All Dressed Up...

....with no place to go.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Liv!

Roseola and the Playground

Sweet Liv has Roseola. She looks pretty rough but feels just fine. Pictures don't do the rash justice, but I'll share one anyway. For those who don't know, Roseola is a high temp for 3 days and then a rash that lasts 1-2 days. Kids with it feel fine and aren't contagious once the rash breaks out. We are keeping a low profile though, cuz if I saw a kid at storytime that had a rash all over their face the way Livie does, I'd be running for the door! Her meds didn't take away her double ear infection so she's on a stronger drug now for the next 9 days.

Today is the first real summer day - hot and sunny. We've been outside most of the morning, planting flowers and enjoying the playground. Both kids were peaches and kept their hats on the whole time!

Liv is going to be our dare devil! Ash has never liked the swings, but Liv loves them. Ash tried the bouncy teeter-totter today for literally one second, got scared, and wanted off. Liv would've ridden on it, higher and higher, all afternoon!

Time For Dinner!

Enough for One Day

After an intense day, Ash crashed hard for his nap. Unfortunately his pull-up was not up to the task and he woke up after 40 minutes or so, soaked. He wasn't going back to sleep after changing his clothes and he was an emotional wreck from being tired and waking up like that. So we decided to give it a rest for the day and start fresh again tomorrow.

Success!

After a third accident we were about ready to throw in the towel. I was going to put Asher down for a nap and get Evansville's resident expert on the phone for advice. We gave it one last try before naptime and it was worth it!

It had been two hours and many gulps of lemonade since the last accident so I knew it was going to happen any minute. He sat on the little potty great for a few minutes, but then he started getting scared and tearful. He knew it was coming and it was weird and new for him. I felt so bad making him stay seated even though he was crying a bit. But then he did the sweetest thing. He started singing to himself to make himself feel better. He sang "My God is so big!" and that seemed to put him at ease. I started singing too and then tried to tickle the tinkle out of him. But that didn't work. It was getting really late so I told him it was time for a nap and we needed to put on a pull-up.

I left the bathroom to get the pull-up, then heard him yelling "look what I did, look what I did!!!" Sure enough he peed in the potty and he couldn't have been prouder! And neither could his Mama!

Boot Camp

Well, the big day has finally arrived. We started Potty Training Boot Camp at O700 hours this morning. The day started with a game of pretend with Ash's big floppy puppy. We put big kid underpants on him, gave him a drink, and took him through the potty process. Right off the bat Ash was excited and wanted to try. So we picked out some Thomas undies and went to sit on the potty. The seat was cold though, and Ash was not happy about that. He jumped off in a hurry, but we were able to get him to sit longer on his subsequent trips to the bathroom.

So far Ash has kept a good attitude. He's enjoying his salty snacks and lemonade, and is excited about the m&ms he gets when he has dry undies. But, of course, our regular little boy who does a number 2 right after breakfast every day, has not had to go yet. And, our little boy who seems to hold water like a camel, has already had two accidents. He has sat on the potty about 8 times now, with no luck.

I'm already ready to be done with this. But we will press on! Seeing his cute little butt in big boy undies is worth the effort. =) (I would've posted pics but the new computer is not cooperating)

Cabin Fever

We were bored. The kids were restless. We needed something new and fun. This is what we came up with.

Ash is closing his eyes to avoid looking at the camera. If you're wondering why you don't see more pics of him it's because they are almost impossible to get!

Livie Stands Up!

Yesterday, for the first time ever, Livie pulled herself up to a standing position! She was pretty proud of herself, as was I.

Indoor Winter Fun

Snow Day

Today was officially a snow day and Dad stayed home from work. So we took advantage and had as much fun as we possibly could.

Here's Main Street with the snow pushed up in the middle.

Kyle got his workout in by shoveling over half of the driveway before our friend John finished the rest with his snowblower. Thanks John!

Getting ready to go outside. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, but a little windy.

I wouldn't say Livie liked the sled per se, but she tolerated it. She must've enjoyed it somewhat because she cried if I took a break from pulling her around.

Finally, we stopped at the playground for some winter fun.

AND WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!

All for Liv

Sweet baby Liv has been growing like a weed lately! She is eating baby food with gusto, laughing at her brother, growling like a pirate, and finding her loud voice! She cruises around in the walker now and can get to almost anything she wants by rolling on the floor or attempting to crawl. She has quite a reach when she goes from sitting, to her knees, to her belly to grab something. She's able to go from her belly back up to a sitting position now. And she has 6 teeth! My oh my she is growing too fast!

Here are a few pics and videos for you to enjoy, all highlighting sweet Liv.

While mom was downstairs doing laundry, Asher was squirting bubbles on Liv's head! She was soaked but thankfully none got in her eyes.

This is our bucket of beans. Not a new toy, but for some reason it was a major hit this day. Liv played for half an hour and Ash for a whole hour! Mom even got to read her magazine while they played, awesome!

Aunt Janny sent lots of cool gifts for Christmas...You won't be surprised now if you see these headbands on next year's Christmas card.

And here's a video of Liv trying to crawl. She's so close!

Gas Station Run

If you know me, you know I have a slight dependence on soda. Usually just one a day, but it's something I crave like crazy if I don't have it. While Kyle may enable me when it comes to chocolate, he never buys me soda unless I outright ask him to. I looks like that job has fallen to Ash.

The other night when Grandma and Grandpa Lein and Aunt Kiki were visiting, I came out of my room to find Ash fully dressed in outdoor gear. He had put on his hat, mittens, boots, and jacket all by himself for the first time ever! Granted the coat was on upside down, but he was ready to go! I asked him where he was going and he said "I going to da gas station, get mama a pop!" Oh that boy, I swear I could eat him up! He went to the back door and started struggling to unlock and open it. I had to remind him that we were just pretending, and he was ok with that.

Since that night, this has become one of his favorite games. Except now he can get his coat on the right way, with no help from me. Sometimes there are variations, like a run for "pop and ah cream for ju" (ice cream for you) and once he asked Kyle "hand me the keys, please". Lots of times he tries to get out the door and gets upset when he can't unlock it. But once I say "just pretend, right?" he says "oh yeah" and is over it.

Sometimes I feel bad that my obsession with Mountain Dew is so obvious to him, but it sure makes me feel good that my little guy wants to take care of his mama.

The First Snow of 2010

Yesterday we woke up to the first snowfall of the year. What a wonderful sight to see, especially since we were planning on getting our Christmas tree. I LOVE snow! Maybe it's because I never have to shovel. The past few years I've either been pregnant or had a small baby, so I always had a good excuse to stay inside. Yesterday I offered to help but we only have one shovel, so again I was off the hook.

I also love driving in the snow. That probably sounds crazy but it's an adventure that's even better if it's dark outside. I grew up in a family that was never held back by snow. We had snowmobiles and used them almost every weekend. Our 800 mile round-trip to Minnesota for Christmas was never hindered by snow. We were going to get there if it killed us! A couple of times it was close, but out of 24 Christmas trips we only stopped once. That was the year I was pregnant with Ash and we had Lula (our 6 month old beagle) with us. It took us 8 hours (instead of 5) to get to Duluth, and once we got there most of the roads we not being plowed. We wanted to visit my mom's friend but couldn't even get to her house. We had to park a few blocks away and walk in. It was wild! A Christmas we'll never forget.

Yesterday was awesome because it was the first year Asher noticed the snow. When he woke up I took him to the window and he got all wide-eyed and said "oh snow, probly go sledding!" He couldn't get outside fast enough. He kept asking, "Daddy, take me outside, pleeeese?" Finally, after breakfast and bundling up, he got outside and he loved every minute of it. Last year he sat like a bump on log in the snow, but today he was all about it. Running, jumping, laying in it, shoveling, he couldn't get enough. There's always something magical about the first snowfall, but today, experiencing it through the eyes of a two year old, was pure joy.

Oh Livie

Yesterday we took our 5th trip to the doctor in two weeks. Both kids have had double ear infections, gotten over them, and now Ash has another single ear infection. Luckily the kids are feeling good overall and are acting like their happy little selves. We rented a Mickey Mouse Christmas video from the library in case of whiny emergencies and so far it's chased those blues away lickety split.

As you all know, Livie's given name is actually Olivia, but we never call her that. And I mean never. It's to the point that when someone does call her that it catches me off guard, like hey, that's not her name! But at the doctor's office they call "Olivia" when it's our turn. So yesterday when we were in the waiting room Ash starts calling out in a sing-song voice "Oh Livie!" (He's just so darn cute!) I told him it was his turn to see the doctor today so instead of saying Livie they would say Asher. So he starts calling out "Oh Asher!" Like that's just how the doctor calls everyone.....Oh Jean....Oh Kyle....Oh Mr Marble. Hee hee!

KaChow!

Just this week, Baby Liv has fallen in love with Lightning McQueen. Maybe I will get to live out my long lost dreams of being a racecar driver vicariously through her, as she becomes the Danica of the 2030s! KACHOW Baby!!

Just Wait 5 Minutes

Have you ever heard the old saying if you don't like the weather in Wisconsin, wait 5 minutes, it will change? Well, if you don't like your two year old's behavior, wait 5 minutes, it will change.

Inspired by my friend Katie who took her 6 week old and 17 month old to the grocery store by herself, I decided to give it a try with my two kiddos, age 6 months and almost 2 and a half. This was a daunting task but we have a busy week ahead of us, so I decided to risk it in order to have more time with the hubby later this evening.

Leaving the house was a bit crazy. We got going late and I knew I was on borrowed time as far as Liv's eating schedule was concerned. I thought of Elaine from Seinfeld, speeding off in her flannel nightgown and bedhead, to get her annoying ex-fling to the airport. She knew she was crazy for even trying, but she just had to get him out of her house. I was calling myself crazy, thinking this could only end in stress and possibly tears. But we needed detergent and batteries, darn it!

Craziness aside, we made it out the door in one piece and from then on the kids were amazing. Liv slept the whole time. Ash was excited about sitting in the big boy cart. (Think large cart plus red bench that can hold two kids....this thing is massive. It might've been easier to drive an 18 wheeler through the isles of Woodman's, but I digress.) He got a little stir-crazy toward the end so I let him get off the bench. He was an angel. Stayed by the cart. Walked when I said let's go, stopped when I said stop. In the checkout line, he quietly looked over the candy bars, held them one at a time, then gently put them back. He never even asked for one. It really couldn't have gone better. I got into the van with a big sigh of relief. Thank you Lord!

Home at last, I plop Ash in front of a movie and Liv in front of the boppy to play with her activity mat so I can bring in the groceries. I race to get them inside. Check on the kids. Both happy as clams just where I left them. I think to myself, "Wow, great kids. Best in the world. So good." I then scramble to put the groceries away.

This is when I notice it's gotten quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet a mom recognizes as bad news. I peer into the living room ..... where is Liv? I forget for a moment where I put her. Wasn't she on the activity mat? Wait a second, where is the activity mat? I don't see it. All I see is Asher laying on top of his comforter in the exact spot where Livie should be. I panic! I freak out! I race to save my smoothered princess! I grab Ash and move him aside. Fearfully I pull back the comforter and there is Liv smiling like this is the best game she's ever played! She doesn't care that he knocked her over, crashing her mat on top of her, then smothered her with a blanket and jumped on top. She just loves being part of the game!

So where did my sweet, rule-following boy go? I do not know. He's upset that I didn't like his game and proceeds to cry on the floor for a good 5 minutes. Finally he's over it but I think the morning is shot. Do I dare try for lunch or just send him straight to bed? A meltdown could ensue at any moment.

Spurred on by the successful shopping trip, I opt for lunch in front of the tv. He agrees. I get him set up, make my own lunch, and sit on the floor next to the coffee table to enjoy my hummus and veggie wrap. This is when sweetheart boy makes his comeback. He looks over at me on the floor and says, "Muma, ju like a chair?" "Why, sure!" I reply and he brings me one from his little table. We sit around the coffee table and enjoy our lunch together, while Liv bounces safely in the jumperoo.

Six Month Old Liv

Sweet Livie went for her 6 month checkup today and all is well. She is 17lbs 4oz which puts her at the 75 percentile. She is 28 inches long which puts her at 98%. Wow! Not sure where that came from....maybe Great Grandma Barb? Liv got one little poke and cried for about 2.5 seconds. She is such a good girl. It was almost harder on Mom than her. Glad that's over with for another month. Six month pictures on Friday! Good times!

Request and Dedication

Grandma sweetly suggested that I add a video to the blog of Asher saying his ABC's. I don't think she said please but I'll still oblige on account of being a proud mama. Of course when taking the video, Asher did not do as well as he usually does. Normally he only misses three letters, E, H, and R but this time he was a little excited about the camera. The ending is hard to make out, it needs a mama's translation: "Next time Asher sing with me". Enjoy!

Asher has had a funny day. When he was eating lunch he kept finding a mama hair on his finger. This happens a lot, as my hair is still falling out in post-pregnancy rebellion. Ash has termed them big, big hairs. So today he was trying to eat his jelly bagel and this hair would not leave him alone. At one point he thought he'd finally tossed it on the floor but it came back again. From the living room I heard him say, "go outside big, big hair!"

This evening he pretended to be eating candy. This doesn't sound like much, but it's the first time he's pretended without props. He came over to me and said, "Mama, I got sumpin for you". He held out his hand and said, "candy". I pretended to eat it and Ash said, "Asher eat candy too......it's delish!" I'm watching him play right now and he's doing several things he hasn't done before. It's like a switch flipped during his nap and suddenly he's older. Fun to watch but bittersweet as my sweet baby boy turns into a big kid.

Miss Liv is six months now and working on those same two teeth. They are clearly visible but still giving her rosy cheeks and a bit of pain. She is rolling everywhere and can sit on her own. She's also started moving in the walker.

Sunday we dedicated her to the Lord. It was a special day shared by the family and celebrated with much love and bbq sauce at Famous Dave's.

Asher wins the Funny Quote of the Day once again with: "Go outside big, big hair!"