January & February 2006 Moms - The first year!

[aligirl]

OMG, meatpie, sooooooooo cute!!

jules - my friend is a district attorney so she will be going back to work after 6-8 weeks i think! ....i don't know what they're thinking! At least, if the car had a back seat, the dad could help out in an emergency but without a back seat, the new sports car is pretty useless IMO!

We actually had a sports car until Alex was 4-5 months old and sold it to buy a fun-filled Camry. I get why they want a sports car (and why anyway would!!!) but to buy it right when you're having your first child is crazy to me. But, that's just me, I'm overly practical most of the time ;)

birthday: we're going to have Alex's part on 1/27 from 2-4 - and will probably just have some appetizers and half-sandwiches - nothing big. we'll probably not discourage people from bringing a dish since our families like to do that anyway. the only person i'm not allowing to bring something is the cake aunt because I want to make his first cake!

[catandmouse]

Cars- I have a 2 door Grand Prix. It's a pain in the butt to get Jordyn in & out of the backseat, but we manage. DH has an Eclipse convertible. It has a tiny backseat & we could fit the infant carseat back there in a pinch, but I don't think her convertible seat would fit back there at all.

birthday party- Jordyn's bday is 1/13 & that's a Sat so we will have her party on that day. I was thinking of doing a taco bar, but I don't know how much of a hit that would be. I love the castle cake! I have seen some really cute beach & pool cakes, but they all look like so much work detail wise!
I was thinking of doing cupcakes too!

Here is a pic of Jordyn - sorry I can't figure out how to make it smaller right now!
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/catrd73/IMG_2565.jpg

[newmommy]

Our DS took his first steps tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is even standing for several moments on his own, and claps!! He's even learned how to high five :D

[Medako]

catandmouse....Love the picture. She's a cutie!

ohhhh....taco bar. That's a pretty darn good idea! Anyone that knows us would find it perfectly fitting too. (we eat Mexican all the time!)

newmommy - how exciting!?! Our little ones are all growing up so fast!

[angelgirl8]

things are always crazy around here so i don't get to check in much...

time change...the first day, the babies woke up at 5am! but we kept them up until their normal bedtime (meaning an hour later, technically) sunday night and they slept until 6:30 on monday.

crawling...none here, yet. they'll both get on their hands and knees finally but no crawling or pulling up.

cars...we don't have a car so i can't help with that!

first birthday...haven't given this any thought yet. am i bad mom? we'll probably just do something small with family.

and, a photo:

http://static.flickr.com/118/283825890_2996f4ecbe_o.jpg

[aligirl]

Happy Halloween!

[Nikkid]

cars I drive a minivan and DH drives a small SUV. If we all go somewhere we have to drive the minivan but DH can fit all 4 kids in the SUV as long as I'm not along.

birthday Haven't thought about it much. I do know that we will have Jaxson's and Justin's parties together since there birthdays are 4 days apart. Justin is really into spiderman right now so we may just do a spiderman theme since I'm sure Jaxson won't seem to care. We will definately get him his own cake to dive into. We usually do something small like BBQ's or ham sandwiches, chips, cake and ice cream and then I usually make a casserole.

time change well I thought that it went smoothly since we kept him up about an hour past his bedtime Sat night and then he slept until his normal wake time on Sun. But the last two mornings he's been up at 5:30 and is ready to get up! I hope this get straighten out soon. I thought since he did so well the initial day that he would be fine but it seems to be affecting him more now.

meatpie yay for all the firsts! Although I guess all firsts are not fun. Hopefully he's feeling better, cute pics!

catandmouse that is such a cute idea for a picture! I'll have to try that at home.

angelgirl your twins are so cute. Look at all that hair. Jaxson is jealous!

aligirl what a cute costume! I feel like a bad mommy now. I decided not to get a costume for Jaxson but I will feel bad when I'm taking pics of the other 3 tonight that he won't be apart of it. I might have to go looking through some of there old costumes tonight and find one that might fit him.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! Don't eat too much candy! I know I already have. :eek:

[MMH]

Happy 1st Halloween to all our babes...

Question regarding milk. I'm curious if anyone has any advice for me. As I have mentioned before, DD refuses to take a bottle. She also refuses formula. She will drink sips of bm from a sippy, but not enough to do any good. I'm wondering if I should try regular milk or soy milk? I'm just worried she isn't getting enough milk of any kind.

No one told me feeding my baby would be my biggest stressor!

[blondegirl]

Happy Halloween! Cute pics everyone! nikkid- don't feel bad about not dressing jaxson up! I wasn't going to dress Jace up, but my SIL had a costume of my nephews so I said what the heck!

a quick pic from a party we went to last week. Hope to get a better one tonight.
http://static.flickr.com/112/284906188_b4e890aa2a_m.jpg


DS has been running a fever (100 or so) since Sunday night. The motrin hepls to bring it down. He has no other symptoms, maybe a little fussier than usual. I assumed it was from teething, since he got the same way with his last 2 teeth. But DD started running a fever last night as well??? What to do? Any suggestions? We are already going to the Dr. on Thurs.

[newmommy]

Aligirl: DS is going to wear the same costume!

[tray622]

MMH I dont think the ped would recommend milk of any kind before about 11 months or so. Do you give DD cheese or yogurt? At 9 months my oldest refused formula and we could only get her to take 12oz a day. The ped said that we could supplement with dairy in other ways, so we gave a yogurt and piece of cheese a day. HTH

[KRL626]

MMH I second the yogurt/cheese idea. Also could you mix EBM into cereal and give that to her? I used to sneak a few extra ounces into DS that way.

[MMH]

Thanks ladies! You know, I think we are doing just fine. I just get worried every once in a while because she is not taking bottles. She gets PLENTY of dairy. Probably too much. The kid could live on cheese if we let her. Anyway, she does get bm with her cereal each morning and cottage cheese, yo-baby yogurt etc...

Trick or Treating didn't really happen for us tonight! No afternoon nap led to a total meltdown at the neighborhood Halloween dinner. Good times!

[tray622]

Have to add my pics :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02668.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02667.jpg

and Miss Zoey (she picked out her own glasses, so dont laugh LOL):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02632-1.jpg

[Medako]

He was NOT happy about dressing up..
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/mom2jackryan/Jack558.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/mom2jackryan/Jack561.jpg


And one from the park:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/mom2jackryan/Jack531.jpg

[jules1025]

tray622 - Your girls look so cute!! I can't help but laugh at Zoey's glasses. Hehe! She is going to love that pic when she gets older (NOT!). ;)

aligirl, blondegirl, and Medako - Such cute costumes!

[meatpie]

Halloween was a blast!! I hope everyone else had a wonderful night. Jack was tired, but happy. He LOVED the carved pumpkins. A photo of the big guy in his "uniform" and doing what he loves most - reading!

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos2531/1/56/82/97/19/2/219978256107_0_ALB.jpg

Reading his Halloween book
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos2531/1/56/82/97/9/7/709978256107_0_ALB.jpg

[LRL]

OH! Can I share some Halloween photos too? My sister took these last night. We had so much fun making our family "trick or treat" stops. I think it was too hot for DS though because at the end of the night (1 1/2 hours) he had a total meltdown. Thank goodness is was rather cool here.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf20b3127cce8eef6c7769bc00000016108AZtXDJi5aNv

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf20b3127cce8eef6fd7a8b500000015108AZtXDJi5aNv

[angelgirl8]

can't resist dropping these off! all the babies are so cute in their costumes!

my babies were surprisingly cooperative.

j

http://static.flickr.com/119/285261005_8b796778e0_o.jpg

m

http://static.flickr.com/102/285260801_0204a374de_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/102/285260409_6a3016ab7e_o.jpg

[Taurus]

OMG, I just have to hijack and say meatpie, our boys had the same costume! We really need to meet now because it seems we have much in common!

Adorable pictures gals! Maybe it's time to cave in and join Flickr...

[blondegirl]

:rolleyes: DS had his 9 month wbv today.
20 lbs 3 oz
28 inches

And I just have to say - gosh I love daycare :rolleyes: DS and DD both have ear infections. None of my kids have ever had an ear infection. They've only been there for a month, and now they are both sick. Oh well!!!

Such cute halloween costumes everyone!!
All mine in there costumes:
http://static.flickr.com/119/287168681_487d0a3021_m.jpg

[meggers]

Owyn is starting to understand words. I say hi to him and he waves at me. Any one else starting to notice this?

[elladee]

Esther understands some words, too. She sure knows what "no" means, and really doesn't like to hear it. :rolleyes:

[Medako]

Esther understands some words, too. She sure knows what "no" means, and really doesn't like to hear it. :rolleyes:

The same goes for Jack. He's not fond of hearing "no", but he knows it means he's into something he shouldn't be. We laugh that he's probably going to grow up thinking his name is "Jack No" or "Jack Get-Down" :p

He's started figuring out how to get into the kitchen cabinets now. It's his new favorite place to explore. :rolleyes: He has tons of fun pulling out little serving trays and whatnots, and I'm sure his Daddy has tons of fun putting it all away. (I just leave it out. He's going to come back and play with it eventually anyways, right? :) )

[Twyla]

Caedan is signing to us! I am so amazed at my little guy. Yesterday he started signing "milk". And now he does it when he wants to nurse and while he is nursing he does it continuously :)

Two teeth finally came in over the weekend. Those of you nursing still, how are you dealing with teeth?

We had a fun Halloween. Here's a couple pics-

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN0996.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN0999.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1028.jpg

[angelgirl8]

twy...ds has 4 (almost 5) teeth and he really only bit me once when he was teething badly. otherwise, he seems to know that i'm not for biting! dd doesn't have any teeth so i'm not sure what she'll do. when ds bit down, i told him "no biting" and stopped the nursing session.

that's awesome that he'll sign milk! i've been signing milk to them since they were like 3 months old!

[Medako]

teeth - Jack has 2 bottom teeth and so far it hasn't been an issue with nursing. He hasn't bit me, yet. But I'm sure not looking forward to the top ones coming in. I just have a feeling he'll have to try and bite at least once.

While Jack's been down for a nap I was playing around and put together a birthday invite. I'll add a picture of him in the bottom right a little closer to time to send them out (probably him in a birthday hat or somethin' festive)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/mom2jackryan/jpginvite.jpg

[Twyla]

Cute invite! But you may want to use something other then black for the font. it is a littla hard to read. Maybe a grey or baby blue? I am hoping to finish Caedan's this week. But I am in the middle of addressing and stamping his siters. Her party is Dec. 2nd and I want them mailed by Wen.

Not alot going on here lately. Caedan is still only signing "milk" but I think cheese is starting to get into his little brain :) Angelgirl - If you end up wanting more words I suggest this site. they have a video for each word ;) http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/aslweb/browser.htm

We are meeting his cousin for the first time this week. My nephew is a month onlder then Caedan, so this should be fun. They lived in Nv. and just moved to Ca.

[Medako]

Jack just woke up from his nap and *VOILA* new tooth! Nursing this afternoon might be interesting....

Thanks for the gray/blue idea twyla! I hadn't thought of that!

[Twyla]

Caedan did that the other day too. it is amazing how teeth just appear :)

I hope the othe color options help. I made a few like that for my daughters and people were calling me to ask what the invite said LOl It's a learning experience everytime I make party invites. I love the wording, it is so cute! You are very creative!

[terrys wifey]

Gosh!! seems like I jsut can't make it in here often.

Okay so Ashley is 10 months and up until this point she has been sleeping theough the night now she is waking up between 1-3am. At first I was like she is cutting more teeth but this lil girl is drinking a bottle!!!!

She is going backwards!!! Is anyone else going through this?

[Taurus]

Owyn is starting to understand words. I say hi to him and he waves at me. Any one else starting to notice this?

I love the waving thing. It is cracking us up. Sometimes it is an erratic waving of the arm (no bending of the wrist) and sometimes it is just an arm stiffly up, palm out, up like a "Yup, see ya later!" Hilarious. He seems to understand the idea of leaving the house and of people coming and going. Sometimes when we walk out the door to go to the car he waves if a car goes by. On Halloween we were taking pics of him on the front lawn and a guy working on the house next door waved to him and he waved back. He also starts "waving" when the hubby and I are saying goodbye/hugging people.

[blondegirl]

He also starts "waving" when the hubby and I are saying goodbye/hugging people.

DS does this too! It is the cutest thing! He is also into clapping his hands. While DH was watching football yesterday, I taught DS to hold both arms up in the air when someone yells touchdown. Too funny!

[Medako]

While DH was watching football yesterday, I taught DS to hold both arms up in the air when someone yells touchdown. Too funny!

I wish I could get Jack to do that. His daddy would think that was the greatest thing ever! Lately he's not interested in doing anything but clapping and doing the "come get me" hand motion, oh, and sayin' "da-da-da-da-da-da" all day long (I think ma-ma-ma fell off the radar!)

I think I might have the only child that doesn't wave bye-bye!

[aligirl]

Alex kissed my dad (his Grampy) last night!! Then when my mom went in for a kiss (on the lips) he turned his face!! It was hilarious!

[Nikkid]

I think I might have the only child that doesn't wave bye-bye!

Nope, Jaxson doesn't wave bye bye either. We've been trying to teach him but he just stares at me like, what the heck are you doing? lol

He doesn't really seem to understand what's going on yet. I think he's definatley more devloped in his gross motor skills than his fine motor skills. He can walk all over the house but he can't wave bye bye. :rolleyes: I know he will get it soon, I just can't wait to start seeing him communicate with us.

[KRL626]

No bye bye waving or clapping for us either :( He did stand on his own for a few seconds the other day. He's so funny. He puts both hand up over his head, his knee up and then pushing straight up from the floor. It's so cute!

[aligirl]

No waving bye-bye here either. Heck, he won't even hold his own bottle :p He does try to clap but hasn't yet figured out to keep his hands flat instead of balled up a bit.


we have finally discovered why he'd been crabby about a week ago -- teeth #5 and #6 mysteriously appeared - he finally has his two front teeth!! Add those to the previous 4 on the bottom - and we have six shark teeth ;) He's like angelgirl's m - he won't let us look in / open his mouth. He's got a mouthful now!

[Taurus]

Lately he's not interested in doing anything but clapping and doing the "come get me" hand motion, oh, and sayin' "da-da-da-da-da-da" all day long (I think ma-ma-ma fell off the radar!)

"Ma-ma" has never even been ON the radar here! It's all "da-da," all the time!

I think he's definatley more devloped in his gross motor skills than his fine motor skills. He can walk all over the house but he can't wave bye bye. :rolleyes: I know he will get it soon, I just can't wait to start seeing him communicate with us.

We've got the opposite. He's like a mechanical engineer with his toys, but he can't be bothered to crawl.

So fascinating how they're all so different.

ETA: Forgot to say that the newest thing today was this: When I picked up him up with the diaper bag on my arm and the keys in my hand and started walking toward the door, he started waving...at no one. :)

[Twyla]

Caedan waves bye bye but now hello LOL And he claps like crazy. He is also super sensetive with his sister now. if she cries he cries. Which is so much fun for me. We just now got teeth last week. I can't imagine a mouthfull yet :) Caedan only says mama when he is upset. Anyother time it is da da.

[tray622]

Gosh!! seems like I jsut can't make it in here often.

Okay so Ashley is 10 months and up until this point she has been sleeping theough the night now she is waking up between 1-3am. At first I was like she is cutting more teeth but this lil girl is drinking a bottle!!!!

She is going backwards!!! Is anyone else going through this?

You know, my oldest went through this exact same thing right around 10 months. She grew out of it about a month later, so I always wondered if she was just growing. Who knows :)

[meggers]

Gosh!! seems like I jsut can't make it in here often.

Okay so Ashley is 10 months and up until this point she has been sleeping theough the night now she is waking up between 1-3am. At first I was like she is cutting more teeth but this lil girl is drinking a bottle!!!!

She is going backwards!!! Is anyone else going through this?

Yes! Owyn hasn't been sleeping that great lately. Sometimes he has been waking up every 2 hours. It has been making me doubt myself and how we are handling things with Owyn (we don't let him CIO).

[newmommy]

DS is 10 months today :D

He too has been waking up often....I basically let him cry/whine for a few minutes. If he doesn't stop, I go in. Usually it's because he's teething or has a cold. He's never CIO for a long time, and it seems to work for him. However, I too worry that we're going to pay for that.

So DS has started to wave randomly to things...like people on the t.v. It's so cute. He's even starting to kiss when asked. We read a book last night, and there was a mirror...I asked him to kiss his reflection, and he did!!!!

He basically refuses jarred food these days. I've been cooking for him a lot. His favorite are: homeade apple sauce, and pastina with sweet potatoes, carrots and sometimes apples(with a teensy amount of olive oil and salt).

I did buy the jarred meat, but he gagged, he prefers smashed meatballs and other foods I cook! The best part, is that he says "mmmm"!!!

QOTD: Is anyone else having a very small 1st bday party???

[blondegirl]

QOTD:Is anyone else having a very small 1st bday party???

We will likely have a pretty small party. We are having a combined 1st bday for DS and 2nd bday for DD, because I don't want family to have to make the drive twice in less than a month!! I haven't set a guest list in stone yet, but for DD's 1st, we had about 20 and I imagine this year will be the same. It will be just a casual lunch type thing at my house with family.

[aligirl]

this is sad - get a tissue - but an important safety reminder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

[jules1025]

Owyn is starting to understand words. I say hi to him and he waves at me. Any one else starting to notice this? It's funny that you post this b/c just in the past week or two, I noticed that Audrey is starting to "get it". Like she's understanding what we say sometimes instead of just staring at us blankly. She's also waving hi & bye, and I swear she repeated me one time when I was saying "bye bye" and waving. She'll clap sometimes but not a lot. Usually we have to coax it out of her by having DH and me clapping at the same time. She just recently started pointing to things (she used to just point her finger at her food). It's really neat to see the changes! She amazes me every day!

walking - I posted a few weeks ago that Audrey had taken her first steps. She's still taking steps here and there, but not walking without assistance. I'm guessing this will be a long process. She's cruising along furniture though, which she wasn't doing too much of before.

teeth - We've got 6 teeth now. Four on top and two on bottom. :)

food - Audrey is refusing purees now too, so I've been giving her finger foods mainly. I'm trying to find ways to use up the remaining purees I have in the freezer in the meantime. I can't believe she was only eating purees for such a short time!

1st birthday - I think we're going to have a rather large party. If we only invited family members and they all attended, we'd still have over 45 people at the party. We'd also like to invite our close friends and their children. Since it's so large, we'll probably be going more casual with decorations and food.

sick - Audrey got her first illness over the weekend. The ped thinks it was a virus but not sure what kind. She had a mild fever (101) and broke out in a rash when it went down. And, her hands and feet were swollen. It was odd. But, she's perfectly fine now! She was over it in 2 days.

aligirl - A friend sent me that in an email. Very sad!

[aligirl]

1st birthday - I'm still on the fence on who / how many to invite. If we stick with our siblings, parents & grandparents, plus our close friends it's 35 people. If we invite Jay's aunts/uncles/cousins then it's closer to 80. I'm not liking the idea of 80 people at a birthday party. Plus, my family traditionally doesn't invite the entire extended family to birthday parties. Fortunately, they live 1,500 miles away so even if we do invite Jay's, the party won't double in size! But, I know I'll get pressured to invite them all. That just seems like a mess, especially since it'll be at our house and winter weather is so unpredictable in MO. Decisions, decisions. I think the best thing for Alex is to keep it under 35.

Crawling - still no crawling, but trying desperately and able to army crawl like no body's business - I didn't crawl so who knows - he may just pull up and walk like I did!

Food - Alex still gags on things that aren't soft enough so he's still eating chunkier purees. He is not at all interested in finger foods or anything that requires him feeding himself. He's a very lazy baby. If I hold a biter biscuit for him, he'll suck on it...and he'll play with it if it's on his high chair but he's not interested otherwise. He's also not at all interested in sippy cups. We're working on that too. I can't wait until I don't have to buy formula!

Jules - I'm so glad Audrey is feeling better!

[SaraSchlick]

Well, no clapping for Jack, either. But he does wave when he feels like it. He also knows the names of several things. Just this morning I told him to find his ball and he crawled over and picked it up. He raised it over his head and smiled at me like he was so proud of himself! And of course he knows bottle and eat. He also knows the word "no". He has also learned the "How big is Jack?" trick. When I say anything remotely close to "So Big!" he raises his hands over his head and says (in his own way, of course) "Ta Da!" So fun.

walking - Jack has been cruising along the furniture for several weeks now and can stand alone for several seconds. He has tried to take a step unassisted, but he ends up falling over. He gets so frustrated! He walks like a champ holding on to my hand with just one hand, though.

teeth - Still only has two teeth on the bottom, but in the last two days I can see and feel two that just broke through on top.

food - Jack is still eating only purees. However, I'm hopeful that having two more teeth might change that. He has slowly begun to eat the Gerber puffs, but still struggles with getting them soft enough before he swallows them, therefore gagging on them. I can't wait to stop buying baby food! He eats about 6 tubs of Stage 2 foods a day! The stage 3s still make him gag. We joke that our kid is "The Puker". I have finally found a sippy cup that he will drink from. The Nuby cups with the silicone spout are a big hit! He drinks his juice out of those.

1st birthday - I haven't thought much about this at all. It will probably be mostly family, so not too large. It would be nice to be in a bigger house before then!

sick - Jack has been very healthy except for a constant runny nose which I am fairly certain has to do with his top teeth cutting through. He had the same issue when his bottom teeth popped through.

aligirl - Thank you for sharing that video! Definitely made me think about what to do when Jack is big enough to go just to a booster seat. Off to research 5-point harness seats for big kids.

[Twyla]

Food - Caedan wants to feed himself or wont eat very well. His facorite right now is rice with peas and carrots LOL

Walking- Caedan walks while holding onto our rolling ottoman alot :) But aside from holding on to stuff he wont walk. He is jus now standing on his own, but it still makes him nervous, so when he notices he is standing alone he sits down.

1st birthday- We are inviting everyone and going from there. We may have it at a park in Orange county.

teeth- we still only have the two that have started coming in. No sign of the top ones yet.

aligirl- I had no idea, my daughter has that exact seat!

[michiganbride]

I haven't been here in a while, but i wanted to post Alex's 9 month stats.

Weight 21lbs
Height 29 inches

He is now taking about 3 steps at a time and has been for a week now. He eats off our plates (except eggs and nuts) and refuses to eat baby food. He is still nursing 2-3 times at night and 2-3 times a day. He babbles, but no words. He has 3/4 of a tooth and I think we are working on #2! He loves his mommy the most! :p

We found out yesterday that he probably has Whooping Cough, but won't know for sure until friday or monday. If he does our whole family will have to be treated.

We did end up getting him the Flu Shot, just because he has been so sick lately.

I will be back post s/o later.

[blondegirl]

Food- Jace also refuses anything pureed, with the exception of yogurt. He will only eat finger foods. If I try to give him any baby food, he shuts his mouth so hard and turns his face. Too funny! But luckily, he will eat just about anything I put in front of him. He doesn't want anything to do with sippy cups either. Every once in a while, he drink some water/juice from a bottle, but even then, he's not too interested. I try to give him a sippy often, but he turns it down!!

walking- yeah right! He is finally crawling like a pro, and is just beginning to try and pull himself up on things. He'll take a few steps if I'm holding both of his hands, but that's it.

teeth - Jace has 2 bottom teeth and the top 2 teeth are ready to come through anyday now. I am constantly sticking my finger in his mouth to see if they have popped through yet!

sick - DS had an ear infection last week, but I'm guessing it's pretty much gone now, since he is a whole different child! And he constantly has a runny nose, which could be from the teething or daycare.

DS is such a happy, easy going child. So different from my 2 girls. He absolutely loves to play peek a boo. If I even say it, he just starts laughing! And he loves to be talked to on the phone. When I put the phone to his ear and the person on the other end starts talking, he starts to babble and laugh. Too cute!

michiganbride- sorry your DS may possibly have whooping cough.

[jules1025]

qotd 1 - crib bumpers - Has anyone removed their DC's crib bumper yet? Has it affected their sleep? We removed Audrey's last night, and I think she had a hard time adjusting to it. She didn't sleep well, and was up one time last night (and this is VERY odd for her - she's been STTN since she was 4 months old). It took me about an hour to get her back to sleep. And, just now when I put her down for her nap - she usually goes right to sleep, but she protested for a long time and I could hear her kicking the bars on her crib. I'm hoping this will only take a few days to adjust, but wanted to hear if anyone else went through this?

qotd 2 - tantrums during diaper changes - Anyone else dealing with this? Anytime I try to change DD's diaper, it's not only a wrestling match but I have to listen to her scream and cry. I know she's not in pain b/c I'll give her an off limit item (like the box I keep her ibuprofen in) and she'll shut right up and start babbling.

[Nikkid]

Jules- we have not removed our bumpers yet but simply because I know it will affect his sleep. My mom has a crib at her house for the few times he has slept there and it doesn't have bumpers. Everytime he sleeps there he doesn't sleep well. He will lose his paci during the night and it always falls onto the floor. Where at our house the bumper always catches it from falling on the floor so he can find it and put it back in his mouth. Another reason I haven't taken them down yet is because he always gets his legs and arms stuck in between the bars at night. With my other kids I left them in until I noticed they started using it as a step to try and climb out. I know he's not able to do this yet so I'm going to wait to take ours out. I don't think it would affect his sleep because it would look different to him but more so because of how he would be able to sleep.

food- Jaxson will not eat any baby foods anymore. We pretty much quit buying them and just give him table foods now. Whatever the other kids are eating. He doesn't always eat a lot of that either, he will eat some when I first give it to him then shortly after he starts throwing it on the floor. :rolleyes: So I feel like he's not getting enough sometimes. But I know his weight is telling me he is just fine.

sick- I shouldn't even comment on this one cause I'm sure I will just jinx myself. Jaxson has been sick so many times already but lately he's been pretty healthy. knock on wood I did notice last night he was getting a runny nose though. Gotta love daycare! He hasn't had anything serious, just a lot of colds. It doesn't seem to matter what time of year it is either. With winter though there never seems to be a break, there is always someone sick at our house so it's pretty much a constant thing.

tantrums- Jaxson doesn't throw tantrums during diaper changes but I really have to wrestle him. It's getting really hard to dress him lately too. He just keeps trying to roll over and get away and is constantly moving around and won't sit still. I almost feel bad that sometimes I have to hold him down just to get a shirt over his head. :rolleyes: Hopefully it's just a phase. Sometimes I try to give him remote or something to distract him so I can change is diaper quick.

Nothing too much new with Jaxson. I'm still trying to teach him to wave bye bye but no luck. He does clap a lot and boy does he babble. Lately he's been screaming a lot too. Not the crying screaming but the yelling like he's trying to tell somebody off. It's quite funny but when my 2 and 3 year old join in then I'm about to lose my mind. :eek:

[blondegirl]

qotd 1- we've never had a bumper on DS's crib, so I can't help there! And with DD, I didn't remover her bumper until we moved her into her new crib - she was about a year. It didn't affect her sleep. But I know what you mean about hearing DC kick on the bars! Right around the time DD was 15 months, we had to let her CIO because all of a sudden, she started fighting bedtime. I'd sit in the living room, and I could hear her kicking on the crib bars. Somehow, she was using her knees, because they got all bruised up! She stopped this after about a week.

qotd 2- As soon as I put DS down to change his diaper, he tries to squirm away from me. Like your DD, he will scream until I give him something "fun" to occupy him (usually the tv remote). He would rather be crawling around on the floor than having to lay still to be changed!

[blondegirl]

Lately he's been screaming a lot too. Not the crying screaming but the yelling like he's trying to tell somebody off. It's quite funny but when my 2 and 3 year old join in then I'm about to lose my mind. :eek:

DS does this too. It cracks me up! When DS and my 20 month old DD do this together, I too feel like I will loose my mind!! The two of them go back and forth immitating eachother. Too cute!

[Nikkid]

One Sat morning my DH got up with DS and DD and started videotaping them because while they were eating breakfast they were "yelling" back and forth to each other. So funny!

[newmommy]

QOTD #2: DS starts to cry as soon as I put him down for a change. I try distracting him, sometimes singing the ABCs works.....other times I give him a bottle of lotion to munch on :rolleyes:

[jules1025]

With my other kids I left them in until I noticed they started using it as a step to try and climb out. This is why I took it out. She was trying to climb out of her crib yesterday afternoon using the bumper as a step. The bumper is pretty flimsy, so it folded underneath her but I didn't want to take any chances!

[Nikkid]

This is why I took it out. She was trying to climb out of her crib yesterday afternoon using the bumper as a step. The bumper is pretty flimsy, so it folded underneath her but I didn't want to take any chances!

Wow, you have a climber on your hands! I would definately be taking them out then too.

ETA: Does anyone know how to delete a post?

[Nikkid]

This is why I took it out. She was trying to climb out of her crib yesterday afternoon using the bumper as a step. The bumper is pretty flimsy, so it folded underneath her but I didn't want to take any chances!

Wow, you have a climber on your hands. I would definately be taking them out too!

[jules1025]

Nikki - omg, yes. This girl climbs everything. Even though I took out the bumper, she's still trying to climb out of the crib. :rolleyes:

[jennapeach]

9 month stats

Height - 27" (50%)
Weight - 17 lb, 1oz (25%)
Head - 17.75" (75%)

AND, we got a call from a talent manager we sent some photos to a few weeks ago. Micki had an audition today for a Swiffer commercial. :D They basically wanted a baby who was crawling, not walking. So, we went and they took her picture and filmed her crawling. A star is born! ;)

Bumpers - We've still got 'em on, but she does try to step on them when she's standing in the crib. I didn't think it was possible for her to get herself up and over, but now that y'all mention it, we probably will take them down this weekend.

Diaper Tantrums - YES! Ugh, I loathe changing her now, b/c it's such a struggle. I make sure to keep some no-no's close at hand to placate her. I usually give her a big tube of lipbalm (the lipbalm is gone). She doesn't get to play with that anywhere else, so she instantly calms down when she gets that. But ugh. What a pain.

We got the flu shot yesterday. She slept like crap last night - I'm blaming the shot.

[Medako]

I guess I must have the minority on diaper changes. For the most part Jack gets REALLY excited when we put him on the changing table. He gets to pick something to play with (the lotion bottle, diaper cream, or a small bear) and then he lays back and starts laughing and kicking. It's a slight challenge to get a new diaper on between the kicking legs, but for the most part, he doesn't fight it.

bumpers - We haven't taken the bumpers out yet. Jack doesn't seem to really use them to try and climb yet, so they'll probably stay a little longer. I like that they catch the binky from falling to the floor.

teeth - Yesterday we had a TERRIBLE day. DH took the day off from work and we went to do a little Christmas shopping. Jack screamed the entire ride to town (an hour) and then was fussy all through lunch and wouldn't hardly eat. We ended up getting some Orajel and that didn't even really work. I eventually gave him some motrin and it seemed to knock the pain and he was a much more pleasant baby for the rest of the day. Tooth #4 looks like it's trying to poke through, so for all of our sakes, I hope it doesn't take long!

jennapeach ~ HOW GREAT! We'll be seein' Micki on the tv in no time! Then we can all say, "oh, I've watched that baby grow up" ;)

[newmommy]

Ladies I need some advice! DS is 10 months old, and is acting so differently. He used to be so easy to put down for naps and bedtime.....these days he doesn't go down easily for second nap....maybe he's elimnating one?

Also at bedtime, he cries until I go in and rub his back...VERY NEW!!! Is teething a factor?? I'm so confused, because he already has two teeth. I try to let him CIO for at least ten minutes...is that enought time???

TIA

[blondegirl]

newmommy- Over the last week, DS has been doing the same thing. He gives me such a hard time at his 2nd nap and at bedtime (much more difficult at bedtime) With him, I usually let him CIO for 15 minutes. If he's still going strong, I get him and keep him up for a half an hour or so, then try again! I know his top 2 teeth are very ready to come in. That could be it, or maybe he is just asserting his independence!

I consolidated DD's 2 naps into 1 shortly after her 1st birthday, but I've been thinking about trying DS with just one nap sooner. (it would be alot easier on my schedule if both kiddies napped at the SAME time!)

[Twyla]

problems with naps and bedtime- Caedan was foing this. He was not tired as fast so one of his naps were eliminated. Before we did that bed time was worse because since he was forced to take that extra nap he was not sleepy at bed time. I am not a mother who practices CIO at all. Caedan will go down whine for maybe two minutes then be out. If he does cry he gets up. Either to be up and play or to nurse, then we will try again when he seems more ready. So far this is working great for both of us.

When he was teething naptimes were shorter, but he still took them. We used the Hylands tablets to help sooth his gums before he went down. They seem to help calm a baby who is teething.

QOTD- Do any of you use homeopathic meds like the Hylands tablets for your kids? We have only been using homeopathic meds with Caedan. With my DD we used all the normal meds like tylenol and such. But Caedan rarely uses any actual medicine. I was just curious if you use any what do you use?

We use:
For hiccups: Gripe Water
Teething: Hylands teething tablets
Colds: Hylands c Plus Cold tablets
Runny nose: Hylands Runny nose tablets (sorry can't remember the name lol)
Bump type owies: Hylands Bumps and bruises tablets and Arnica Gel

Speaking of Arnica gel... everyone should invest in a tube of it. It helps heal and prevent bruises! It works great. My 4 yr old is nutorious for being clumsy. She has always had banged up knees and legs. But with the Arnica gel she rarely has bruises now. I LOVE it!

Climbing- Caedan has mastered that! He has no fear. he climbs onto his rocking chair and then will use that to get on the couch. he is so proud that he can get on the couch. Everytime he gets up ther he starts crawling from one side to the other, standing and throwing himself on the cousions, etc. as if he is saying "I got up here and it's time to party!" LOL it is so cute!

Well I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

[newmommy]

QOTD: I never use homeopathic remedies. We bought they Hyland's teething tablets, but don't use them. I'm just worried about a possible allergy. I have many, many, and have a very strong family history of allergies, so we stick to Tyelnol,etc.

Nap: DS wouldn't go down for his 2nd nap, so I let him cry for 5 minutes, then brought him downstairs....I know he's tired, so instead I'll try putting him down a bit earlier...he biting everything in sight. This time I'll give him his Tyelenol 20 minutes before bedtime, so I'll know if he's uncomfortable at bedtime, or just developing a bad habit.

[jjohm]

naps: ryan is still doing great with 1 to 1.5 hr naps at 9 and 2. used to be 9, 1, and 4, but my mother in law who cares for him during the day doesn't force him to sleep like i do. she just carries him on her back until he passes out. i know these days, he'd much rather play than sleep, which is why he resists naps.

teething: he has 2 bottom teeth and 2 top teeth (middle and side) and i think the other middle one is coming in. sometimes he wakes up from naps bawling and when it's not easy to calm him down, it seems like he's in pain. i've been giving him his toothbrush or zwieback toast and sometimes tylenol.

[newmommy]

Ladies, DS is crying now for the second time tonight. We gave him Tyelenol before bed, I went in once to pat his back and soothe him, and he's crying again...in one minute I'm going back in......I think it's teething...I don't know, he's always been so easy at night......poor baby, I'm going in :(

[aligirl]

when Alex is that way, newmommy, we let him fall asleep in his swing or some other non-crib place. Sometimes that helps soothe him better when he's overly tired and/or teething. Then we move him to his crib. It really sounds like the teething is bugging your little guy. Have you checked his temp just to make sure?

[Medako]

We hada rough night too newmommy. I hope once you got your little one back down he stayed that way.

Jack, on the other hand, went down without a sound. I figured with that, we were going to have a good night...wrong. We (well, I) was up with him about 8 times (5 times between 2 & 3am) and then at 5:20am he was ready to get up and stay up. The longest stretches of sleep did come right after I'd given him some teething tabs, so I'm pretty sure that stinkin' tooth is botherin' him still.

[elladee]

Bad night here, too. Esther goes down like a dream every night - she is sooo routine oriented - but she will not stay asleep. We were up at 11:30, 2:30, 4:30 and 6:30, when we gave up and got up for the day. I don't think she's teething anymore, plus, the motrin didn't help. Anyway, this makes for a very grumpy mama in the morning.

QOTD - homeopathic stuff - We don't use any of it, either. We give her either tylenol or motrin for teething, but that's it. I make my poor kid suffer through everything else.

[MMH]

Add me to the bad night club! And we were doing so well lately. I am wondering if it's teething? I had a brand new box of Motrin on the changing table, I just was too tired to open it.

Other than that things are going well here. I serisouly can't believe how our babies are changing each and every day! It's so fun to watch them grow and learn.

Here is my little family standing on the dock at our cabin. We were trying to get a Christmas card photo...I think I should have had DH take his "cabin" clothes off and wear something decent!
http://static.flickr.com/116/297369600_567740075c_m.jpg

[MMH]

Homeopatic Remedies - I have used the teething tablets, but honestly I think they don't do much except make me feel better! We use Motrin for teething. For colds there just isn't much to do at this point!

[Nikkid]

Wow, I think our babies are plotting something against us because we had a bad night too. Jaxson also goes down very easily at night. He went down fine last night but he was up at 1:30 and then again at 5:00 and then wouldn't go back to sleep. I gave him motrin because I also thought it was teething. He stopped crying once Dh and I rocked him (we took turns) but once I layed him down in his crib again he would start crying. His cheek also turns bright red just on one side when he's teething and his cheek was bright red during the night. I sure hope he sleeps better tonight since DH is out of town the next two nights.

Hope everyone else gets better sleep tonight too. I'm also a grumpy momma this morning and I have a bad cold on top of that! :mad:

homeopathic remedies- we don't use any of that stuff either. We just use Tylenol and Motrin. Motrin always seems to work best for us.

MMH- that is a nice family picture! That background is gorgeous, as well as your family. ;)

jennapeach- how exciting! Micki may be a star! Let us know how it turns out. I will definately be tuning in to the commercials.

[Nikkid]

This isn't important but I noticed I need to update me and DH's ages. I'm now 32 and DH is 31. No hurry though. ;)

[twomidnightblues]

Please submit a post to this thread with the following information IN RED.

CC Name:twomidnightblues
DD/DS:Evan Matthew
Me: Amy, 31
DH: Nathan, 28
Married: Oct 20, 2001
EDD: Jan 19
ADD: Jan 22
Time of Birth:12:34pm
Weight:6lb 13 oz
Length:20 inches
Other Children: N/A



Well, I got really busy with my daycare and getting ready for Evan's arrival I just didn't make it back to CC :rolleyes: . Yup, I suck. But I have a very cute monkey who I adore and who makes me laugh everyday.

He's 9 mos old and is trying to walk. He's an easy peasy kid and love to play. He's very fond of his dogs and thinks he's a big kid (he plays with the 2-4 yr olds in my daycare). His favorite words are: Mama, Dada, Uh Ah (uh oh) and Hey. He has 8 teeth and hates baby food. He loves to eat big people food in little pieces. Everything is met with an enthusiastic, "Mmmmm".

Here's a recent pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v315/twomidnightblues/EVAN/evan9mos.jpg

[Medako]

meds - we do use the teething tablets and they seem to help, but when it's really bad, we use tylenol or motrin along with them. And speaking of motrin, it might be time for another dose so it can kick in before naptime! This tired momma needs a nap ~ so, GO TO SLEEP KID!

[angelgirl8]

mmh...that photo is gorgeous. where is it?

[newmommy]

We were up all night here too. I'm so tired, AF has arrived, so that makes things worse. DS is so tired, he napped at 8:45 this morning, and now at 2:45 I'm going to try to nap him again...he's exhausted. I'm going to let him cry a bit.................oh wait...........I think he's stopped!

WOOHOOO off to make a cup of coffee for myself!

[MMH]

Angelgirl - We have a vacation home on Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho. It's a wonderful little town! I was hoping to get a better picture of the family...oh well.

Welcome Twomidnightblues...

Ahhhh, naptime for dd and for myself! If only the house would take care of itself...

[meggers]

I must be the only one who had a good night last night. For the past several weeks, Owyn has been waking up every 2-3 hours. Last night, he slept from 10:30 to 3:30 which was a huge improvement. I hope that it continues.

[Medako]

Am I a bad mommy for just giving up on trying to make this kid happy today and putting him in front of the big diaper bag and letting him destroy everything in it? It's the only thing that's kept him remotely calm all day. Between him hollering and the dog thinking she needs my full attention (in & outside, in & out, in & out), I'm starting to think I need a babysitter for the rest of the day/evening. Thank goodness it's only 1.5 hrs until DH gets home!

[KRL626]

twomidnightblues I remember you from before. Welcome back!

[newmommy]

We just did our first real CIO session. I have mixed emotions about it. Lately, going to to calm him hasn't worked...and after talking to my best friend about her 3 year old's ongoing sleep issues(which happened to start when she was 10 months old) I decided that I was going to let him CIO...and hope for the best.

I stayed on the phone with my mom the entire 17 minutes---holding the phone up the stairs....DH sat on the couch with ESPN turned up loudly, not being super suportive(although he said he was fine with CIO)....finally DS has fallen asleep--and DH's first comment: how do you know he hasn't suffocated :eek: COME ON!!!! How could he say that?! I told him to go upstairs himself if he wants to check, but I'm sure he's fine...now I'm thinking the worst!

Anyways...here's hoping this was a success, and he's not gonig to get up later on tonight..................

please tell me some of you have let your DC's CIO for this long, I feel awful...and if you haven't......lie...j/k :p

[blondegirl]

....finally DS has fallen asleep--and DH's first comment: how do you know he hasn't suffocated :eek:

Are you sure we aren't married to the same guy??? My DH said the same exact thing the first time I let my DD CIO :rolleyes: (she was about 15 months at the time) For several weeks, she was really giving me a hard time about going to bed, I was trying everything and I finally gave in to try CIO. I think the longest I let her cry was about 25 minutes. I let her go that long, because I could tell her crying was slowing down and it was more of a whine towards the end. I felt so terrible for that week that I let her CIO, I sat on the couch the whole time almost to tears! I never let my older DD CIO, and I also had major sleep issues with her until she was almost 4!!

I recently began letting DS CIO too, he's almost 10 months. Over the last week, he's really begun to fight bedtime (thinking of eliminating a nap??). The 2nd night I let him CIO, he really cried for almost 20 minutes before I finally went in to him - he apparently wasn't reasy for bed!! Over the last few nights, he only cries/whines for about 3-4 minutes.

[MMH]

newmommy - I hated letting DD CIO at first, now I just know she is faking! Hang in there. You're not alone, I let DD CIO for much longer than 17 minutes!

[lovin'it]

please tell me some of you have let your DC's CIO for this long, I feel awful...and if you haven't......lie...j/k :p

Not a lie here...honest truth...Mine have gone 45 minutes...on the first night...and then, 15 the next night! ...sigh...

My sister has a 2 year old that still wakes up twice during the night and doesn't go to bed until 11pm. So, I totally believe in CIO!

Hugs to you...It's hard on any mommy, but it works out!

[meatpie]

Much longer than 17 minutse CIO here. I felt like forever, but my niece had sleep issues and there was no way were would do the same. It gets easier...

[newmommy]

Thanks ladies!! DS woke up at 7am........he slept 12 hours straight :D This afternoon he has to get shots...should I still let him CIO??

[MMH]

Newmommy - You might want to give him some tylenol/motrin before the shots? My DD tends to conk out after shots, maybe that will be the case. I guess I would say play it by ear? I can tell dd's "I don't want to sleep" cry as opposed to her "I don't feel good cry". A little TLC won't hurt if your ds is having a bad day.

Just my 2 cents...

[tray622]

newmommy I would give Tylenol before the shots too. To be honest, the later shots dont seem to effect my kids as much. Jocey had hers on Monday (2) and it didnt affect her mood or sleep. Play it by ear and go with your gut. Hang in there!

Hi everyone! Our Thanksgiving will be a bit blah. With the divisiveness of my family, there isnt a place to gather. We are having breakfast with the inlaws and then making dinner ourselves.

We took Jocey off the Prilosec this week for the 6th try. So far, it has been perfect. I am so excited to finally not have to use medicine anymore. Cross your fingers that we are done with reflux!! The horrors of her surgery and then the reflux seem to be a million years ago :)

I have been thinking about baby #3 lately. Zoey was 8 months old when I got pg with Jocey and I cant imagine doing it again! I get kinda jealous though at the mention of others getting pg. I am weird.

Things are going so smoothly with J. She sleeps great, eats great, and is generally very easy going. My issue is with my 2 year old! ;)

Here are her 9 month pictures:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/newjocey3.jpg

[jordan]

I know I totally never post anymore, but I could really use a little help if someone would like to participate. We are working with a client who is getting into the whole pregnancy and belly shot rage and creating an online community for pregnant ladies. The site is set to go live in the next few weeks and I was wondering if any of you would like to submit some belly shots for the launch (so we don’t just have an empty page). If you or anyone you know have some pictures we can you I would really appreciate it. The site will be www.planetbump.com. PM me if you can help.

--------------------------

Also just an update on Nathan... he's 8months old. Still no crawling, but he can sit up on his own. :) He's chatting up a storm. Sucking his thumb. He's just a wonderful baby!

[newmommy]

Hey ladies, thanks a million! This morning I just hugged and kissed him, and apologized, I thought DS would remember and be mad, or something :rolleyes:

I asked his pedi about him CIO, and he had many words of encouragement, and told me that 17 minutes is great, and to expect at least 12 minutes this tonight.. the shots went very well, he barely cried, but slept the whole ride home...and even transferred to his stroller, and I was able to rake some leaves to surprise DH!


Oh and tonight CIO.....less that ONE MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO

Thanks again ladies(here's hoping he doesn't wake up later tonight!)

[tray622]

Yay newmommy!! :) I hope tonight is great!!

[jjohm]

newmommy: i hope you had a nice rest through the night! and don't worry, your DS will STILL love you!!

tray622: awesome pictures! i need to get off my butt and hurry up and do some more. i've never gotten professional pics taken, but my brother is back from his work travels so hopefully we can get something xmas card worthy.

i absolutely love MMH and twomidnight blues pics as ideas for cards. i was picking out pics for a calendar to do as gifts for family, and realized i didn't have many good pictures from months 7-9! i'm a terrible mom!

well, i better go wake DS up. it's 8:30 and he's STILL sleeping. i guess it's the weather.

oh, a bit of an update on our part. we have just recently moved to a single family home, and while i'm loving it, we are also living with my DH's parents. it's definitely got its pros and cons. i'm so worried DS is going to be spoiled rotten!! my biggest challenge is having him learn to play by himself for short periods of time without him whining or crying, because someone will pick him up in an instant!

anyone else doing holiday cards/gifts with pictures this year?

[elladee]

Hope the night went well, newmommy! It's still crap here. Oh well. Who needs sleep anyway? Can't even remember what it feels like to be well rested, so I don't know what I'm missing. Or something like that... :p

Welcome back, twomidnightblues! What an adorable little guy.

I do want to send out photo Christmas cards, and have nice 8x10's to give to all the grandparents and great grandparents for presents. But, I haven't done anything about it yet. I did take some pretty good halloween pictures in our front yard that my mother thinks I should use for the Christmas card. I dunno, though, does that sound ok? Halloween pictures on a Christmas card? Maybe I'll try to do something more neutral and if it doesn't work out I'll go with this picture:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/lisaanne14/2006%20Fall/06103004a.jpg

[tray622]

elladee That is the cutest picture... made me smile :)

[Nikkid]

Welcome back twomidnightblues, your little guy looks so handsome in his picture.

Tray your dd is so adorable. I totally hear you on this:
My issue is with my 2 year old!

Mine is with my two and three year olds. :rolleyes: By the time they start straightening out then Jaxson will be in his terrible twos. I guess I will be used to it by then.

Elladee- that is such a sweet picture, I love her hair!

newmommy- glad to hear CIO is working for you.

After two bad nights of sleep I think we might finally be back on track. Jaxson slept until 4:00 this morning opposed to his 12:30 and 1:30 wake-up calls the other two nights. After I gave him a bottle his slept again until after 7:00 so I do feel a bit rested today. My 2 yr old even stayed in her bed all night, aaawwwww......I feel so refreshed.

holiday cards- we try and do holiday cards every year and plan on trying it again this year. It will be a challenge though since DD does not like getting her picture taken. I couldn't even get her 2 yr pics taken because she screamed and clung onto me the whole time. She won't even let me take her picture at home so this should be interesting trying to get a picture of 4 kids.

Do any of your kids look like this after they eat?

http://www.stacydruse.com/main%20pics/kids/110906/thumbnails/picture_060.jpg

http://www.stacydruse.com/main%20pics/kids/110906/thumbnails/picture_059.jpg

[tray622]

nikki How do you do it?? I feel like all the attention my baby needs is completely taken away by having to deal with the "twos." I am getting really frustrated. I look forward to bed time just so I can cuddle up with Jocey, hold her close, and feed her. I dont feel like we get those close moments too often right now :( Sorry for venting!

[Nikkid]

Tray- to be honest I don't know. It's impossible to spend equal time with each kid so I do the best that I can. My two and three year old play together quite a bit so they don't beg for the attention as much as DC#4 does. He's actually getting at that stage where he plays by himself a lot, and trys to play with his older brothers and sister. I know I don't get nearly enough time to cuddle with him like I feel I should be but he doesn't seemed harmed by it. He's becoming a pretty independant little guy and I guess he has to be with three other siblings, unfortunately. I do get my time in when it's bed time. My DH puts the other two to bed and I rock him and give him a bottle before bed. Don't worry about venting, I know how you feel.

[jules1025]

I have a coupon for $3 off any package of Luvs diapers for whoever wants it (exp 1/31/07). First one to PM me gets it. :)

ETA - Gone.

[sophonisba9]

It's been ages since I was here. Lots has happened. We left Phoenix and have moved to San Diego. DS seems to have adjusted just fine. He was up once or twice a night for the first week and since then it's been back to sttn. It's wierd, but he seems to be taking longer naps now. He's crawling all over the place and just this week started cruising along the furniture. We're getting involved in different activities like Gymboree and a playgroup. I'm also figured out when the local library does story time, but we haven't actually gotten there yet.

Anybody have ideas on christmas gifts? I want to get DS a push/ride toy as he really seems to be into the big motor skills. We don't have much room where we are currently living, so I'd like to get multifunctional toys.

[Twyla]

Gifts- We are getting these:
Zebra (http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2341&e=detail&pcat=bugym&pid=37192)
Crab (https://www.discoverytoyslink.com/ecommerce/control/product?PURCHASE_STATE=STANDARD&product_id=1128)
Rain Stick (https://www.discoverytoyslink.com/ecommerce/control/product?PURCHASE_STATE=STANDARD&product_id=1152)
Aside from those I ordered a few chunkie board books from usborne books. I got Caedan a couple a while back and he loves them. Oh and he is getting some little people :)

Climbers- Caedan has moved past climbing in his chair to get onto the couch. He moved onto climbing onto the arm of the couch, standing on it, then falling onto the couch. Scared me to death and made him laugh his lil keester off. A can tell already what kind of boy adventures I am in for. Lucky me! lol Anyone have a kid this daring?

Because of the climbing we are looking into a little tikes climbing/slide toy ;)

[aligirl]

Gifts We have that rainstick, Twyla, and Alex LOOOOOOOVES it! I got it as a baby shower gift and he's loved it since the day he noticed it.

We're going to get Alex a Red Flyer rocking horse and some small toys - probably some of the Playskool trucks to help encourage him to push / scoot around. I actually created a gift list (not on a website, just in a word doc) if anyone would like to see it!

Holiday cards - already bought the cards, now we need to take a good picture of the 3 of us or of just Alex. My dad is a pretty good amateur photog so I'm going to "hire" him ;)

Alex finally started talking yesterday - started babbling "Baba" when he looked at himself in the mirror... wonder if he's trying to say "Baby"!?

[Medako]

that rainstick looks like fun. Does anyone know if you can find it (or something like it) in a store??

We have a John Deere ride on toy put away for Jack's Christmas, along with a few other small toys (truck, some peek-a-block type balls, a pull toy, keys, megablocks, etc). If I can ever find one I like, his big gift is going to be a decent toy box.

Jack's also started saying "Ba-ba" and we're convinced he's trying to say "Bailey", the dog because he'll start to chase her when he says it. :)

[aligirl]

that rainstick looks like fun. Does anyone know if you can find it (or something like it) in a store??


If you have a Discovery store near you, you should be able to get it there. That's where the lady who bought ours got it.

[Twyla]

I totally forgot about cars LOl We got a set of two Little Tikes trucks from costco. They have a handle on the top so he can push them and crawl around. They were a really good price too ;)

[elladee]

I just found that rain stick at Marshalls for $6! So Esther now has a christmas present. :)

[Nikkid]

We use to have a Marshalls but now it's a Macys. I wonder if they have on there. My cousin has one for her little boy and Jaxson would always take it from him. I better get one of his own.

I don't even want to think about Christmas presents, it just stresses me out. We probably won't buy a lot of gifts for each kids just because it gets too expensive and there grandma and aunt spoil them enough with presents anyway. I don't know what I'm going to get any of my kids. Is anyone going to brave the after Thanksgiving day shopping? I think I might try it this year for the first time since I don't have to work. Only if I find something in the ads that I really want to get. Hopefully the kids will pick out some gifts from the ads that aren't too expensive. :rolleyes:

[jules1025]

I've been MIA b/c I was sick from Sun-Wed. Not fun at all. Taking care of my little handful became a lot harder when I was on the mend. (DH had to stay home on Mon and half of Tues.) I don't know how I'm going to take care of two (or three) kids!!! Anyway, glad to be feeling better. :)

Gifts - From Santa, Audrey is getting the Leap Frog Learning Table. From us, Audrey is getting the Leap Frog Fridge Farm Animal Magnet set, a shape sorter, board books, and some other smaller items for her stocking. That rainstick looks neat. I may be adding that as a stocking stuffer!

holiday cards - I'm going to copy an idea from the holiday cards thread and get a pic of Audrey in her christmas pj's in front of the tree playing with a strand of lit christmas lights. Hoping it turns out ok! If it doesn't turn out well, then I'll just buy regular cards. No biggie.

[newmommy]

Heyladies!

Yes we are going to do holiday cards : ) DS will be wearing a black velvet jacket, white button down shirt, tie and jeans : )

We have to do that soon, I can't believe how quickly his first year is going!

[Medako]

Is anyone going to brave the after Thanksgiving day shopping?

My mom and I are goin' and I'm super excited. I haven't seen any big doorbuster items that I can't live without, but I'm looking forward to some decent % off sales. Like I said, I have several things for Jack already, it's just Jack's daddy that doesn't have anything yet. :( We haven't done gifts for each other in several years (saving for a wedding, a baby, etc) and I'm looking forward to watching everyone open presents under the tree Christmas morning. Now, if I can just get the stockings made this week, I'll feel more ready for the holiday season!

My sister has Jack for a few hours today *YAY ~ Mommy has a break!* and I'm getting a head start on some of my Christmas goody-makin' and getting a few things cleaned up around the house. I need a babysitter like this a few times a week!!

Back to my peanut butter balls before Jack comes home and DH eats them all! :)

[Twyla]

holiday pictures - Mine were hard to describe so i waited until i got them back. I made these and then uploaded them to snapfish and ordered my prints. It was a great turn around. I ordered them one afternoon and the next morning I already had an email saying my order was complete and being shipped. I strongly reccomend them if you need prints fast ;)

I am not done with the cards. But here is the pic :)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/xmas1.jpg

[twomidnightblues]

elladee: that pic is adorable! I've seen people use beach pix for their holiday cards. So I don't think it matters.

Twyla: I love the card!

I'm going to get some cards done soon. We had family pix taken a couple weeks ago. I can't c&p it, but this is the one we're using: http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0D2K0010000012&po=13&c=

[Twyla]

twomidnightblues- That pic is great!

We haven't had any professional ones taken since I was pregnant with Caedan. i feel like a bad mama. We do have tons of pics though LOL IO carry the camera with me all the time.

[blondegirl]

Twyla- That pic is great!!

I haven't done my holiday cards yet. I use shutterfly every year, but I havent even attempted to take a pic yet. I have a 21 month old who doens't like to be still for a pic, so it will be a difficult task!! I don't have any ideas on what to do for a card. Plus, it doesn't help that I haven't picked out a holiday outfit for my 7 yr old!!

And that leads to holiday presents - I haven't bought a single gift yet!! Yikes!!

[Medako]

We'll probably be the minority, but we're not doing holiday cards. We never have in the past and this year won't be any different, but that doesn't mean we won't still take holiday-type pictures. I can't wait to get the tree up and start snappin' away!

I'm also starting to think about pictures for Jack's birthday invites. I'll probably try to pick up a fun party hat this Friday and take some pictures this weekend to see if we can't get a few good ones. I'm running out of time to put together the invite and entire party! (but it's all put together in my head, if that counts for anything!)

Twyla - cute jammies! Are they 2 piece? And, where did you get them? I'm looking for some good pjs, but I'm not coming across too many that I like in 2 piece. Jack needs a 24 month, but the one piece stuff is always so long that he'd get so mad tripping over the feet.

[blondegirl]

medako- Don't know if you checked out Garnet Hill, but I got really cute 2 piece flannel xmas jammies for my girls last year, and will probably order from them again this year.

[Twyla]

Medako- The PJ's are by Nick and Nora they are so comfy... they make adult sizes too LOL I got them at target. they have a bunch of different prints too. I love soft flannel jammers for the kids. And the fact that these matched were perfect. Yes these are two piece and I know they have 24 months in them. ;) Good luck!

I am almost done with Caedan's invites. But right now It's all about my daughter's party. It's on the 2nd and I feel like I am already scrabling for more time LOL

blondegirl- I have never heard of them. I'll have to check them out! thanks for sharing ;)

[Medako]

I'll have to check at Target this weekend. Target prices are a little more in my range. Garnet Hill has some super cute stuff, but I just can't justify spending $30 or more on pjs that he'll outgrow in no time. (I can't hardly justify spending $30 on myself even!)

Maybe I'll check BRU too, they usually have pretty decent priced stuff. I know, I'm cheap! :p

[Twyla]

I think these ones were $14.99 ;) That's why I got them. I hate to spend too much knowing they will outgrow them so fast. DH and I were discussing that about shoes this weekend LOL

[Medako]

$14.99 sounds excellent! Now, I just hope that not everyone is going to be after these PJs on Black Friday! I'll leave the big stuff to everyone else if I can just pick up a few necessities (like the pjs) to finish my list! :)

[chefker]

I keep reading everyone's posts, but never remember to post an update myself! Things are going well here, other than work stress. Ian has FOUR teeth now, is pulling himself up on stuff, and crawls like a fiend.

I can't believe he'll be 11 months old next week! Good Lord, I have to plan his party soon, don't I. :p

I was going to do a fancy-shmancy castle cake, but I figured why stress myself out. So, it's going to be a Spongebob party. I bought the cake pans the other day. The 'big' cake that will hold Ian's candle (and be served to everyone), will be baked in this big pan:

http://www.wilton.com/store/images/site_images/2105-5130_m.jpg

I got this mini-treat pan so I can make Ian a mini-Spongebob for his smash cake:

http://www.wilton.com/store/images/site_images/2105-5131_m.jpg


Hopefully everything will turn out OK. I am taking two days off prior to the party, for some relaxation time, and to get ready. Since Ian's b-day is on New Year's eve, we're going to do a lunchtime party around 1 p.m., and I REALLY hope it doesn't interfere with someone's nap time!

holiday pictures ~ I really wanted to do a studio photo of Ian, BUT I want our dog in there too for a holiday portrait for our cards. So probably places like the Sears or Target studios are out (I don't think they allow animals in there--anyone know?) I'm going to look into area photographers to see if anyone can do just a few photos of both of them together. I will also do a studio photo at Sears or Target, of just Ian by himself, for his one year picture.

Those who are going shopping Friday, y'all are brave! I'll be hitting Amazon instead of the mall, I think. ;)

[Twyla]

Chefker- Animal pic, do you have a picture people of portrait innovations by you? As far as I know if you have an appointment they will do animals in your pics.

BTW orintaltrading.com has a ton of spongebob party stuff ;)

[twomidnightblues]

chefker: I'm glad I'm not the only one planning birthdays early! With the holidays and all, I wanted to get a jump start on the planning. My husband is a football fan and wanted a football themed party for the boy. The invites are going to look like sporting event tickets. I have one of those Pampered Chef batter bowls which I can use to make a football shaped cake (I did it for a super bowl party a few yrs ago). Then I'll probably check oriental trading or the local party store for the favors and goodie bag stuff.


All this talk about teeth...I can't remember if I wrote it (and I don't feel like going back to see :rolleyes: ) but Evan has EIGHT teeth! On top of that, I took him to the pediatrician last week because he was pulling his ears. I thought he had an ear infection. Nope...he's getting his one year molars! I can't believe how many teeth this kid has, lol. Thankfully, he loves having them brushed.

[Twyla]

Birthdays- LOL I started planning when the ultrasound tech said "It's a boy". My husband thought I was crazy. But He loves everything I have planned. Caedan is having a pirate party. :)

Teeth- We still have two, the molars have flared up a few times but wont come all the way through. You can feel little points back there though. ;)

[blondegirl]

No way did I spend $30 on kids pj's!! :eek: (I'm someone who has almost ALL hand me downs for my kiddies - we just don't have extra money to spend like that!!) I got the pj's before christmas last year, when they were on sale! I'll hold out again this year to see when they go on sale, unless I find something I like somewhere else!

I finally asked DH to pick a specific date he can take off for DS's 1st (and DD 2nd) so I can get the invites ready. I've picked out the theme I'm gonna go with, I'll post pics later. It's never too early to plan a party!!

twomidnighblues - eight teeth, wow!! :eek: DS only has 2, with 2 more ready to come in on top.

[elladee]

Twyla - Cute Card!

Chefker - I love the spongebob theme. I have that mini treat pan. Make sure you grease and flour it well, and I'd probably make all four, so you could pick the best one. I did have some trouble getting them to come out of the pan nicely when I used it. Though if you ice the cake, it probably doesn't matter all that much.

I decided not to do much of a birthday party for DD. I'm kind of sad about it. We're in to process of buying a new house and will move sometime in the first couple weeks of Jan. Plus, living where we do, the weather is so unpredictible in the winter that I could just see planning a big to do and then having a snow storm that day. I'll just have to live vicareously through you all.

Happy 1st Thanksgiving to all the babies!

[newmommy]

Hey ladies!!

DS is doing so many new things! He "dances" to music...which is him reaching out towards the music and waving his hands-he's just addes some body movement too :)

He said "mama" and he is now picking up the remote control and pointing toward the t.v.(thanks DH:rolleyes: )

I also saw a cute pair of pj's at the BabyGap.....but they were too much $, waiting for them to go down.

First birthday: I stink. I don't know what to do. Just recently we stopped talking to most of my in-laws....so I'm thinking just a small gathering.....maybe an Elmo or sports theme???

Well have a great Happy 1st Thanksgiving everyone!!!

[KRL626]

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! We had it here and it was really wonderful. Hopefully I'll upload some pictures later and come back to post. We had a rough night last night. We ended up in the ER with J. because he had a nasty cough and was having trouble breathing. The ped. sent us right in. It turns out he has croup and had to get a steroid shot. We're all totally exhausted. I'm just praying the cough goes away soon. Today we're going to try and just catch up on sleep and maybe take some Christmas card pictures. In all the chaos yesterday we still managed to put up our Christmas tree! :)

[chefker]

How was everyone's first Thanksgiving with their babies? We had a pretty good day, even though DH and I are now sick. Ugh. Fortunately, Ian is just fine. I hope he doesn't catch what we've got.

Ian loves to eat pretty much everything, we discovered. On T-day he had the 'pasta course'--my IL's are Italian, so they stuff us full of manicotti, sausage, meatballs, and braciole--all of this BEFORE the turkey. Ian sampled a bit of manicotti, and 1/2 of a smashed up meatball, sans sauce. He loved it and got mad when it was all gone, heh. After that he had a tiny bit of turkey, shredded, and a bit of mashed sweet potato. The kid is a good eater, I have to be careful or I'll have a little tubby on my hands!

I can see some 'points' around where his canine teeth should be--uh oh. Either he's got molars or canines coming in. This should be fun. :rolleyes:

ETA: x-posted with KRL--Sorry to hear about J! I hope he is feeling better very soon.

[meggers]

Our Thanksgiving went well. Owyn has a little bit of turkey and some sweet potatoes. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Owyn was sick the day after Thanksgiving. He had a fever and slept most of the day. He was much better today. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving:

Owyn in the grass.
http://static.flickr.com/115/305373568_7179fb9c5a.jpg?v=0


Owyn with his cousins. His clothes coordinated with his cousins clothes (it looks like we planned it or something).
http://static.flickr.com/103/305378253_ef639e9093.jpg?v=0

[Medako]

Our Thanksgiving was okay. Not my ideal, but we managed. We went to the in-laws' (2 hour drive). It was my compromise in order to spend Christmas at home. Jack had some turkey, and that's about all. Food was a little on the scarce side. *shrug* And then by the time we left, he was exhausted since he doesn't sleep if there's ANYTHING going on around him.

We put up our tree this morning and then this evening we went to a Christmas parade and saw Santa for the first time. Jack was just in awe. It was so cute! He couldn't quit staring...he just didn't know what to think.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i162/mom2jackryan/Jack614.jpg

[KRL626]

Cute pics of Owyn and Jack!

Here are our Turkey Day shots:

Forever with the thumb in his mouth!
http://static.flickr.com/103/306805340_172d1c6839_m.jpg

He tried a lot of food. Yum!
http://static.flickr.com/105/306805344_baee682321_m.jpg

[Anon25]

KRL-I'm so sorry to hear about J. Hope he's better with a quickness. Love the pics and the turkey right in front of him. =P

Chefker-Hope you and DH get better soon!

Meggers-Too cute! I love the coordinating cousin outfits, especially without planning it...that's awesome.

Medako-Haha@Jack. He does look totally dumbfounded.


I wish I could say we had a nice Thanksgiving but sadly, we did not. For some reason, I was in a very bad mood and not shy about showing it around my in-laws who we spent the day with. I think more than anything, I was stressed because Brendan had not taken a nap all day, was incredibly fussy and the house was brimming with people. I feel incredibly sorry for it now but we left before dessert even - and missed out on any leftover action we might have had if we stayed later. :( I feel horrible. Brendan did get to eat some turkey and stuffing though.

[jjohm]

thanksgiving: we had a good time. first, we went to the in-laws where i cooked a huge turkey for a late lunch. ryan did great during the meal, and we didn't even have a high chair for him! he sat on our laps and tried different kinds of food. then, we headed over for my parent's house and we ate a turducken there. ryan got so much attention all day that he was exhausted by bedtime.

first birthday: we're having a huge, i mean, huge thing at a korean restaurant where our family and friends will come to celebrate (about 80 people and 20 kids). we're doing a lunch buffet to keep costs down, and also because if we did it for dinner, ryan would be a mess. my grandmother bought him a traditional outfit so he will be wearing that. i guess we are saving the pirate/elmo/sports themed parties for later years!

development: as far as walking is concerned, he's not there yet, can barely stand on his own, but people keep asking if he's walking yet (at 10 months). he's doing some very cute things though. he will be playing with his toys and seriously, about 10 or more times a day, he will crawl over to his big stuffed dog and kiss it on the nose. also, if he hears someone cough or sneeze, he'll do a little fake cough. it's adorable, especially when it doesn't come out as a cough but more of a yell.

meggers, medako, krl: cute pics!! i guess i should stop being lazy and get mine off the camera...

krl: hope your little one gets better soon!

anon: we all have those days sometimes...hope you were able to mend things with your in laws. i think most people who are parents understand that not everything goes as planned anymore!

[Nikkid]

Where is everyone, out Christmas shopping? :) I thought I would save us from page 3. I will have to come back and post more later, I'm at work right now.

[Twyla]

I'm here LOL Just a little busy. My daughter's party is Saturday and I am so not ready :) And nervous about making the cake tomorrow.

Caedan has discovered the baby in the mirror. I mean he has looked at the mirror for months. But he was laughing at himself this weekend and making faces. He thought it was the funniest thing. I just wish I had gotten it on video.

[jennapeach]

Just checkin' in...

T-Day was nice - two dinners at ILs and my bro's house. Micki ate great - she had some turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, cornbread, and jello. Then, my folks took Micki home (a mile from my bro's house) and I stayed up with bro, SIL and a cousin to hit the outlet malls at midnight. Yes, I was a crazy who shopped until the wee hours of Black Friday. I got some great deals, so I guess it was worth it.

Micki & I got sick Tuesday morning, DH got sick Yesterday and one of my stepdaughters got it, too. I don't know what it is, but I'm thinking it's some sort of quick flu - quick, but violent. Ugh. I don't want to be that sick again!

Micki's starting to play peek-a-boo with us. I figured it out yesterday, when I was home sick with her. She'll hold up a bib, towel, whatever, to her face and wait for me to say "Where's Micki?" Then, she'll take it down so I can "PEEK A BOO!" She loves it - it's so cute. When she's tired, she won't even bother to cover her face, she just holds whatever she's trying to hide with above her head. Anything to stay awake a little longer...

Anyone else dealing with separation anxiety already? OMG... she SO clingy. I can barely leave the room sometimes. She wants me and only me usually. And this girl has figured out how to whine like a pro. Ugh. I'm hoping this sep-anx phase goes by quickly!

[Medako]

We're having a really rough go with teeth again. Jack's gotten 2 within the last week (up to 5 now) and he's been MISERABLE! And it's not making things any better now that we're basically snowed in since yesterday and can't even get outside for a change of scenery.

**keep your fingers crossed that DH and I don't kill each other by the time he goes back to work. Being cooped up in close quarters for 4 days does things to a girl *LOL*

[Taurus]

I haven't dropped by in a while but just tried to catch up real quick.

Jenna--we had the same quick bug stomach bug just hit us here! It went through all three of us, one at a time but with a brief, horrible overlap. "Quick and violent" is a very accurate description! Ugh.

In addition to the stomach bug, DS's 5th and 6th teeth are coming in and for the first time he is really symptomatic w/ teething. So it's been a rough week.

birthdays I guess I really need to get on this! I'm just amazed that my son is turning 1 soon...

DS is pointing now and loves to look at pictures, especially books that have real babies' pictures. He has a little album where you put in your own photographs, and he sits staring at the pages and laughing.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

[KRL626]

Medako Aah I feel for you! Being cooped up is no fun!

Taurus That album sounds cool. Where did you get it?

Here was our attempt this morning to take Christmas card photos. Jeremiah was not in a very cooperative mood so it was a bit of a struggle and I'm not super happy with any of them. However we do have photoshop so I'm hoping DH will be able to do a little cropping/editing magic. :o

http://static.flickr.com/108/311956747_14434dc6f8_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/116/311956746_e2616fc6d1_m.jpg

And his signature pose: (Obviously not in the running for our card :) )
http://static.flickr.com/109/311956761_cafa4d146e_m.jpg



We're going to order our cards from http://winkflash.com I think we're getting like 20 birthday invites and 30 Christmas cards with envelopes and shipping for about $40 total! Not bad!

[Taurus]

KRL- It is Sassy brand, an older version of this Photo Album (http://sassybaby.com/product?productid=176&product=). I've seen it at most places that carry Sassy toys. He loves it!

Cute pictures of Jeremiah!

[jjohm]

krl: the 2nd pic is really cute!

our xmas card options:
http://files.blog-city.com/files/J04/60871/p/f/931977604206_0_alb.jpg
http://files.blog-city.com/files/J04/60871/p/f/518197604206_0_alb.jpg
http://files.blog-city.com/files/J04/60871/p/f/573677604206_0_alb.jpg

[aligirl]

jjohm: i really like the 2nd one! they're all cute but there's something about the 2nd one that i find adorable!

[Twyla]

I agree, the second one makes me heare little giggles LOL Plus I just LOVE his hair hehe

[KRL626]

jjohm yeah that's the picture we went with! Of yours I agree with the rest, number 2 is really cute!

[Nikkid]

I agree with everyone else and like pic #2 for both KRL and jjohm.

We haven't attempted to take pictures yet. I am so dreading this. I think I might just do a pic of them in there pjs in front of the tree holding a present. Nothing really posed since my 2yr old and 11 mos old will not sit still anyway. I just have to worry about them holding a present and not opening it. :rolleyes: I think we may try and get them done this weekend. I know last year it was awesome, we took the picture and had them sent to Wal-Mart through there website and got back 40 cards the same day for only $16.00! I think we will do that again this year since it's so easy, quick and cheap. I thought the cards looked nice too.

birthday~ ugh, I'm not going to even think about this until Christmas is over. It will stress me out too much. DS#2 birthday is on Christmas Eve and Jaxson's birthday is 4 days later so we will have there party together sometime in the middle of Jan so it's not right after Christmas. We will probably do a small cake and a small gift on there actual birthday so we can at least acknowledge there actual day.


Medako~ sorry to hear it's been rough. Hopefully the snow has melted a bit so you can get out of your house. :) Sometimes I go the weekend not leaving my house and I go insane. I can't imagine 4 days.

Taurus~ hope your week gets better. It's hard having to deal with one difficult thing but even worse when you have teething added on top of an illness. Hopefully it will start getting better for you.

seperation anxiety~ so far we haven't really experienced this yet. He's pretty good at playing by himself unless he gets tired and cranky then he's at my ankles for awhile. I know with my other children this didn't start until later, like 18 mos or so. So who knows when he will start this. I know that I'm not looking forward to it though.

All soon as we get some attempts of pics for christmans cards I will have to post some.

[Twyla]

We did my dd's 5th birthday party this weekend. We had a blast. Granted it was a little windy, it was still a nice sunny Cal. day So I wanted to share a few pics

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1157.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1158.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1161.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1162.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/FariesByte/DSCN1203.jpg

[jjohm]

twy: LOVIN caedan's hairdo!

[Anon25]

Ohhh! I just LOVE all the pictures!!

KRL- I agree with the others...number#2 is too cute for words! I also love #1 though as well...you have such a darling boy!

jjohm-Seriously! Who takes the pics in your family? Your pictures look professionally done!! Adorable!

Twyla-Loving the hair!! I've tried with Brendan - his is too thin, like mama..lol. Your daughter seems to look just like you. Beautiful! Glad the day turned out well.

[Anon25]

Separation anxiety-Yes! We are very much dealing with this! Even just around the house, if I leave the room for 2 seconds Brendan creates an uproar. Luckily though, he doesn't discriminate between Mom and Dad and goes happily to Gma and Gpa which is great beacause they're our daycare providers. :D Honestly, I kinda like it. I feel more like a Mom now that I know he needs or wants me. But it doesn't make it easy when I have housework to do!

[MMH]

Ohhh, I have so much catching up to do! Somehow the days are just flying by and time just disappears!

Everyones little ones are getting so big and cuter by the day. I love all the cute Christmas photos. We have attempted about ten different times to get a good picture - no dice!
www.1stwishes.com
www.birthdayinabox.com

The birthday thread makes me sweat...all the planning etc...yikes!

DD is doing great, still not a great sleeper but that's okay. She is nursing 3 times a day and eating everything in site. Problem is, she's only nursing from one side, so I am totally lopsided. I kind of want to stop, but she spits formula out. Oh well I guess. Two months to go!

She fell asleep in her backpack while we were hunting down a Christmas tree.
http://static.flickr.com/100/315312417_1e5fd68366_m.jpg

With out two labs
http://static.flickr.com/110/315312419_bff26e6d27_m.jpg

I still try to read along...I'm going to try and be better about posting!

[mauibride1]

I haven't posted in FOREVER, but MMH inspired me to chime in! :D I'm really trying to follow along when I can.

I'm LOVING all of the pictures of the gorgeous babies. Where has the time gone?

Here's my guy:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce30b3127cce8e41faabace100000016108QYuGbFqyaA

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce30b3127cce8e41fab22dc800000015108QYuGbFqyaA

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce00b3127cce8e0365e635f600000015108QYuGbFqyaA

Ditto what MMH said. I will try to post more regularly, too.

[jules1025]

KRL & jjohm - Love those photos!!

Twyla - Love his faux hawk!! :) Happy b-day to your DD!

MMH - Priceless pic of your DD asleep in the backpack. I love it!

Mauibride1 - I can't see your pics (shutterfly doesn't allow hotlinking anymore), but the pic of your DS in your avatar is adorable!!

1st b-day - I put together the invite list and ordered the invitations, and that's all I've done so far. We're doing a ladybug theme, but I don't think I'm going to go crazy with it or anything. Probably just red and black for colors and a ladybug cake or cupcakes. I also want to do the "picture timeline" from the 1st b-day ideas thread. That's not going crazy is it?

christmas cards - After several attempts at trying to get a decent shot, I finally got lucky! Here's how our cards turned out:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v290/juliebeth13/2006xmascards.jpg

[elladee]

Love all the pictures!

MMH, she is absolutely precious in that backpack picture. I love her furry hood. :)

krl, I like his smile in the first picture.

jjohm, those are great pictures. The second on is adorable.

Twyla, you have beautiful kids!

I want to show off my Christmas card, too. :cool:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/lisaanne14/CCard.jpg

[tray622]

I am so jealous of your Christmas card pics ;) It looks like I will be sending out a card with Zoey slamming a train on Joceys head and another one with ZOey smiling prettily yanking her sisters ear off!! I am trying one more time and then thinking long and hard about taking 2 separate pictures.

I love seeing all the pics of the cutie pies :)

ETA: Is anyone else stil dealing with reflux? We had weaned Jocey from the meds a few weeks ago and ever since she has had congestion and a cough nonstop. We finally took her in and low and behold it is still reflux. Although she isnt showing the painful symptoms as much, the acid is lodging behind her nose and throat. Whenw e got back on Prilosec it went away. Weird!

[MMH]

Jules & Elladee - Fabulous Christmas cards - love'em! You both have darling little ones. They just don't look like tiny babies anymore do they? It amazes me every day.

Trying for #2 - ACK! What a scary thought, but I can't wait to have another one. Regardless of all the sleepless nights and anxiety, having kids is just the best. We were going to start trying when DD turns one, but then I really don't want a Holiday baby. Hmmm. I also haven't had AF yet, so maybe we just won't even have to worry about it! It took six months the first time so who knows.

Christmas Presents/Birthday Presents - We aren't going "all out" on gifts this year. I did get an activity walker, Elmo and some Gymboree toys (DD is in LOVE with Gymbo). I was thinking about getting a Radio Flyer wagon for her birthday. Any other good ideas?

[MMH]

By the way Elladee I'm totally jealous of your DD's gorgeous hair. Look at how much she has!

[jules1025]

Thank you, MMH! :)

gymboree discount code - Anyone want a one-time use discount code for 20% off for shopping online at gymboree? If so, PM me!

ETA - TAKEN!

[Twyla]

OMG What cute pictures! Jules and Elladee I love the cards!

MMH- I think that sleepy head picture would be cute on a card!

Tray662- I ended up cropping the kids out to have their incividual ones and then used a decent one of them together for ours. I actually like how they are looking at each other in the pic of them together. But we had a ton of one we couldn't use LOL

We aren't having anymore. two is enough for us LOL I admire all of you who are alredy expecting or trying. I wish we'd have had Caedan sooner. They are so far apart in age. :)

Thanks for the pic comments. Now that Annsleigh's birthday party is done I get to throw myself into Caedan's. I can't wait hehe

[Nikkid]

Oohh I love all the pics!

MMH I love the pic of her sleeping. I agree that it would make a great Christmas card!

mauibride your little guy is adorable, I love that last one.

jules and elladee I absolutely love your christmas cards! May I ask how you made yours with 4 photos in it? I would like to do something like that and do individual pics instead of trying to get them together and do a group picture.

twyla I love your avatar. That is EXACTLY what I was thinking of doing for our christmas card, how funny. Maybe I got that idea from you? :confused:

I am so jealous of your Christmas card pics It looks like I will be sending out a card with Zoey slamming a train on Joceys head and another one with ZOey smiling prettily yanking her sisters ear off!! I am trying one more time and then thinking long and hard about taking 2 separate pictures.

I so hear you on this one. I haven't even attempted pics yet but I know it will go similar to what you described.

[blondegirl]

Everyone's pictures are just precious!! I'm so jealous of all the creative cards!

I gave up on trying to get a group shot of the kids. I just did indiv shots of the three of them, and used them on a card from Shutterfly.

These are the pics I used, cropped and edited (I think?? The cards should be waiting for me when I get home!)
http://static.flickr.com/122/315803864_2ff0848733.jpg?v=0
http://static.flickr.com/110/315803866_bc4d70b33a.jpg?v=0

[jjohm]

blondegirl: your kids are adorable! btw, where did you find the awesome sweater and vest????

[KRL626]

Jules and elladee Seriously sooo adorable! And the cards are perfect!

blondegirl What cutie pies. They actually look like they could almost be twins!

[chefker]

I love everyone's holiday pictures! Here's a proof of mine that I just ordered. It's kind of blurry because it was a screen capture, but hopefully the card will be crystal clear!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/PageGeneratorServlet.jpg

I had tried posing Ian with his dog, and did get a few good shots--but I think the separate shots came out slightly better. Here's a couple that I ended up NOT using, but were close contenders:


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/Ivan/DSC03435.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/Ivan/DSC03464.jpg

I loved this one, but Ian's eyes were shut! oh well.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y49/chefker/Ivan/DSC03448.jpg

FYI, to anyone ordering cards from Ofoto: enter the promo code FREESET for a free set of cards.

[tray622]

I love seeing the cards and the pictures that didnt make it ;) Here are a couple of our out takes!

I am so sad I erased the one where Zoey is slamming Joceys head with her train ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02840.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC02837.jpg