Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sledding and Other Things.

I've just realize I haven't shown you any of the pictures fro our fun day of sledding a couple of weeks ago.

The weather was nice and warm and it was very very sunny! We all did snow angels:

Sam did NOT like it. Katie enjoyed being outside.
So did Sam. (She's swimming in this snowsuit...it's about 18 months and huge on her! But this far in to winter, we're not too keen on buying a new one for her.)
The three girls.
Katie on the sled...she went down the tiny hills all by herself too..."Again!" she said. (notice she's holding on the the handles? Those are actually brakes.) =)Sam had her first sled ride too. We had just gone over to our nearby park/dry pond, and after the sledding, we had some time to check out the playground before going home. Funny how the snow on the ground makes Ben (already tall!) tower over the little swings. Katie asked to go in the little swings, but it may be time to stop and insist on big swings only...she almost got stuck! Both girls had fun in the swings!Last week I made my very first batch of No-Knead Bread. I've been meaning to make some for over a year but never got around to it until I "borrowed" some bread flour from Gram. It was SO easy and SO amazingly delicious. Even if you don't "do" kitchen stuff, you could make this.
I knit some socks recently for Katie. I think they're cute, but I'm not so sure that she does.
I've been meaning to share this picture for weeks! Katie drew this with marker in about the second week of January...I added bits according to her directions but her original drawings include the two distinct faces...see the small pink one on the left? And the big one on the right? She did the big face circle, the two little eyes and the smile. I added the hair as directed. I was SO impressed...this is the most real thing she's ever drawn. I just now wish that I had better artistic talent to model for her...I don't know if she'll ever be a great artist by drawing as I do. =)
And...on to now!

It's been an interesting few days.

Yesterday we had Sam's 1 yr Dr's appointment. The appt went well and all appears good on the health front...she's down a bit in weight percentiles (I assume from all the standing/walking etc) but I don't think we need to be concerned. We'll get her weighed agian in a couple of months to check. Sam weighs 20 pounds 12 ounces according to the Dr and 21 pounds 6 ounces according to the Health Clinic where we get her immunization shots. We did the shots today, all 4 of them (3 plus her second seasonal flu shot...didn't quite get around to getting her seasonal flu booster in November like I should have.) Now we know for sure she's big enough that we can turn her car seat around to face forward...we just have to make time to do it. Hmmm..I suppose I could be doing that now, but I'd rather be talking to you. =) We've also agreed to try giving her Prevacid only once a day, instead of twice (for her acid reflux). AND...yesterday we gave her cow's milk for the first time! So excited to start introducing dairy (and the other last forbidden foods...eggs, peanut butter etc). I love nursing her but it takes a lot of time, especially with a toddler around...I'm excited to start the weaning process over the next month or so.

The interesting thing about going to see the Dr actually had to do with Katie. Long story short(ish) we had a major toddler meltdown on our way out. Not so much verbal...no yelling or anything. She decided she didn't want to leave and laid down on the floor in the hallway and refused to get up. I had not brought in a stroller for Sam but instead carried her in my arm, so I only had one arm to try and pick Katie up. She did the floppy thing...so you know what this is? She makes her body relax like jello. So it was like trying to pick up a potato sack with about 40 pounds worth of jello in it...with one arm while trying not to tip over a 20 pound full jar of water in the other arm (in that I was trying to keep Sam upright). Impossible! I tried to wait it out...occasionally appealing to Katie...offering stairs down instead of the elevator in case that was the problem...but no luck. I'll admit I semi-panicked and didn't know what to do at all. Didn't have the patience or energy (after a 5 am wake-up with Sam that morning) to try and get Katie to laugh or distract her way out. Deadlocked, I called Papa, who was luckily available and arrived like a hero, picking up that big sack of Katie Jello and carrying her all the way to the van. Katie cried. I was embarased and relieved and tired.

I'm hoping this doesn't happen again, or by that by the time it does I've decided on a strategy to deal with it. I will definitely be using my stroller for Sam for the next while, even on quick run-ins, just in case.

Sam took more steps today and did LOTS of standing on her own today. Improving by leaps and bounds daily...she'll be running before you know it.

Exciting times in our house!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam, today you turned one year old. I can't believe this day has come so fast. You are amazing. You smile a lot, laugh and giggle too.

You are somewhat walking...taking 1-2 steps hear and there while lunging for the nearest solid object. It's so hard to pin down when you took your actual "first steps" since you've taken them so smoothly and subtly. This evening, during your birthday supper with grandparents, Auntie Andrea and Great Auntie Gail, you walked about 5 steps...so they tell me, I was in the kitchen getting the last of dinner ready. I suppose that's definitely walking...although you'll need a bit more practice before you're running after your big sister. (You'll enjoy doing that!)

You had your very first piece of cake today. (Gram (Papa) and Katie made it for you) You enjoyed it once you figured out how yummy it was.
You're a wonderful sleeper, except maybe when you're teething...7 teeth down, how many to go? You are really growing up and becoming more fun by the day. You're learning words...you know quite a few..."More" was the first that you said (It sounds like Moh!). You know "Nose", Belly Button", "Mom","Dad" and perhaps "Milk"...maybe others like Ball? It's hard to tell this early. I'm afraid we don't always have time for language drills. You're certainly not afraid to tell us when you want something...this is why we taught you "More" so early.

I think back to a year ago, when you were a tiny newborn and think of all the things you've learned and all that you've grown and I'm astonished! I know it happens to all babies, but you make it all seem so special! Your dad and I (and Katie) are thrilled that you came into our family and will gladly keep you. We've probably lost the gift receipt anyway. =)

Here are a couple of birthday videos...taken within the past week.
(I heard the girls laughing in the living room and they came into the kitchen when I asked what was so funny...)

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

See...Sam does know where her belly button is...whereabouts anyway!

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

Friday, January 22, 2010

New Year

Here's a nice photo we took of all of us on New Years Eve. (Katie and Sam's Rockin Bed at 7:00 New Years Eve) This may be one of the only photos I can think of with all 4 of us in it.
And a picture of the girls.
How are you? We are good.

It's the Big Birthday Weekend...Sam is a year old on Sunday and I'll be about...30 years older than her on Monday.

We found another new tooth on Sam yesterday...on the bottom right. That's 7 total now! She does have a cold and so we thought her fussy lately because of that but now that we see the tooth it makes even more sense. She's SO close to walking. She can take one, sometimes two quick steps to grab onto someone or something, but really wants to grab. She was walking along the couch yesterday evening so fast it was almost like she was running! I even wonder if she's walked more when we're not looking. It's an exciting time!

Katie's getting bigger and more wonderfully eloquent all the time. I'm always amazed at the sentences and observations that come out of her mouth. Things have been a little less stressful lately (this week...don't ask about last week!). For a few days there Katie seemed so uncooperative. So I decided to do a few things to hopefully make life easier. Such as giving ourselves an hour to get ready to go instead of the usual half hour. This way, if Katie takes forever to put her boots on (by herself!) or balks at putting socks on, I have time to wait it out. Of course, when I did this yesterday, we ended up being a half hour earlier at strollercize than I really wanted...so it's not a foolproof plan. I'm such an on time/early person that I get really irritated when I'm running late or even just FEEL like I'm running late. Not a great thing to be when you live with an adorable toddler.

We still strollercize three times a week. Katie loves running around before and after and Sam loves trying to push the Chariot...she thinks it's another of her walking toys. (I should clarify...I don't really let her walk with it...she only tries to push it with teh brakes on) Ben and I have signed up to run a half marathon in late April, so we run by ourselves on Sunday mornings, enlisting grandparents as babysitters...it's an arrangement that I think everyone enjoys!

We went sledding for the first time a couple of weeks ago (I'm behind on uploading the pics) and Katie had a ton of fun. I have some great pictures to share. We also tried going to a gymnastics place (is there a name for it? A gymnastics gym?) for their drop in time. I dragged Gram along with us, which was super helpful when we arrived at 11:20...40 minutes earlier that the noon start time for drop in. I got the time wrong! We stuck it out and actually Katie did really well and enjoyed watching the kids that were in class...some about her age. Sam was sleepy but managed not to be too fussy. When it was our turn, Katie had all kinds of fun running and jumping. Even went on some trampolines! She did insist on doing all her trampoline bouncing on her knees. (except for once or twice when she stood up on her feet and grabbed onto my legs) I think it'll be a fun place for a play date with other friends.

I plan on posting again tomorrow to celebrate our birthday girl, so see you soon!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Some old...

Pictures...from over the holidays. Typing one handed today, nothing in order.

The end of the Christmas tree:Katie painting.
The girls in new clothes playing with new toys.
Sam, Christmas day at Gram and Grandpa's.
Sam with Auntie Alli.
Katie Xmas day playing with a new favorite farm set...pieces too small for Sam, it's an "at the table only" toy. And a "Don't Drop the Tiny Carrots!!" toy. =)
Dad and Katie reading our new favorite book...Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis. She has some awesome books. (I'm Gonna Like Me, is another good one of hers.)
Sam eating a great new Giraffe.
Sam at Gram and Papas Christmas Eve.
Katie playing with a new old toy...another new fave.
The girls hugging.
Nice Hugs!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Dance Party...and a Banana Story.

Well, Banana Story first.

Yesterday morning Ben woke up early to swim before work so I was alone on breakfast duty with the girls.

Sam has baby cereal, Katie eats a bowl of cheerios. After Katie eats her cheerios, she has a banana. Almost every day. Kind of repetitive, but that's a toddler for you.

So, I get her a banana, peel it and notice it's a pretty big one, so I bite a bit off the end. When I bring it to her, she gets all upset, which I really should have foreseen and so, without argument, I go back to the kitchen to get her another banana.

I peel it and as I'm throwing the peel in the garbage...I take a bite of the banana. WHAT!? What was I thinking? I apparently take banana bites more often than I realized...so often that I did it automatically.

I spit the banana chunk out immediately and place it gently on top of the banana...maybe she won't notice? I'm cringing inside.

Back at the table I hand it to her and the banana chunk falls to the floor right away. She looks at it with big eyes and starts guffawing in amazement...I could see her thinking "How did THAT happen!?!"...I giggled hysterically along with her, obviously for slightly different reasons. Sam was laughing too. We laughed for a good 15 minutes. A nice way to start the morning.

I do realize, I was lucky to escape unscathed by a serious toddler tantrum.

Must drink coffee before offering the banana in the future. =)

Today we had a dance party...Katie loves dancing and Sam has started bopping along whenever there's music too. (especially when she's standing up, which she isn't in the following video). My only wish is that they had a better dance teacher. =)

Untitled from BabyLuch on Vimeo.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Onions...

Why is it that the past two days I have made some excellent dinners (pasta carbonara and this Salmon dish, but with orange juice instead of apple cider) that did not need any onions, went grocery shopping yesterday and didn't realize I needed to buy onions and now every possible dinner I can think of (including our planned meal, Pulled Pork) requires onions?

Why Why Why?!

Now I am paralyzed with indecision...what in my million recipe books can I find that's yummy and doesn't require onions (or anything else I don't have)? Should I really take the girls out shopping when it's -20C out and we have no other need to go out today? It's not impossible but also not desirable.

Tell me this kind of thing happens to you all too. =)