is Katie having playdoh fun:Those are my old playdoh toys...barbershop where you can cut hair. Fun fun!
And the girls at bathtime. No matter what the mood, bathtime is almost always happy time.
Sam love it.
It's fun to spend time altogether.
Sam's been fussy lately...suspect it's that other top tooth. She's also begun "kissing" a bit...where she kind of bumps into your face with her mouth open. Too cute!

P.S. Here's a link from the local paper...pictures taken of us at the festival/event downtown that we went to. (there are two pictures...one of Dad and Sam and one of Katie).
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Gallery+Christmas+Square+prints/2224629/story.html

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Breakthrough?

Hello!
Just wanted to stop by and tell you about two little breakthrough moments we had last Thursday.

1. Sam played Peek-a-Boo for the first time. As in she held up a piece of paper and moved it up and down to hide and reveal. I love this! I clearly remember Katie's first time doing this too because it's such a cool thing to see...she's taking control and really having fun interaction with us. Sam's also started lifting up her hands and laughing/smiling when we copy her.

2. Katie had TWO poops in the potty! It's been a while...she started off doing it but then for some reason started pooping in diapers (at bedtime) or in her underwear...even if I had JUST asked her to go to the bathroom. But Thursday she did it twice and once yesterday. (and once yesterday in her bed, for which she said this morning " Sorry mom about the poop in my bed")

Overall, I'm feeling like things have settled down a bit...I'm not as frustrated all day long (though it still doesn't take much for Katie to push my buttons). It doesn't help that Sam's been a little whiny this week...suspected her medicine wasn't working well this batch because she was spitting up more too...we've got a new batch now, so we'll see if that improves. And there's also the runny nose she woke up with yesterday. She seems in good spirits considering and no fever so I'm not worried that it's "The Flu". I suspect Sam's also going through a clingy phase...my parenting/baby center email ("your baby 9 months 3rd week...or whichever week it is") mentions that clingy-ness is common at this age...it's bit frustrating to have her cry every time I set her down.

The weather's been amazing lately...I can't believe that Christmas is coming so fast...we do have a bunny that spends much of its time under Katie's little slide in the backyard and it's turned all white just in the last week, so we may be getting some snow soon.

I should go...Ben's having a tough time getting ready for work with Katie demanding his attention...and I'm just about done my coffee, which is my free time excuse ("When I'm done my coffee"). Happy Tuesday!

PS...I have videos that I've not been sharing, so I'm hoping to put them up and share soon...that's the plan man. =)

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Baby She Can Drive Her Car

Video of Sam driving her car taken this past weekend.

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween!

We had a happy one!
Katie dressed up as Ladybug Girl, seen here at the playgroup Halloween party. The wings are cardboard covered with duct tape and marker, the tutu was made by Gram as well as the t-shirt. The antennae with sparkly bobbles were bought. The boots are yellow boots we already had that I covered with tape and marker. Cute and (mostly) homemade...just the way I like it!
Sam was a princess/queen wearing a pretty dress we had and topped off with a crown (cardboard and tin foil) and one of the wands from JoAnne's girls birthday party the other weekend. She had red teething cheeks that really added to the costume.
Our pumpkin turned Jack-o-lantern:
Katie at Gram and Grandpa's house before going trick or treating with Dad and Grandpa.
Outside trick or treating...this is how we do it in Canada...all under the winter coat. We did have superb weather though...not sure what the temp was but our neighbour dropped by after the kids were done to share their leftover candy (we only had 14 kids at our house!) and he didn't need to wear a jacket.
When they came home Ben said Katie had SO MUCH fun doing Halloween. Not shy at all. Sam helped me give out candy while Katie and Dad were out. We had some nice one-on-one time.

Sam got her 3rd tooth this week. You can just see it right up top. She's not been the happiest lately because of it but I think she's doing better now that it's through. On the toddler front things have been some more of the same but also somewhat better. Not sure if it's actually better or simply a shift in perspective. I'm learning to live without naptime.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Busy Days

Ahem. Is this thing on?

The latest batch of non-blogging has been brought on by some serious parenting. Terrible twos are in full swing. It's not that things are ALL terrible, but the frustrating moments are taking a lot of energy.

It's really all about the little things. Katie taking her shoes off right before we get out of the car. Taking her socks off right before we're getting our shoes on the leave the house. Running away when I want to get Katie for anything (getting ready to go, for example...sense a theme? How am I still going out anywhere?). Pee/pooping on the floor during naps (the naps that don't happen, which is about every other day now).

There are good things...sentences are getting ever more complex (though the chatter is also non-stop now...I sometimes go crazy and feel like I can't ever get a word in edgewise...Karma some might say, from my own childhood). Pretending is out of this world...it takes so much energy to use our imagination as much as Katie does!

Sam can move around a bit while sitting on her bum. She also can get up on one knee, especially when she has something to lean on with her hands, like my knee or Katie's bed rail. She loves standing up and can stand for what seems like forever without needing support.

Sam still only has the two teeth, but two more are on their way soon I think...the top gum appears to be swollen and we've had intermittent hot, red cheeks lately. She's gabbing a lot too and we're trying to encourage some word recognition, but not really anticipating any real "words" yet.

I'm posting pictures, but am really going to try and keep the commentary on them brief...otherwise blogging gets long and tedious.

But...I will tell you (from JUST a few minutes ago) than when having "Mom Time" (it's the new Nap Time don't you know?), creating a fort by draping a sheet over the chairs in the living room, doesn't just provide FUN and keep a little one busy, it also provides a quiet hidden place which is perfect for quietly pooping in ones pants and peeing on the floor. Yep. This is the way of things these days. I'll try not to disappear for so long this time, but no promises.

On to photos:
Papa coming with us to practice swimming in the middle of the week. We have been taking swimming lessons (parent and tot) Saturday mornings since the end of September. Katie likes the water but for some reason really dislikes lessons. A weekday visit is our attempt to gain extra comfort (though if it stems from the group thing, it may not help much as there are few kids in the pool mid week).
Katie waking up from a nap where I had left the closet door unlocked. Katie found her old sandals that are too small and had crawled back into bed with them on.
Sam playing with our friend Steph's Baby W's toy. She loves it.
Katie carrying a "tree" on a walk with Steph and Baby W. The weather was super nice that day.
Katie helping feed Sam...we've gone to more cut up finger foods for Sam...she was getting upset at mealtimes and we think it was that she was getting tired of eating mush.
Sam out for coffee with us and Mrs F. Having so many frustrating/mad moments with Katie has made me want to try harder to create lovely moments...which sometimes backfires...moments like baking together. Here are ginger snap cookies:These cookies were perfect for the first snow of the season. The snow is now all gone as we've had a very weird fall for weather. I scurried out soon after to buy her some boots since the old ones didn't fit. Happily her snowsuit from last year still fits. I also tried baking bread (kneading out the frustration...!).The recipe in my Purity cookbook made 4 loaves of whole wheat! (forgot to rotate pic...too late now!)This is the photo from when Katie said "What are you doing Sam!" and I found Sam with her hands in a bowl of her cereal. Sam turned right around and opened the door in Katie's play kitchen. All dressed up for JoAnne's girls 3rd B-day Party this past Saturday. Princess themed. With a princess cake.And cupcakes for the kids. Sam successfully managed peas on her own (mostly). Ben wasn't there because he had Cross Country provincials out of town that day. The goody bags had crowns, a ball for Sam,Wands for both girls and princess pencils and a notepad. She was thrilled!That's it...see you later.