November 2004 Kids and Families

[annielynn]

From our very first Trimester...1st Trimester (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=455883&tstart=50)

To our second...2nd Trimester (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=458347&tstart=50)

Old CC Thread...Our Second Year (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1505)

We are proud November 2004 mommies!

Kates
Me: Kate (32)
DH: Denis (33)
Married: September 6/03
Grady, 8lbs 7 oz, 9/21/04

MtySheera
Me: Marlene (29)
DH: Daryl (30)
Married 5/11/02
Started TTC: 2/03
Frank Thomas, 7lbs 3/4 oz, 10/15/04

Franni
Franni (34)
George (28)
Married - 09/21/02
Gwendolyn Halley, 10/20/04

NICU_nurse
Me: Sara (29)
DH: Brad (27)
Married: 9/27/03
DD Hanna 12/8/95
Kyle Brandon, 8lbs, 3.4ozs, 10/25/04

Paula R
Me: Paula
DH: Darrell
Married 4/28/2001
Caden, 7lbs 14oz, 10/25/04

Abby'sMom
Sherry (28)
Adam (28)
Married: 8/17/02
Abigail Bridgett, 7lbs 6oz, 11/3/04

babyjinks
ME: Heather 26
DH: Kris 29
Married: Oct.11, 2003
TTC: Jan 2004
Evan Michael, 8lbs 5oz, 11/3/04

er nurse
Me: Lisa (32)
DH: Chris (37)
Married: July 19, 2003
TTC: 2/04/04
Chianna, 6lbs 12oz, 11/4/04

duke's flygirl
Me: Joelle-29
DH: Denis-35
Married: August 16th, 2003
TTC 31 Dec 03
Ryleigh Jane, 7lbs 2oz, 11/4/04

annielynn
Me: Annie (31)
DH: Paul (32)
Married: 9/20/03
Jack Morgan, 7lbs 12oz, 11/10/04

shania0474
shania: 31
DH: 36
married: August 2002
DS#1: David 11/11/04
DS#2: Gabriel 3/20/06

CMW02
Me: Cindy (31)
DH: Cory (30)
Married: 8/17/02
Simone Liliana, 8lbs 10oz, 11/12/04

spa76
Me: Sandie (27)
DH: Hans (29)
Married: 6-2-01
DS: Honeymoon babe Elias Henry (2-3-02)
Delia Juliet, 7lbs, 11/12/04

Lobeth
Me: Lori (33)
DH: J (33)
Married: October 11, 2003
TTC: 10/11/2003
Tori, 7lb 13oz, 19.5in 11/13/04
EDD #2: 1/14/06

mia's mama
SEB: 30
DH: 32
Married: 09/02
TTC: 02/03
History of recurrent pregnancy loss: 04/03, 11/03, 01/04
[COLOR=deeppink]Mia Cameron, 7lbs 5.5oz, 11/14/04

April1234
Me: April (25)
DH: Chris (34)
Married: 5/24/03
EDD: 12/29/04
Lillian Grace 4lb 16 1/2in 11/20/04
DS: Nolan Grant 05/15/06

AJX
Me: AJ (30)
DH: JB (39)
Married: 4/11/03
TTC: 2/24/04
Xavier, 8lbs 2oz, 11/21/04

mak
mak: 31
DH: 36
married- 11/22/03
ttc: 01/04
DD- Mimi

[annielynn]

I hope that everyone had a great weekend (minus the CC crap.) We are getting all geared up for Jack's big party this coming weekend. We went yesterday and got his big present from mommy and daddy, I cannot wait to give it to him!!! How is the world is he 2 already? Amazing how time flies when you are having fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS

Miss Abby
Mr Evan
Miss Chianna
Miss Ryleigh

I hope that you got everything that you wanted for your birthday. :)

[K&H's mommy]

subscribing...thanks Annie!

[CMW02]

me too!!

Thanks Annie! :D

[AJX]

Subscribing!
Thank you, Annie! When I saw that the old thread had passed the 100-page mark, I thought it might be time for us to move on.

[Kates]

Thanks for setting this up Annie!

[duke's flygirl]

Thanks for setting this up Annie!

[Abby'sMom]

Go Annie... go Annie....

:D

[April1234]

Thanks for setting this up Annie!:D

April1234
Me: April (25)
DH: Chris (34)
Married: 5/24/03
EDD: 12/29/04
Lillian Grace 4lb 16 1/2in 11/20/04
DS: Nolan Grant 05/15/06

[annielynn]

Thanks ladies! It is just nice to still be together and see how this 2 year olds are terrorizing us. :)

[shania0474]

Ooh new thread... may I join officially?


shania: 31
DH: 36
married: August 2002
DS#1: David 11/11/04
DS#2: Gabriel 3/20/06

I never post photos on the Internet so I hope that won't be a problem. You'll just have to take my word for it that I have the cutest kids in the world! :p

[annielynn]

You are official Shania! :)

I understand completely not posting pictures. We will not hold it against you! ;) And I am sure that you have a couple of very handsome little men.

[Abby'sMom]

Shania, are on lj? I'm much more comfortable posting pics etc. over there since my whole journal is friends-only.

[Paula R]

I'm here! Now off to see if I figure this LJ thing out.

[AJX]

Just a second attempt to subscribe....

[Kates]

I'm on LJ too, I don't post to my own journal a lot, but I do try to read and post in my friend's journals! I'm kates_72 over there.

[babyjinks]

I have been super busy so i havent been stopping by lately but am very disturbed that somebody is stealing stuff off here. I have been part of this group for 3 years........and count on you guys very much to make sure that I am on track with stuff! Evan seems to be on track to living up to the "terrible" twos. I used to post pics but ever since shutterfly went weird I havent been able to figure out how to....I guess I wont bother to figure it out.......anyways hope everybody is doing well!

[babyjinks]

subscribe

[AJX]

Welcome back, babyjinks. And belated happy birthday to Evan.

[mak]

subscribing too!

Not sure what happened last week as I did not see anything until yesterday and I tried to click on the link but it did not work for me???...but I am trying to remove all my pictures.

I have no idea how LJ works nor do I think i have the patience to try and figure out..but will look into it soon.

[shania0474]

I have no idea how LJ works nor do I think i have the patience to try and figure out..but will look into it soon.

Ditto! I don't even know what it is so can someone clue me in?

[babyjinks]

Thanks AJ and Happy Birthday to all of our November babies....I am clueless also to LJ and only recently found out what the initials stand for LOL

[Kates]

I have no idea how LJ works nor do I think i have the patience to try and figure out..

I have only just started using LJ - www.livejournal.com recently. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have the time to figure out how to use it or post very much, but I do what I can when I have time. The Help and FAQ's on LJ are excellent, so figuring out the basics is really easy.

I like it because I find that people are more open on LJ and feel safe posting pictures. It's more private than CC because you can choose who sees your posts. Very slim chance of someone quoting you in a book, YKWIM?

[duke's flygirl]

Glad to see everyone again!

We had R's 2nd b-day with my parents visiting from Ontario, and my SIL and niece and nephew who live in the area. It was a small affair with a Dairy Queen ice cream cake but a good time was had by all.

She is definitely in the terrible twos, but she is also doing some of the cutest things.

For those of you not on LJ, my DH has been away since last monday and doesn't return until the 24th of the month. It was a LONG week last week, but my BFF came for the weekend and was SOO much help. I miss her tons!

My little guy is now almost 15 weeks old, how the heck did that happen? He is doing well also.

Anyway, I have friended you Paula on LJ in case you didn't see my comment in the other thread.

I too prefer the privacy that I get on LJ and I do tend to post way more pictures there!

Hope you all are doing well!

Joelle

[mia's mama]

Hi all...
I can't believe almost all of our kids are 2 now! We had Mia's party over the weekend, a western/cowgirl theme. She had a blast. She also had her WBV on Monday:

23.6 lbs (10th % :rolleyes: )
35.5" (85% :) )

Hope you are all well!

[Abby'sMom]

Holy cow, Stacey, Mia really shot up, didn't she?!

[mak]

Happy Birthday to all the 2 year olds...times flies!!! Hope everyone had great days and parties...not sure what we will do still since it is hard to plan a party when we are in the midst of packing/moving. Might have to just do a small family thing!

Terrible twos.....they are pretty brutal in my house. One minute she is being the cutest, nicest kid...and the next she is testing all the limits. A couple of days ago she had to be put in her crib for some "time to calm down" about 7 times in a hour!!! DH has been travelling a lot so at first I thought she was just missing him, but now I think we have hit the terrible twos and she can not stop herself!!

Has anyone been Christmas/Holiday shopping yet? I have to figure out what to get the girls. We already gave Mimi a wooden kitchen this summer since her birthday and Christmas are so close together.

I know this seems like a far off thing...but is everyone sending their toddlers to preschool next year? Since we are moving to Boston, everyone in that area has told me to really look into it now since there are waiting lists at certain places.

[Abby'sMom]

Preschool - Ugh. I live in a really affluent area (though we aren't affluent, just lucky to be here, I guess). The hip thing to do to keep up with the Joneses is to put your two year old in preschool. It makes me gag. I go nuts with both kids some days, but no way am I putting Abby in preschool now! Maybe when she's 3; we'll see. If we're expecting #3 by the end of next year, I may well want to put her in a program starting in January 08.

[mak]

Sorry- I meant next September or January not this year...I am not putting Mimi in preschool until she is 3 either but some friends have told me to look into this winter/spring since some preschools have a waiting list for a year.

[Abby'sMom]

Megan - I understood you correctly. :) Just taking the chance to complain. Ha. Sorry for the confusion. Preschools around here have long waiting lists too. We'll most likely go with the one affiliated with our church since Abby is already very comfortable there and we want a Christian environment for her.

[mak]

Since Mimi's birthday is in December, she misses the cutoff for kindergarten and does not start school until she is 5 almost 6. I am not sure if she should start preschool next year in Jan 08 when she is 3 or wait until September 08 (when she is almost 4) since even then she will have 2 years of preschool before she starts school which seems like a lot, but then I worry is she going to be bored at home still with me and need more. I like to think she will have a built-in playmate with Ella, we do a music and gym class plus a playgroup will be enough but I am not sure? Just wondered what you all were thinking about next year. It seems insane that I have to look into something a year before I may or may not do it, but everyone keeps telling me to at least look into it in case she is ready.

[K&H's mommy]

Hello girls -

Little one is sleeping in her bed (shocking) so I have time to post! I even showered already and it's not even 10, LOL!

Preschool - Am I horrible for already thinking about it? I am looking into a very part-time program for Kyle. Two days a week, 3 hours a day - to 6 hours a week. It's for both of us. I have such a hard time getting stuff done with both of them that it will be my "errand" time...and he will get the chance to be around other kids. He has learned so much from the stretch-and-grow class that we go to from being around the other kids that I think he would really enjoy it. And if I don't like him there or he has issues we yank him out since he doesn't HAVE to go, you know? I hope you all don't think I'm horrible for considering it. :(

Kyle has been behaving much better, not as much screaming going on. Although now he cry/whines whenever he wants something. His vocabulary is finally starting to pick up thank goodness. I was really worried there for a while. He loooooves his sisters. He is always in their faces...here's an example.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/NICU_nurse/P1010099.jpg

[Kates]

Preschool, we're definitely thinking ahead to preschool. G won't even be 3 by the time they start, so I'm a little nervous. Maybe January is a better timeframe.

I'm thinking I may be home on Mat leave by then, so we may try to put him into one in the French Catholic school he'll be attending for 4yr old kindergarden. Someone would have to drop him off and then take him back to daycare or home so it would be really convenient if I was home.

[mia's mama]

Sara- That picture is so cute! Mia is the same way with Jackson...in his face ALL THE TIME. She loves him to death and he has just started belly laughing at her...I love watching them together.


Holy cow, Stacey, Mia really shot up, didn't she?!

No kidding! 4 inches in 6 months! :eek: Of course she only gained 1 lb., but whatever.Sherry- you are BRAVE girl, to be thinking about #3! Especially considering both kids wern't/arn't "easy babies". Wow! I once thought we would have 3 or 4, but now I'm not so sure...I won't even consider it until Mia is in school full time (Kindergarten).

Preschool-
I've been thinking about preschool too. Mia is SUPER shy and I think it will really benefit her to go to school 5 or 6 hours /week. The waitlist situation here in LA is OUT OF CONTROL, so I actually put her on the list at the closest school (a Presbyterian church) several months ago. They may or may not have a spot for her in September 08. I am home too, so she doesn't NEED to go, but I really do think it will be good for my little wallflower. She is in a ballet/tap/tumbling class now and we have several playdates everyweek, but it honestly takes her about an hour to de-velcro herself from my body and join in the fun. I was the same way as a kid.

MAK- Can I ask what part of Boston you are moving to? We MAY be making the same move in the next year or so (My DH is from the south shore and his whole family is still there)- neither of us really want to raise our family in LA even though I grew up here and my family is here. We can't decide what area we would want to live in though. We have been looking a lot at Hingham since I know that area fairly well, good schools and it is close to DH's family. You can PM me if you don't want to post it on here.

[Abby'sMom]

Dude, Sara, I have a great friend whose son turned 2 in August. She has him in a T/Th program for precisely the reason you stated - she has a baby a week older than your A and she's losing her mind having both of them all the time. I know I come across as highly critical of early preschool, but I know that there are circumstances that totally warrant looking into it!

[CMW02]

Gorgeous pics and WAY cute about the older siblings sticking their faces in the newbies! LOL

preschool: Yes, she will start at 2.5'ish yrs old.

We have already enrolled Simone into a pre-school beginning next fall.
It *isnt* that I'm thinking so far ahead, but my cousin, who happens to be S's godmother, is the teacher of the preschool, and she asked me about 3 months ago if I wanted to get on the list, "just in case" as space fills pretty quickly.
So, as a result, yep, she's enrolled. :)

The class meets twice a week (Tues/Thurs) from 9a-12noon.
I think Simone will really enjoy it as she is already ready for some heavier project/class/learning environment which she gets just a taste of right now both at home and at her daycare.

And as an added bonus, like both Mak and Sherry noted above, the three hours will give me a little extra break, when baby #2 arrives.
Yeah, so call it selfish..I call it survival! HAHA :D

[mak]

Stacey- I would PM you if I knew how to... But I can tell you here since we have not actually purchased our new house and are still looking....... we are looking on the South Shore (Hingham is actually one of the towns and Duxbury) but we are also looking at the western suburbs like Hopkinton, Westborough, Southborough (a few more too). I grew up in the Western suburbs and have some friends still in that area, but also have a couple friends on the south shore. I think DH prefers the south shore since he is a water boy and would love to be near the water. But I have heard really great things about the western suburbs being geared more to young families, the schools, etc...so I am torn. We still have not sold our house, but hoping in the next few weeks as I am sooo sick of being kicked out for showings. We are spending Thanksgiving at my parents and I am spending a few extra days to look at more houses..so maybe I can tell you more after next week. A friend of mine gave me this article on the schools and towns for every suburb of Boston which is helping me a lot. When I am done with it, I could send it to you if you want. Even though I grew up there and even lived in the city after college for a couple years, I am now looking at moving as a mother/homeowner which is so different, I think. I was actually trying to talk DH into renting a place in the city for a year or two while our kids are young..I thought it might be REALLY fun...not sure he will go for that:rolleyes: !

[mia's mama]

MAK- My DH is a waterboy too...I just want to live somewhere with great schools and lots of young families. We need to be somewhat close to the shouth shore b/c we want to be near family (but not TOO near ;) ) and with easy access into the city. I love that you can pop the kids in the stroller and take the boat in from Hingham and be there in 30 minutes. It's such a PITA to drive into Boston with little kids and find parking. I would LOVE a copy of the article when you are done! Or, if you can give me the title, maybe I can google it? I have been trying to search online with headings like "Best places to raise a family near Boston" to no avail...

[mak]

Stacey- I forgot another town that I LOVE that we are looking at as well...was super pricey (not that Hingham is cheap:rolleyes: ) for a small home but now that prices are dropping it is much better, close to Boston, and close but also far enough away from Hingham ;) (about 20+ mins) is... Needham...which has great schools. DH likes Hingham better but it is close to drive to Logan Airport and Providence which would be great since my DH travels. If you know how PM me (is that email or private message???) and I will send you a copy of this article. It is from Boston Magazine but from around March last year- not exactly sure which month.

[mia's mama]

MAK-
Look up at the top of the page where it says "Welcome Mak". Click on the link under that where it says "private messages" and you should see your PM from me. From there it's just like email. :)
Also- what do you know about Canton? Anything?
~Stacey

[Abby'sMom]

Ok, so Abby is huge. We had her 2-year dr's appt today:

32 lbs 2 oz (90%)
37 3/4 inches (95%)

Screamed and cried the whole time, lucky us!

[mia's mama]

wow, sherry!
Speaking of a growth spurt! What happened to your tiny little peanut?:)

[Abby'sMom]

Stacey, I know! It's crazy how Abby and Mia used to be the same size. I knew she was tall because people in public would always ask how old she was, and when I told them they'd look shocked and say they thought she was 3. Heck, one guy actually asked if she was 4 once (which was just plain weird). I was stunned by the numbers, though.

[shania0474]

preschool we're applying to preschools for next year for David. He attends a twos program at a temple near us right now (1.5hrs a day, two days a week) and his speech has exploded since then so we're thinking of sending him to preschool next year (3-5 days a week for half days)

2 year stats I have a big boy too! Height is 38" and Weight is 33.5lbs (he's a skinny kid but I think the fact that he's so tall adds much to his weight). His ped said to me "I don't think you need to worry about his eating habits (or lack thereof) right now as he is obviously not going to disappear on us!

[mia's mama]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone that is celebrating today!

[Kates]

Bumping up to see if anyone wants to do a Christmas card exchange again this year? I can collect and send out the addresses again if people are interested.

[Abby'sMom]

Kate - I think I already have addresses for you, Annie, Joelle, Sara and Cindy.... Anyone else?

[duke's flygirl]

I'm interested too Kate...like Sherry, I have a few addresses already.

We are all sick in our house, and it SUCKS! I can't believe that it is already December!

[CMW02]

Hi everyone!! Been away for a while, as we went to California w/ the whole family for Thanksgiving. Super fun, but was glad to be home and in my own bed after nearly 10days away. :D

But, Stacey, I have to admit that I did think of you, b/c I was wondering HOW you could be thinking of moving away from that glorious sunshine state!
I LOVE Cali and would move there in a heartbeat! HAHA. I'm "working" on convincing DH, but it might be tough due to his job, and the fact that he isnt one who is big on the "heat". He grew up in Nevada and DETESTS the heat, which I who grew up in Seattle, LOVE! LOL
I was LOVING sitting outside on December 2nd, eating Ice Cream while wearing shorts and a t-shirt! How wonderful! Ha ha.

All is going well with us. Again, I'm LATE and Simone still hasnt had her 2yr WBV. I know..I'm SO BAD! I need to call today and make an appt. I can say that she is HUGE though!! Dont need the Dr to tell me that one! LOL

We got her a little bike for her b-day and she could barely reach the petals. Well, she must have had a growth spurt, b/c last night, she was riding it all over the family room and had NO PROBLEM w/ the pedals. Oy vei! I wonder just how tall she is now. People ask me everyday how old she is and then sit in AWE when I tell them she just turned 2. They all say WOW..she is so tall and talks so well!! Its kinda fun. :D

My pg is going well too. Just started to feel the fluttery movements and can really tell when Numero Dos is very active. We have our BIG u/s this coming Weds and I'm super excited. Hope the u/s tech is able to see the "goods" that day so I can know just WHO is inside. Wish me luck! :D

Hope you all had a super Thanksgiving. We sure did....but our trip was our "Christmas gift" so, our our Xmas will definitely be on the "smaller side"...but I'm sure we'll have fun nonetheless.

hugs!

[CMW02]

ps---I'd love to do the card exchange again too. I saved my list from last year, but if anyone who didnt partcipate last year, wants to again, just shoot me a PM or email!

[annielynn]

I am in for the Card Exchange I have a lot of our addys from last year (and from our baby shower gift exchange) ;) Hopefully I can get the cards ready to go in time for Christmas. :)

Things are going ready great over here. I have been in a funk for the last couple of weeks but I am starting to come out of it, thank goodness. Jack cannot wait to visit "ho-ho" this coming weekend. That is his new favorite person. Baby #2 is getting bigger and bigger and so is mommy. We will finally have our big u/s on January 9th. The holidays have made it impossible to schedule it any sooner. We are going to find out if this is a girl baby or a boy baby. Very exciting stuff!

[CMW02]

So, you ARE going to leave the green team then Annie?

YAY!!! I'm dying to know. Maybe we'll both pull a switcher-oo- and have another chance at
becoming in-laws. :D

[Abby'sMom]

Geez, I guess mak and I are the only ones woman enough to wait the full 9 months to find out both pgs! ;)

J/K, can't wait to find out. I guess girl for you both.

And boy for whomever is the next preggo! :D

[annielynn]

I thought that I would be able to wait the whole 9 months like the first time for some reason I really and DYING to know this time around. We have been talking about this since we first found out. With our luck we are going to get in there to find out and this little bugger is going to pull a fast one on us! :)

Is this one going to be an opposite too?!

[mak]

I would like to do the card exchange too but not sure if my cards will be done until the last minute. I did it last year but do not think I still have everyones address anymore???

Annie, can't wait to hear what you are having...so exciting!!

Abbysmom, would you find out next time...it scares me that I even think about a next time for me..am I crazy or what?

[Abby'sMom]

Megan, I don't know what we'd do. :) I'd probably want to know and DH wouldn't. So probably not. I DID tell him, however, that if we were ever to have twins, I'd want to know in advance.

I still have addresses for Megan, Stacey, Marlene, and the previously mentioned ladies. I can PM my address to anyone who wants it.... Or Kate can compile and send again. Is it pathetic that I still have the PM from LAST year? :o

[annielynn]

I dont think that I have your address Megan, but I would love to exchange cards. Do you want to PM me?

[K&H's mommy]

Hi Girls-

I would have loved to do the card exchange, but I already ordered my cards and sent them out today. :-( I don't have any left.

Poor Kyle is sick. He hasn't been sick in forever so he is miserable. Although, I think he is like his Daddy....gets a mild cold and the world is over, ha ha. I could have pneumonia and expect to act like everything is normal...ha ha!

[shania0474]

Hi ladies

Would have loved to do the card exchange too but I finally decided this morning that we're not doing cards at all this year. We tried to take christmas card photos two days ago and after about 40 minutes of trying to keep two very active boys still, we gave up. Plus David smashed my cell phone which was way more updated with addresses than the backup on my computer so I would have to call everybody for addresses. I am in the middle of so many projects (trying to get back into work mode after about almost a year of being at home, applying to preschools for David, getting the house in order) that I'm too busy to worry about that now.

I love sending cards out so I'm not happy about this decision but I don't need another thing to stress about right now.

K&H's Mommy Hope Kyle gets better soon. David has had a bad cough/cold too and I took him to the ped yesterday only to find out that his sickness is being worsened by the fact that his molars are coming in... :(

[annielynn]

BOY oh BOY! ;) Did I hear some news today that needs to be shared in here by a dear friend. psst psst

[CMW02]

ACK! Annie, you're always trying to OUT Me. :D

Okay, so I guess I'll spill the beans...

Well.......


I'm continuing the RO "opposite gender" trend for #2.

Yep, We're expecting a little BOY this time. :D :D :D

DH is out of his mind w/happiness, although he *hasn't* really said anything-I can just tell how he's walking a tad bit taller these days, and I am VERY happy myself.

I've already done some online "window" shopping for this little guy, who we are calling Jose Cuervo -for FUN/ie a joke- as the EDD is Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).


Now, we have to come up with a REAL name. Oy vei!!!
DH made me choose the name for Simone -well, I chose 10, he picked his 3 faves and then we narrowed it down together.
But, for his SON, I'm going to have HIM do the list of 10, and I'll choose my 3. This COULD turn out badly I'm sure, but I still have veto power, so I'm not too worried. :D

Now I can start on the NURSERY look!! YEAH!! :D

And my IL's are coming for Xmas, and MIL said last night that SHE IS SO EXCITED About going shopping for EVERYTHING for this little guy.
Its their 1st Grand-SON. There are already 3 girls, so everyone is in BOY heaven.

[AJX]

Congrats, Cindy!
For my money, though, all we've seen is people who had girls get boys, not truly an "RO opposite" trend. We've had one girl-girl case, one boy-boy case (where the second boy was the Nov 2004 baby), and one case where a Nov 2004 boy was followed by a 2006 girl--but that 2004 boy was actually following the birth of a girl years ago. So, we only have one case of the kind in which I am interested: that of a firstborn son being followed by a girl, and that's Sandie with Delia. All the one-case scenarios could be anomolous, and really all we have is a trend for Baby #2 to be a boy. Annielynn will have to tell in January to see if we've started a true trend for RO Opposites, regardless of the gender of #1.

Yeah, I should be studying for my Math Econ: Dynamics final I have to take on Saturday (blech!) at 11:30am. :p

[Kates]

I still have a list of addresses from last year's Christmas card exchange for:
Abby'sMom
annielynn
CMW02
Duke’s flygirl
Kates
MAK
Mia's Mama
MtySheera
If anyone wants the list, wants their name on the list, or wants their name off the list, please PM me!

[CMW02]

AJ,
In that case, I hope you get the one you are interested in! ;)

[Abby'sMom]

So I must b!tch: AF returned Saturday. :mad: So that means she came back at 3.5 months PP with Abby, and now 4 1/3 months PP with Logan (despite full-time BFing! A year my foot!). Any of our other recent ROs have a return visit yet or am I just the lucky one?

And AJ, dude, I had to read your post twice before I 'got it'. ;) (Of course, that may have something to do with Logan sleeping just an hour at a time these days, but I digress....) Maybe Stacey, Cindy and I merely have our own 'trend'.... :p

[mia's mama]

CINDY- A BIG CONGRATS TO YOU! :D
Hi guys...sorry, but I am "out" for the card exchange...I never seem to order enough cards even though I increase the count by 5 each year. I'll post a virtual card to you all though! *Image Removed*

Sherry- I am right there with you...AF showed up 4.5 months pp with both kids. I too am exclusively BFIng :rolleyes: ...lame.

We have all been sick and it suuucks...we've already missed two Christmas parties that we go to every year. Hopefully we are on the mend though.

Also- yep. We are leaving the warm CA sun and heading East this spring. We'll be beantowners with MAK by May 2007. :eek: My family is SO bummed...lucky for me they travel a lot so we'll still see them fairly often.

[K&H's mommy]

stacey - love the card!!! The kids are SO fricken adorable.

sherry - no AF for me and I never got it after Kyle, BUT....it's probably because I'm on the mini-pill and you aren't supposed to get it when you're on that. I was on it after Kyle too. I started cramping a couple weeks ago and I felt like it was coming but now nothing.

shania - hopefully David feels better! I will have to peek in Kyle's mouth to make sure he's not having teeth issues as well.

Cindy - congrats again on little Jose. :p

Kyle is feeling better, still with a booger filled nose, bleh. Anyone else dealing with a Daddy's kid? I swear, Kyle only wants Daddy all of the time. It's getting old and hurting my feelings. Sigh....

[mia's mama]

hee, sara thouse pics are priceless!
Yep, Mia is ALL DADDY ALL.THE.TIME. I actually like it though b/c it gives me a break the second he walks in the door. The 2 of them go off on a bike ride to get coffee and bagels every Saturday AM and I get to stay on bed for an extra hour with Jackson. Then she talks about it all week long.
M: "Hey Daddy- whaddya say we go down and git a bagel today!? "
DH:"Not today honey- daddy has to work"
M:"Bummer! We'll go on Saturday, Okay?"
This goes on EVERY morning until Saturday when she is literally leaping through the house shreaking with joy that Daddy will be home for the weekend. :rolleyes:

[AJX]

Cute holiday card, Stacey.
LOL on the breastpump photos, Sara. I expect X to try something after watching me with younger sibs.

I, too, cannot participate in the card exchange, because I am in the middle of finals and nothing is together. Once exams end, I'm working on a lit review and my grad-school application. BUT I would LOVE to see photos and cards posted here or on LJ. :)

[mak]

Cindy- CONGRATS on your boy!

Sherry- I got my AF back 3 months after Mimi and 4 months after Ella. It totally screwed up my supply- I think I ate oatmeal and drank that tea for weeks after.

Stacey- ADORABLE card. Jackson is getting so big and is a handsome little guy. They do not look that much a like anymore to me? Mia's curls are too cute.

Sara- awesome pictures...Mimi carries my pump around like it is her purse but would NEVER turn it on as the noise still scares her.

Mimi is not a Daddy's girl and neither is Ella. They both love him but totally prefer me. Very flattering and all..but sometimes Mommy would LOVE for her arms to be free! I am sure it has something to do with the fact he travels. Mimi runs to the door and is soooo happy when he is home...but definitely never likes to lose sight of me. She does not even leave my side at classes or playgroups until she gets comfortable (which is sometimes when it is time to leave).

Anyone having issues with hitting? Mimi hits me when she is frustrated or not getting what she wants. She is not hitting hard and I do not think she is trying to hurt me..more frustrated and does not have the words to tell me what she needs at the time...but it is driving me NUTS. She spends a good portion of her day on the step for time outs for doing this. She always says sorry but not sure what else I can do......

[CMW02]

Mak: No hitting per se, but we are definitely dealing with mini tantrums and when she gets angry or frustrated, she throws things. Today I gave her some egg nog and she got mad and yep, it went ALL over the floor. SO very frustrating, and I dont really know what to do either. She went for a time out and then to a nap shortly after that. {shrugs}. This stuff is HARD to deal with isnt it??

Stacey: LOVE the card. The kiddos are SO cute!!! And, I still cant believe you are leaving sunny CA. ;p

Sara: GREAT pics. Kyle man is SO hilarious. Save those for the future and show him. How much would he hate you? LOL. (I'm only kidding). I too, forsee Simone trying the same thing, or at the very least trying to breastfeed a dolly, once "Jose" arrives and she sees me.

Sherry: Sorry about the evil Aunt showing up. I think I was around 4months pp when she showed up for me in 05.

Cards: I DO want to participate and will send them out. I'm desperately trying to get them done this week..crossing my fingers. I promise, they WILL go out. Just may be closer to Xmas then before. haha

daddy's girl? I'm with Mak on this one. Simone LOVES her daddy and runs to him when he gets home...but she MUCH prefers MY lap, or to snuggle with me...24x7. Like Mak said, I'd LOVE to get a breather at times. I feel so guitly even saying that though. ;p

Hope you are all doing well!
Happy Holidays to you all.

[duke's flygirl]

Okay, so I am late as usual to the party!

Cindy: Congrats again on Jose!

Sara: Those pictures are to die for! I have some of R nursing her babies, but those are hilarious!

Stacey: I missed you card! Darn it! You will be on my coast now, and we have always planned a trip to Boston as DH is a HUGE Bruins fan, so maybe we can meet up when it happens.

Megan: Sorry to hear about the hitting, I hope it gets better soon. R hasn't really done that but for a couple of times.

Sherry: Sorry to hear about Logan and his lack of sleeping! I hope you get some sleep soon!

Daddy's Girl: BIG time! But I think that stems from the fact that he was home for the first 6+ weeks when Liam was born, and then he had to go to sea in November for 3 weeks. She does still want some Mommy time too though.

Card Exchange: I have most of my cards in the mail, I think the only address from that list that I am missing is Marlene's.

I laugh at the antics that Ryleigh pulls daily! She woke me up the other morning with "Morning Sweetie", which is how we great her in the mornings!

We are still having her up 3-4 times a week in the middle of the night and in bed with us. It is draining, but I am lucky that Liam is only up 1-2 times a night now. She loves Liam, sometimes TOO much, but is usually gentle with him, but there have been the odd instances where she is quite rough, but he seems to be a tough one!

We are getting ready to leave for Ontario and Christmas with my family. We are excited about it. My sister will be taking Ryleigh to Disney on Ice again this year, it has become a "tradition" between Chocha(my sister) and Ryleigh. Last year was Monsters Inc, this year is Mickey and Minnie! It will be the first time for EJ to take RJ alone...so it will be interesting I am sure!

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!

Take Care,

Joelle

[annielynn]

What a busy time of year huh?! I am trying to keep up.

Joelle - I got your Christmas card in the mail a couple of days ago. I love it. Jack gave Liam a big kiss. He loves babies! Love the picture. Have a safe trip to Ontario and a great time when you get there.

Cindy - I cannot even count the number of times that Jack has gotten mad at me and some kind of drink has ended up on the floor. I just cleaned my carpets before his birthday party and now I will have to do it again. Very irritating.

Megan - Jack is a hitter but lately he only hits himself! It really bothers me. He will tell me no, and slap himself upside the head. I dont' know what to do to get him to stop that. And lately he has been spending a lot of his evening in time out as well.

Stacey - I love the Christmas card VERY VERY cute. That story about M and her daddy is precious. There is no doubt that that little girl LOVES her daddy.

Sara - Kyle is too frickin funny! Those are definitely black mail pictures for later in life. Is he feeling better today? OH and I see that you have the same Dancing Snowman that we have! Does Kyle like to turn that on as much as Jack loves to turn on ours? Jack has also learned to dance just like the snow man. I just love it!

AJ - We will find out in January what we are having. Then we will for sure see if we have a trend going on. Good luck with all your finals.

I have a Daddy's boy. Jack just lights up at the sound of Daddy's voice. And at night when Daddy calls to say he is on his way home he squeals with delight. There is a lot of love between Daddy and his little man. I love to see it!

We have had a couple of name choices that we have decided upon

Boy - Henry James
Girl - Claire ???

We are having problems finding a middle name for our baby girl. Any suggestions?!

[mak]

Annie- What about Anne or Ann (after you?) or is there someone in your family that you might use their name as a daughter's middle name? Adorable names BTW...Both sound really nice with Jack. Henry is one of my favorites.

I JUST finished my cards and I am actually 3 short.:eek: .so unless I can find some more cards tomorrow..I may not be able to do the exchange this year...sorry!!! I am hoping to find some cards tomorrow and just include the picture with it.

[Abby'sMom]

Megan - What I did last year was this - when I ran out of official photo cards, I sent out plain ones that I had in a box of Christmas stuff. :o Not ideal, but I've always been of the opinion that it's better than no card at all. :)

Speaking of cards, must work on finishing up with my last ones for this year!

[AJX]

I can't do this on LJ b/c the offending person is there, and I never 100% trust the post filters. :p Not a CC person, though, obviously.
Hey, are you not black? Let me do you a favor: Watch what you say about black hair, including the hair of the part-black and their children. Do not describe perfectly normal, healthy curly hair as "crazy," "fuzzy," "wild," or "untamed." Crazy is not a value-neutral term. "Curly" will do. If you know some technical terms like a hairdresser would use, it is fair to call most black and/or curly hair porous. You look ignorant and racist in the sense of holding everything to a standard of beauty where European types are considered the norm from which all others deviate, usually in ways considered inferior.
Think before you speak. I have no problem with curious questions, even ones that betray bias, like when asked how I care for his hair followed by, "It must be really hard to manage." How is that? I don't need barrettes and stuff like you do to keep it out of his face because his hair stands on its own. I only have to wash it once a week. (Advice, actually, hairdressers give lots of different hair, but few non-blacks heed.) Why is dealing with hair that is oilier, pin straight, and stuck flat against the head easier or better? It's simply different.
Thank you.

[Abby'sMom]

YIKES, but thanks for the PSA, AJ. Honestly, I probably wouldn't think much of calling someone's hair crazy, regardless of race (eg, Abby's hair is frequently what I would call crazy), but I'll think better of it now.

FWIW, I don't really see how X's hair would be hard to handle... it looks so soft. And you're totally right about hair falling into the eyes when it's straight - a very annoying by-product of that kind of hair. :rolleyes:

[AJX]

Oh, I know. "Crazy" probably wouldn't be as big a problem on its own except for the context of the other adjectives listed above being employed by the same person to descibe my own hair. And I don't think his hair is crazy. I think it's cute and full.
I just needed to let off some steam.
I was also moved by singer Corinne Bailey Rae's mini-interview in the December "Allure" that includes:
Q: You sing, "Got to love that Afro hairdo." Did you ever straighten your hair?
A: I did all sorts of things to my hair when I was younger. [I]I've only just got used to having natural hair and feeling like that is good hair to have. Alice Walker wrote that oppressed hair puts a ceiling on the brain. There's a lot of politics to black hair.

Here is the guy's "holiday photo," taken on his birthday before he was dunked in a bath and his curls slicked with my hair products for Chuck E Cheese.
(Nicked for safety.)

[CMW02]

AJ,
Thanks for the PSA. Sorely needed, apparently.
I'm not black, but I've had what I refer to as difficult hair, my whole life. I'm 35 and JUST NOW learning how to "do" my do. :p

FWIW, I LOVE X's hair! My DH has hair like his, and its AWESOME! Soft and curly!! I WISH my curls were as soft and non frizzy as theirs! And by frizzy, I'm really saying I have frizzy THICK hair. W/o tons of product, I could look like I stepped out of a wind tunnel! And please dont let it rain on my hair...yikes!!!

When I was 13, my hair was awful. Part straight, part "curly/Frizzy and thick". My *nice* hairdresser even commented about how I "ruined" and "dulled" her brand new shears.
Jeesh. Sorry! And at 13, yeah, I so didnt need that comment to help my already fragile self esteem.

So far, DD's hair, well, what there IS of it..is gorgeous!!! I PRAY that my son gets hair like X!!!

[CMW02]

Sherry: I received your card in the mail! Thank you!! It is absolutely beautiful. You have such a gorgeous family!

Joelle: LOVE your card!!! I cant believe how much Ry looks like her daddy.

I did get my cards ordered, picked up and enveloped...now just have to address them and get them into the box! I'm SO behind this year!!! Yikes. lol

[mak]

Still have yet to find replacement cards to the ones I ran out of...so I think I have to say SORRY as no way will I be able to get them out before the weekend now as my in-laws arrive on Wed. and I have so much to do. SO I apologize...unless I find cards tomorrow..I am out on the card exchange.

[Paula R]

Cards Had pictures made but still haven't addressed any cards. I'm hoping to get them out by July.

Sara Those pictures of Kyle is too funny! I too have a daddy's baby and sometime I have to laugh to keep from crying because it really does hurt my feelings some times. When daddy's around, I do not exist in Caden's world. Saturday, he woke up from his nap went to his dad and snuggled with him and gave him a hug and a kiss. I asked "can mommy have a hug and kiss too" Caden answered "NO" and frowned at me like I was crazy for even thinking he would. His dad tried to talk him into giving me a hug and kiss but he would not. He literally hangs onto his dad all day.

Mak Cute picture of your girls!

AJI hear you on the hair! I just wish my boys would grow some hair. I love X's curly hair.

Annie I love the name Claire with Jack. I want you to have a girl because well, I want everybody to have a girl since I didn't get one and I'm through trying

Cindy Congratulations on your boy! Caden loves his tantrum too he gets mad and pushes him plate onto the floor. When I give him snacks while driving, he gets mad and dumps them on the floor of the car!

Stacey I missed the pictures of your kids but I just know it was beautiful because Mia takes such great pictures.


Not too much going on with us. Still haven't taken Caden for his two year doctors appointment yet but I have it scheduled for next week. During the last week, Caden has had a language explosion. I still can't always make out what he's saying but he talks a lot more now. This week he started speaking in complete sentences and I am amazed every day to hear him talk. This morning on the way to daycare, he said "I don't want to go to school. I want to go to the toy store" I could only laugh at him.

[Paula R]

QOTD What are you getting your children for christmas? I'm asking because I am at a loss as to what to get Caden. Most things I would think to buy him we already have because we bought it for his brother at that age. The only think I have bought him so far are some Melissa and Doug puzzles because he is really into puzzles right now. I also bought him a toy Saxophone and Trumpet becuase he love to try and blow into the trumpet ornament on the tree.

[K&H's mommy]

I too have a daddy's baby and sometime I have to laugh to keep from crying because it really does hurt my feelings some times. When daddy's around, I do not exist in Caden's world. Saturday, he woke up from his nap went to his dad and snuggled with him and gave him a hug and a kiss. I asked "can mommy have a hug and kiss too" Caden answered "NO" and frowned at me like I was crazy for even thinking he would. His dad tried to talk him into giving me a hug and kiss but he would not. He literally hangs onto his dad all day.

Oh my gosh Paula, the b-day twins strike again. I had to read your response to my DH becuase it sounds EXACTLY like Kyle. I have cried about it though, I'll admit it! He has never denied a kiss from Daddy....only mommy! I keep telling my self he will be a mommy's boy when he's older!

Christmas gifts - Kyle is getting some cars (large & small), a little train track, and few other things. He picked out all of his toys at the store last month and then I got home and put them away. Ha ha!

[Paula R]

I am sending different pictures in my christmas cards this year. This is one of the pictures of the boys:


Notice that Caden is not smiling in either of them. I don't think I have one single picture of Caden with a smile on his face. He is turning out to be one stubborn kid.

[annielynn]

Paula, those pictures two pictures of your boys are to DIE for! What handsome little boys.

QOTD - Jack is going to get a big Tonka dump truck, a new big boy blankie (he is still using the baby ones and they are just a tad too small for him), some new clothes, a new book for his leapster and whatever else catches my eye! :)

[MtySheera]

Mak: Your girls look so much alike! Really cute!

Paula: Wow, you've got 2 great looking boys there. Those pictures are great!

QOTD: We got Frankie a bike, a few additions to his GeoTrax set, the Cars track, a play castle (which he asked Santa for) and other misc. stuff. It was funny because my DH said maybe we should keep one of his presents for something else since he'll get a ton of stuff from the rest of the family. So I start naming off things to keep...the castle...nope, he asked Santa for that so we should give it to him. One GeoTrax set...nope, he wants to play with those with Frankie. The Cars set...nope,...he really liked that. So we aren't keeping anything and giving him everything :rolleyes:

I feel like Frankie has WAY too many toys! I haven't given anything away because I hope we have another (or more) kids and they will play with the toys. My sister just had a baby so I'm hoping he'll play with them also. What do you all do with the toys that are filling your houses?

Also, thanks everyone for the cards you have sent. I love seeing all of the pictures!!

[K&H's mommy]

Paula - oh girl, I feel sorry for you....your phone is going to be ringing off the hook in a few years with little females calling for your boys!!! LOL! They are just gorgeous - and I want to grab Caden and kiss him, look at those lips!!!

mak - Your girls are beautiful! They look so much alike!


What do you all do with the toys that are filling your houses?

When Kyle was done we saved them because we knew that we were going to have another one. Some of his "boy" baby toys we have donated to an abused women's shelter and will do the same when Allison is done with the toys.

[AJX]

Mak, Paula, so cute!

Paula, that's funny that you have Melissa & Doug puzzles, because here we're always given the impression that they're a local creation, like you can't get them everywhere. (I do believe it's an ON company.)


QOTD: No idea what to do. We're keeping them for future kids, but we don't have that much room. Between presents from friends and family and me liking the latest and greatest, I'm very tempted to give a lot of toys and clothes away and re-purchase what I want for future ones. :p But I know that isn't reasonable either. I just wish people would get him different toys, like the Mega Bloks my grandma got him, because we are overrun with cars, trucks, and trains, which people like to get him b/c he gives them an immediate super-positive response and they can be found at any price point one needs for a gift. But he needs to develop other skills and aspects of his intellect and personality.

ETA: Oh, yeah, my whole reason for posting. LJ and such is so quiet I thought I'd pop over here and say Merry Christmas before you all completely disappear for the holiday!

[CMW02]

Paula: WOW! Your boys are absolutely GORGEOUS!! They look so much alike...they will probably pass for twins when they get a bit closer in size. :)

Gifts: Well, her big gifts WAS our trip to Disneyland after Thxgvg.
Other than that...its all things and EVERYTHING Disney/Princess, it seems.
Oy vei!

And I "used" to be one of those moms who said her kid was NOT going to buy into the whole "princess" theme...no need to get her all disappointed when the prince doesnt arrive on his white horse. LOL

Well, I'm eating my words BIG TIME..b/c she is addicted to Ariel and Cinderella...and her favorite saying lately is: DREAMS COME TRUE!

I just sit back and shake my head at myself. LOL !! :D

Merry Christmas to you all!

Cindy and family

[annielynn]

Merry Christmas everyone! So was this year WAY more fun with your 2 year olds than last year?! ?! I know that ours was.

[CMW02]

I hope you all had a great holiday! And ITA w/Annie. This year WAS tons of fun w/ the little one. :)
A lot different than last years...but still fun. I think Simone was looking for more presents all day....all over the house!

Okay...now that the Holiday excitement is behind me...I'm movin on to Baby #2 excitement! LOL

RO's...tell me what you HAD to have for baby 2/3, and what you DIDNT need use etc.

I guess I'm just wondering WHAT else I'll need/want to buy.

For instance...the dbl strollers.
I *think* I may need one, but will I really? If so, what is the best option for me? Right now I'm leaning towards the Graco DuoGlider simply b/c I have the Graco Quatro w/infant seat and I loved it. Bonus is that the Duo will allow me to use the infant seat this time too.

But, did you find that you had the dbl stroller and yet, didnt use it?
Did you do a sling/carrier for baby, and single stroller for toddler?

How much did you go really go out/ with both of them? Is a dbl stroller really a necessity?

Last time, we had a cradle for baby. This time I'm thinking of getting the CoSleeper bedside thing.
Do any of you have this? Did you like it?

I am TIRED of babies in my bed..Simone still comes over now and again...yet I know when its 3am, and "Jose" needs feeding..I'm going to cry if I have to get up all night long.

So, thats why I'm thinking the co-sleeper will work.

Thoughts?

I'm just plain ol tired and dont want to have to think. Will you RO's do the thinking for me??? PLEASE!!! LOL :D

What do I absolutely need to have for baby 2??

[annielynn]

I am so glad that you posted these questions Cindy because i was thinking the same thing. Do I want a sling to carry baby and put Jack in the stroller? Do I was to try and get a Sit and Stand stroller and hope that Jack doens't try and run away everytime I stop the stroller.

I do know that I will be using the bassinet again for this baby. Jack is really good at staying in his own bed. I can count on one hand the # of times he has come to crawl into bed with us in the middle of the night.

[CMW02]

I can count on one hand the # of times he has come to crawl into bed with us in the middle of the night

MAN I'm so jealous!!!!! Simone loves to come to our bed and lay sideways btwn DH and I. Yeah..so I find myself hanging on for dear life to the edge of my bed!!
Plus, I am so tired of her feet being drilled into my sides at night. ;p

Each night that Simone stays in her bed until 6am, DH and I celebrate!!! LOL :D

[shania0474]

RO's...tell me what you HAD to have for baby 2/3, and what you DIDNT need use etc.

I guess I'm just wondering WHAT else I'll need/want to buy.

For instance...the dbl strollers....
But, did you find that you had the dbl stroller and yet, didnt use it?
Did you do a sling/carrier for baby, and single stroller for toddler?

How much did you go really go out/ with both of them? Is a dbl stroller really a necessity?

Last time, we had a cradle for baby. This time I'm thinking of getting the CoSleeper bedside thing.
Do any of you have this? Did you like it?

I am TIRED of babies in my bed..Simone still comes over now and again...yet I know when its 3am, and "Jose" needs feeding..I'm going to cry if I have to get up all night long.

So, thats why I'm thinking the co-sleeper will work.

Thoughts?

I'm just plain ol tired and dont want to have to think. Will you RO's do the thinking for me??? PLEASE!!! LOL :D

What do I absolutely need to have for baby 2??

I didn't buy much for baby #2 at the beginning because we really did have everything. David was 16 months old when Gabriel was born so we had to buy another crib because D was still using his. And we got a new bassinet for G because we had inherited D's from a friend who had used it for two children and it wasn't in good shape for a fourth... so we bought those two things and decided to wait. After G was born however, I started getting things for him (an excuse to get out of the house with David while my mom looked after G).

At first I did the sling/single stroller thing, especially after my mom left and I had to take both kids out by myself but it was only on few occasions because I almost always had someone with me (DH, SIL, bff, babysitter/helper) and we just used David's old Graco travel system for G and the maclaren single for D. After a while though, I felt like a prisoner because I couldn't go anywhere with the two of them unless I had someone with me (by then, G was getting too heavy for the sling and it was getting awkward pushing the stroller with a big baby attached to my chest) so I got a double stroller...! BEST DECISION EVER!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE our double... it is a Phil & Ted's E3 double buggy and it is the best. Dream to push (you can push with one hand, even one finger!), as narrow as a single stroller so fits in narrow doorways and elevators, and the kids love it! We get stopped by at least three people everytime we take the kids out in it because everyone wants to know what it is and where we got it. Highly recommend it.

[mak]

I did not buy all that much either for Baby #2. I did buy a crib and also more crib bedding but my girls are less than 17 months apart. I may not have needed to since I kept both of my girls in a bassinet until they were 6 months.

I did get a double stroller and have the E3 (Phil and Ted's) and Maclaren Twin Techno. I LOVE the E3 and not a huge fan of the Maclaren. Although, I really do not get out with the both of them where I need to use a double stroller (other than walks) all that much. I use my single stroller the MOST still since Ella is still in an infant carrier(she only weighs 14+ lbs at 7 months) and have Mimi hold onto the side of the stroller and walk. I do not run errands with them...so it is pretty much in and out of the car to music classes and gym classes that I use the single stroller and have Mimi walk. Other than that...it is for exercise and I probably could use more of a jogging stroller. The Maclaren does not fit into most doorways (i have found) and is REALLY heavy. So, I do use the E3 (and think it is a great stroller) but definitely use my infant carrier stroller the most still at 7 months.

[annielynn]

OK Cindy, I shouldn't have said a thing about Jack not sleeping with us!!!!!! Guess who decided at 1am that he didn't want to sleep in bed?! He ended laying down with us for a "couple of minutes" and was there all night long. And this....
MAN I'm so jealous!!!!! Simone loves to come to our bed and lay sideways btwn DH and I. Yeah..so I find myself hanging on for dear life to the edge of my bed!!
Plus, I am so tired of her feet being drilled into my sides at night. ;p

is what he did! Oh yippee. He is staying in his bed tonight. I cannot handle that. I don't sleep well at night anyway. Having my child in bed with me makes it worse. GOOD GRIEF!

[CMW02]

Oh Annie I feel your pain and SORRY!!! But, that does make me feel better. (I'm just joking) :D

Mak and Shania: Thank you!! I am also looking at the E3 (thx to Miasmama and Mak discussing it aways back and I remembered). Right now, its between the E3 and the Duo. I like how the E3 is not wide..and can fit thru normal doorways.
I might splurge on the E3 and try to find a Duo or similar on Craigslist for cheaper. :p

[mia's mama]

I too love the E3! But like MAK, we have been using the infant seat with the snap & go for most errands b/c Mia is pretty good now about walking by my side. We use the E3 around the neighborhood. I find that the fold on it is kind of annoying and you have to remove the back seat to do so...unless I'm missing something...am I?

Other than that, I went crazy on clothes...C.R.A.Z.Y. I thought girls' clothing was so much fun, but now I am an old navy addict for J. I'm not really into "baby" boy clothing, but love all of the stuff that my DH would wear in a larger size.

co-sleeper- I bought one this time for Jackson and although I like it, I don't use it the way it was meant for. I have it pushed up against the way in our room...more like bassinet. It was too much of a PITA to get in and out of bed with it attached. We are STILL using it at 5 months although J only sleeps in it for the first part of the night and then ends up in our bed. I would love to move hm into his crib, but since M & J have to share a room until we move, it just won't work right now...J is up WAY TOO MANY times/night. I don't want Mia (my great sleeper) to suffer.

sepaking of moving, we are putting our house on the market Feb 1 and hope to move to Boston my end of April/Early May! It's going to be a crazy ride for the next few months! I am dreading all of the open houses, packing and moving clear accross the country with 2 little ones! Yikes! Of course they each got about 72 LARGE toys for Christmas that I am now going to have to pack up before our house goes on the market :rolleyes: ...we need to make this place appear more spacious than it is!

[K&H's mommy]

I already posted to you girls in your LJ so don't need to repost the efforts! If I think of anything else I will pass it on.

Kyle had an overwhelming Christmas and received WAAAAY too much stuff. Of course after opening all of the stuff (for 12 hours) from all of our family, he continued to play with his "Cars" toy that he got at Burger King months ago. Figures, eh?

Stacey - oh girl I do not envy you! We did the house on the market/selling thing the beginning of Summer (went on the market in April). The hard part for me was when people would call and want to see the house, then I would get out of the house with the kids, and then they wouldn't show up!!! UGH - so frustrating! That and keeping the house looking like a museum...ha ha! I hope your house sells FAST!

[AJX]

Sara, of course K wants the BK car. X's paternal grandma and great-grandma spent about $500 on him, but all he played with was the $3 they spent on three Matchbox cars that were in his stocking. They're easy to please at this age, and presents should be scaled down accordingly.
I wish I'd been improper and told everyone to donate money to the X Kettler Trike fund. I want to buy him one come spring (when he can use it outside). :p

Stacey, LJ. I can set up an account for you, easy-peasy. Besides all the info and discussions that actually matter, you could also see photographic proof that X owns at least half of everything Old Navy makes for little boys. ;) I look at the laundry sometimes and swear X must be their toddler spokesperson.
Good luck with the big move!

[annielynn]

Well after waiting what seemed like forever we finally had our level 2 u/s yesterday. And I decided to find out whether I was carrying a little girl or little boy. I am happy to say that Claire Ryanne is a perfectly healthy little girl!!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/Itsagirl.jpg

With long beautiful legs.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/Shehaslegs.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/Herprettyface.jpg

She wasn't very cooperative yesterday. She is currently breech and seems really comfy like that. We almost didn't get to find out because she was being so dainty. She had her knees together and her ankles crossed.

We are feeling very blessed and a little overwhelmed. I have no idea what to do with a baby girl. ;) She will have lots of play clothes though. Jeans and T-shirts is all that this little girl has right now.

My OB appt went very well. I have only gained 6lbs in 6 weeks. My BP was 119/72 which is the best yet. And baby girls HR was at 138bpm. I was a very happy mommy when we left the office yesterday.

[Abby'sMom]

Yay Annie. :) Girls are so so fun, really.

[K&H's mommy]

Congrats again Annie!!! Welcome to GIRL shopping - LOL!

Hope everyone else is doing well! Poor Kyle has had some form of a cold for 5 weeks now, ugh! Enough already! We are taking the kids to Disneyland this weekend so hopefully he will feel better.

[CMW02]

Annie: I know I've said it already, but CONGRATS on your little GIRL

I love her name. So beautiful. :D

[mia's mama]

CONGRATS, ANNIE!!!! You will LOVE having a girl...not that little boys arn't fun too. :D

[mia's mama]

Hey Sherry- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (I was lurking the the Aug. thread). :)

[Abby'sMom]

I feel so popular today! :D Thanks Stacey.

[duke's flygirl]

Congrats again Annie! Girl shopping is SO much fun! I'm still getting used to the boy shopping!

Sara: Love that picture of Kyle and Allison!

Sherry: Happy Birthday again! I think I have it covered all over the place now! LOL

[mia's mama]

Sara- Meant to say that I can really see the resemblance between Kyle and Allison...so cute!

[Paula R]

Congratulations Annie. I love the name.

I agree with Stacey, you can really start to see the resemblance between Kyle and Allison.

[mak]

Congratulations Annie!!! So exciting....and I LOVE the name!

[mia's mama]

mak- how's the house selling/hunting going? Ours goes on the market Feb 1st and I am SO not looking forward to it! We are flying back to Boston in late Feb to look at neighborhoods/houses. Have you made any forther decisions? We'll still be looking in the Newton? Needham area, but have expanded our search to include South Natick as well. I swear I'm not stalking you though...just curious ;).

Things here are good...except for sleep STILL. Jackson is 6 months old and just as much of a peanut as his sister was (is). I don't know why it stresses me out...I guess that's just the way my kids are built. He's only in the 5th% for weight (14.10lbs), but in the 90th% for height (27 3/4"). Mia is still only 24 lbs (around the 10th%), but is up in the 88th% for height. I swear I feed my kids...:rolleyes:

[mak]

mia's mama- We actually just accepted an offer yesterday :D and are signing the papers today...we are keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out. The couple who bought our home want to close at the end of Feb since she is pregnant..which means we are moving by March 1st. I hope your house sells QUICK...this has been really rough trying to get out of the house for showings and keeping our house perfect 24 hours a day (nearly impossible with a 2 year old and infant). We have had steady activity the last 3 months...we even had a showing on December 26. That was so insane- we were throwing all the girls big toys in the car since we did not know what to do with everything!!! So I hope your home sells VERY fast- because as I told DH..the next house we buy- I am NEVER LEAVING;) !
That being said..we are looking into new construction. Since I doubt that we will find something that we will be able to close on by the end of next month, we will probably just stay at my parents (they are in Florida for the winter) for a couple of weeks/months. We are also looking in South Natick, Hopkinton, Westborough. I will let you know when we find something.
Don't stress out about your kids weight..Ella only weighs 15 pounds (at almost 8 months!!!!) and Mimi weighs 26. Besides being thin, Ella is so short so she looks about 4-5 months old and I spend MY DAY feeding her. The only thing she likes is Gerber Puffs which have no fat:rolleyes: !

[mak]

I had to post this picture...

Since we have the e3, Mimi gets confused about the basket in some strollers being the back seat now. If we do not have the back seat attached and Ella is in the front seat, she tries to climb in the basket (although she always rides in front). Last night, DH told Mimi they were going to take a quick walk to our neighbors and he was going to just use our snap and go with Ella in her carrier, he brought it in the house and was getting Ella ready to go when he heard" LEt's go, Daddy, LEt's go and then he saw this.... (and this is our SNAP and GO).....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/370806552_e444d784b3_m.jpg

[duke's flygirl]

Megan, that is so funny! Mimi sounds like a riot!

[mia's mama]

hehe...Megan. Mimi is too cute!

[AJX]

LOL, Megan. I'll have to remember that cautionary tale if I or my friends get a Phil & Ted. ;)

[CMW02]

that is hilarious Megan!!

[mak]

Question- Is your DC still napping and if they are..are they napping later in the afternoon? Mimi always used to nap from 12:30-2:30/3:00 and the last 3 days she has not fallen asleep until about 2:30 and then I have to wake her around 4 or I am afraid she will be up all night. She is such a grump for the rest of the afternoon if I have to wake her. She usually goes down for the night around 7:30/8 and then wakes around 7:30 in the morning. Just not sure if I should be napping her later?

[Abby'sMom]

Oh geez, Megan, that pic is hilarious! You should submit it to a parenting magazine or something.

As for napping... Abby quit about 6 months ago. :( She goes to bed at 8:30 and is almost always up by 7:30 to 8. If she does nap during the day (and she will maybe once or twice a month), it just pushes back bedtime, so I gave up. It stinks because I wish she would nap, but I hate it when she's up til 11 PM so we let it go.

[K&H's mommy]

Kyle takes a nap at about 2:30 and sleeps until 4:30 or 5:00. He goes down for bed at about 8:00pm and sleeps until 7:00am. He would rather take his nap at about 1pm but we have to get DD from school and don't get back until 2:30. He usually falls asleep in the car on the way there and I have to carry his deadweight body into the house... ;-)

[AJX]

X naps around 2-4pm, but about once a week, he wants to skip the nap altogether. He also plays around for about 20 minutes before he naps unless I have put a lot of effort into tiring him out at the gym and the park and letting him run around the mall and in the stores without a cart or stroller. (We haven't used the stroller in months.)
Even if he gets up at 4:40pm, he still goes down for bed at 8:30pm, getting up around 7:30pm.
His naps aren't as smooth or as regular as they sound, and cause me stress in that I don't know how much time I have to get chores or school work done. He and DH took a 3.5 hour nap together on Saturday, and I could have gone to the library and studied, but I thought I had more like 90 minutes, so I stayed home. :p

[annielynn]

Jack is still a napper although some days are better than others! At daycare he goes down for a nap (all the kids do) at 12:30 right after lunch and he sleeps for about an hour. On the weekends he usually goes down about 2 and sleep for 2 hours. It is nice that he still takes a nap. I relish that time. Usually his bed time is 8:30 but lately he has been going to be at 9 and up by 7, 7:30am.

Meg - Mimi is such a trip. That picture is priceless.

[Paula R]

The picture of Mimi is too cute!

Caden is in daycare and all of the kids take a nap around 12. Caden will usually sleep until 2:30pm when the teacher has to wake him up. He goes to bedbetween 8:30 -9 each night and wakes up around 7 am.

[Abby'sMom]

Can I just say how bloody jealous I am that all of your kids still nap?! Between Logan waking up 6-8 times overnight every night and Abby not napping, I get no sleep and no free time. Not fair!

[duke's flygirl]

Sherry: I'm sorry that Abby doesn't nap! That must be very hard for you! When both her and Logan are teens you won't be able to keep them AWAKE!

Ryleigh still naps, she goes down anywhere between 1230 and 1pm at daycare and will have about an hour nap. On the weekends when she is home with us, she still goes down between 1230 and 1pm, but will sometimes nap for 1-2 hours. Now if only I could get the 2 of them to nap at the same time more often!

She goes to bed between 8 and 830 and has stories read and is asleep generally by 9pm, and then is up for the day between 630 and 8am.

[Abby'sMom]

Here's my baby boy on his 6-month birthday. No Abby because she refused to sit for any pictures. :rolleyes:

My LJ gals have seen this already...
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/pinkbunny11/scan0010-1.jpg

[shania0474]

Hi ladies, it's been a while but I wanted to drop in and say hi!

Sherry very cute photo. Logan has a really great smile/toothless grin. David still naps as well. On days he goes to school (2 days a week) and is back at 1pm, he naps from 1:30 to 3pm. Other days, he naps from 12:30 to 2pm. He's in bed by 7pm (8pm on school days since he naps late).

ETA: Congratulations, Annie! I just went back to read the posts I missed.

[mia's mama]

Sherry- I said it in the July thread too, but I LOVE that pic of Logan!

Naps- Mia still naps about 5 days/week. She usually goes down around 12:30 and will sometimes sleep 3 hours! Usually it's more like 2 hours though and about twice/week she won't sleep at all- just read books and play. I won't let her out of her room though until she's at least had some quiet time for 2 hours. She doesn't seem to mind, and I need the downtime! At night she sleeps 7pm-7am. She's a great sleeper, but Jackson not so much. He goes down at 6pm and is typically up at 9pm, 12:30am, 3:30am and 5 am for the day. SOMETIMES he will go back down until 7am, but it's rare. I have tried to push back his bedtime a bit too, but he FALLS apart by 6pm...he's a terrible napper too.

My fear is that Mia will start dropping naps altogether b/c our house is on the market (as of last Friday) and we have to be out of it for open houses and showings quite often....ugh.

[mia's mama]

Mia is all about dressing up and dancing these days. Here are a few pics of my cowgirl-princess-butterfly shaking her groove thing.:D

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/380130993_d2b80c4710_m.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/380130999_f55b3d463f_m.jpg

[babyjinks]

Awwww everybody is getting so big!

[Abby'sMom]

Uh, babyjinks, is there something you'd like to share with us...?

[K&H's mommy]

oh babyjinks do share!

Kyle went pee pee on the potty two times yesterday! I know a lot of yours are already pottytrained but this is a big deal in our house! Hopefully it continues! His vocabulary is exploding (finally!) Still loves his sister (a little too much sometimes). Allison is 5 months old and doing great. We broke down yesterday and bought a new Honda Odyssey. Just needed more space!! I know Hanna will appreciate not being crammed in between two carseats!

[Kates]

Ohhhhh, babyjinks, share, share :D
Stacey - Mia is so cute! Sorry Jackson is such a crappy sleeper. Good luck selling your house.
Sara- I love the last picture of Kyle, that's so funny. Yay for the mama-mobile ;)
-----
It's been forever since I've posted, I'm mostly on Livejournal now, and barely have time to post there!
We switched Grady over to a new daycare last week. I think it's going well, except that he cries every morning going to the new daycare. I'm hoping that will end soon, I probably cry as much as he does when we drop him off, it's just heart wrenching.
I'm up to my ears at work. I just need this project to end so I can come home at a decent hour. I had to work late two days last week and one day on the weekend. Today, I'm in the 'hurry up and wait' mode. As soon as the work comes, they'll want it back right away. Sigh.
I'll try and post new pictures of G and try to peek in here more often.

[babyjinks]

We are Pregnant!!! We are expecting baby #2 around Oct 15th so we just found out...I see from around here that I am proudly continuing our trend!
It is so funny to me though cause expecially in all our babies on here I can remember the baby pictures and though they are getting bigger the features are still the same...
Annielynn Evan was flipping though his babybook and found the card from our babyshower...he thought the baby was so cute!

[annielynn]

Heather I am so excited for you guys!! YEAH

How cute that he found the card! I cannot believe how long ago that was when we sent out babyshower gifts! Time sure does fly.

[AJX]

Congrats, Babyjinks! H&H nine months!

[babyjinks]

Okay so I am glad I am not the only one going through potty training right now ...Evan loves to potty but he really luves to take off all of his clothes and just potty. I am so frustrated I just want to duck tape his clothes back on...is this just a stage any ideas how to get him to keep his clothes on?

[CMW02]

Babyjinks: Congrats on #2! H/H 9months to you!!

Potty Training: So far, so good. Except today, we had the 1st accident. She said, "mommy, I have to go potty"...and proceeded to pee on the floor. ;)

And YES! Simone has just started LOVING to be totally nude. She was doing it at home for about 2 weeks..and then on Friday, Day care lady said..uh, she got naked all day.
I have NO idea what to do about this either.

She is either naked or wearing one of these two outfits....or alternating between the two every 20-30minutes.

her bathing suit(s)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/cmw02/IMG_4122.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/cmw02/IMG_4123.jpg

or the princess dress..aka pajamas

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/cmw02/IMG_4052.jpg

I think she wore the dress everday, ALL day last week. Oy vei!! LOL!

[mak]

Congratulations, Babyjinks!!!

Potty training- Sadly, I have not even approached this yet:eek: . Mimi is sooo ready but we are going to New Orleans for a wedding tomorrow, we move next week and I just have not had the time to deal with it yet. I figure when we get settled in our new home or while we wait for our house to be finished in my parent's house...I will start this. She talks about it all the time and in fact tells me she wants to get her own potty..so I NEED to and will soon. I bought her a Dora donut ring a while ago..but she is terrified of the big potty so I need to get her a little one just for her. Any recommendations?

I, too, have a little girl who LOVES to dress up and dance around like she is a princess. She walks around the house saying "Mommy, I am a prinpess" ALL DAY!! But it is not enough that she has to dress up, we also have to dress up Ella and myself and have a little dance party:rolleyes: !!

Here are my dress up girls:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/390192770_ff4406b4f3.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/390192772_81d4153851.jpg?v=0

[mak]

One more question..we have not flown with Mimi since she turned 2 and we needed to buy a seat and was wondering to those of you that have flown recently..did you put your DC in their carseat in their seat or directly in the airplane seat??

[babyjinks]

Oh yes please help with the airplane issue we are flying to Cali in june and I have been all over the internet and the car seat has to be airline approved and only 26 inches wide and if it is a booster it has to have a internal seat belt system not the kind that uses automobile straps...my head is still spinning...

Evan has taken to screaming when he is unhappy...loudly and repeatedly..my doctor says it is because he is a only child and wants more attention..do anybody else child do this and what do you do?? Time out works in the house but not so well in the car......

[duke's flygirl]

I'm woefully behind but I will comment on a couple of things:

1) Congratulations babyjinks! H&H 9 months to you

2) Flying, we flew with Ryleigh at Christmas time and she had her own seat. WE didn't bring her carseat, but the seats on Air Canada are so close together. I think if I were flying with the 2 kids alone I would definitely bring the seat on the plane, R was really good and she had Daddy's portable DVD player to watch movies while we flew!

Have fun in NO Megan!

3) Potty Training, we are still working on it big time!

Liam has been sick, and we had to venture to the ER 3 times in 24 hours for him. He has RSV, but seems to be much better now if not sleeping all that well! Sigh...R just woke up so I must be off! Take care and I will try to get back soon to post some recent pictures!

Allthe kids are getting so big and I love that they are into dress up...Ryleigh isn't!

[K&H's mommy]

Hope you girls all had a nice Valentines Day!


babyjinks - Kyle went through a phase of screaming. Finally I would just ignore it and let him scream, scream and scream some more. It finally stopped. Once he realized he wasn't getting a rise out of me he knocked it off.


mak - that is an adorable picture of the girls!


Cindy - that picture of S in her pj's is so funny....it does look like a fancy princess dress!

[shania0474]

Congratulations, babyjinks! H&H 9 months :)


Evan has taken to screaming when he is unhappy...loudly and repeatedly..my doctor says it is because he is a only child and wants more attention..do anybody else child do this and what do you do??

David does this too and he is not an only child (he has an 11-month old brother). The best thing to do (as hard as it is) is to ignore him. Sometimes I will say, "When you're ready to talk, I'll listen" then (if we're home) I'll walk out of the room (or if we're in the car I turn my face back to the front). He usually calms down within a minute and will say what he wants (which is usually a Barney video when we're in the car).

Traveling with toddler We took a trip with both kids last Nov/Dec and David had a seat. We didn't take his car seat because we had way too much carry-on (double stroller, food for 2 six-hour flights, change of clothes, etc) and we were fine because he was asleep most of the journey. When he was awake though he kept trying to wriggle out of his seat and having a car seat would have made it so much easier to keep him still.

QOTD: Those of you that have started potty training, what are you doing and how is your DC coping? We just started with David and we're going very slow (I'm actually wondering if I should delay until his brother is 18 months and he's almost three so I can train both at the same time :p ) Are there any steps you're taking that have worked? Changes we've made include pull-ups instead of regular diapers (though he still wears regular diapers to bed at night); all diaper changes in bathroom (standing up or sitting on potty); use potty before bath in morning and at night (success 75-80% of the time -- he likes to sit on the potty while brushing his teeth and will go before he's done brushing). That's it. He still poops in his diaper and tells us when he's done.

Sara, Cindy and Mak those photos are adorable! Cindy and Mak, your adorable girls make me want a girl! And Sara, that pic of your boys all cute and squished up in the basket reminds me of my lovely monkeys here! :)

[Abby'sMom]

Potty training - UGH! SUCH a sore subject for me. I want Abby out of diapers *yesterday* but she's one of the most stubborn children on the face of the planet. She knows I want her to use the potty, so she refuses. Hasn't ever once used it. Infuriating.

Flying - We've taken the car seat for Abby all times we've flown. IIRC, it's just plain safer. It's a pain, yes, but we felt better about her being strapped into her car seat than just the regular airplane seat.

Life is insane around here. We knew we wanted to move to a bigger place this year (we have a 1200 SF townhouse at the moment with just two bedrooms). So we'd been looking around on weekends really casually. Last Sunday we went inside a place very close to where we currently live that had been on the market a few months (4 BR, 2300 SF - so almost double our current place), loved it, arranged financing, put in an offer, and had said offer accepted on Friday morning. So we're in the process of getting packed up AND getting our place ready to go on the market ASAP. It's total insanity. Adam, Logan and I are also trying to contend with a nasty headcold (which fortunately Abby seems to have avoided catching!). So yeah, busy.

Great pics, gals. I'll try to catch up for real... some day....

[CMW02]

Congrats on the new house Sherry!!!

Simone pretty much potty trained herself. I know..sounds unbelieveable, but its true. We hardly had to do a thing...and now we just watch for signs that she may have to go..ie, the dance, touching, bending over....tooting. We just say "Run to the potty" ...and she goes. Even learned to flush it down by herself now too.
I know. I'm VERY lucky. :)

[mia's mama]

oh, such cute pics!

Babyjinks- Congrats!

MAK- any luck finding a house yet? We fly to Boston Wed. night and have a bunch of places to see over the 5 days we are there. I'm excited to be able to house-hunt in person, finally!

Sara- I can't get over how much K & A look alike! So cute!

Sherry- Congrats on the new house and good luck with selling the current pad! It is a total hassle to keep the place spotless for all of the showings, etc. Maybe you can get into your new place before that happens!

Cindy- You are SO lucky! Mia wants nothing to do with Potty Training. She wears pull-ups instead of diapers and tells us "I'm pooping RIGHT now!" but will NOT sit on the potty to do it. I'm not even pushing it right now since we are about to move accross country.

So, we sold our house in just 7 days, and at over asking price! Yeah! Now we just need to find one we like in Boston! Wish us luck b/c we have to be out March 24th and DH starts his new job on April 1 (in Boston)....gonna be a crazy couple of months!

[babyjinks]

Thanks everybody for the congrats!

For all you RO was 2nd time delivery easier than first?? and also did you second child weight more than your first?

Potty training still working on it like I said but Evan is the same on pooping he says it after he has gone!? this makes not sense to me but .....We have also switch to pull ups...

I am gonna see if this pic works http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/babyjinks/th_000_0801.jpg

[April1234]

Hi ladies!

Ever since the switch with the groups its hard for me to keep up. I need to subscribe. We have been busy over here with Nolan learning how to pull up and cruise around so both kiddos are keeping me busy. Lily is in dance class every Sat. now and she LOVES it. She talks about dancing like a ballerina all.week.long.

Potty Training: Lily has been PT for some time now but I think I just lucked out. She still wears a pull up at night ime just in case but naps etc are diaper free. She has does really well with it. I am very afraid of PTing Nolan because I heard boys were more difficult.

Screaming/Tantrums: Well, I thought I was going to be lucky in this too but I guess not. This past week Lily has thrown her very first AND second tantrum. She screamed in my face the other day and I seriously almost lost it. I think I was more shocked than anything else. I just told her that I would talk with her when she calmed down and ignored her. The 2nd time was because she didnt want to leave a store and I just put her in the stroller and rolled on out of there. I talked to her outside as she was crying and told her that we were leaving because she was acting this way and she told me sorry all the way home. I plan to get a couple of books and do some reading.


All in all she really is a good kid. She is EXTREMEMLY protective over Nolan and mothers him more than I do at times. I love this stage because she is like my little sidekick. She talks to me all day about everything and we do girly stuff and hang out when Nolan is napping.

A little out of focus but:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/April1234/DSCN2371.jpg

[CMW02]

April, I love that pic of the two of them. Cant believe how fast Nolan is growing.

[annielynn]

Oh Ladies! Have you noticed the newest addition to the PG Boards??!

November 2007 Babies thread. Holy moly! Has it really been that long ago?

[shania0474]

Nov 2007 PG Board??? Unbelievable!

April That is such an adorable pic. And the Lily story sounds so sweet too (the hanging out girly stuff and her mothering Nolan not the tantrums :p ) I recommend 1-2-3 Magic by Phelan for discipline. It really works like magic!



For all you RO was 2nd time delivery easier than first?? and also did you second child weight more than your first?


It was faster the second time so in that respect it was easier... but I was induced my first time and the epidural kicked in before the real pain so the first time was almost painless, but the second time I went into labor by myself and felt everything!!! And yes #2 weighed more than #1 though he came two weeks earlier

[Abby'sMom]

Let's see -

I was induced with Pitocin both times.

* #2's L&D was longer than #1's, which was disappointing (6 hours v. 4.5 hours - I know, my diamond shoes are too tight, too). Really active labor - as in after my water was broken (I didn't feel much before then) was shorter with #2 - about 50 minutes, I think, as opposed to about an hour and a half with #1. I did both without pain meds, and don't think I'd say one was 'harder' than the other. I considered getting an epi more seriously with #2, but that's because I remembered what pushing was like with #1

* #2 (7 lbs even) weighed less than #1 (7 lbs 6 oz), but #2 was 9 days early and #1 was 3 days early.

So I personally think it's all a crapshoot. :)

[mia's mama]

Originally Posted by babyjinks
For all you RO was 2nd time delivery easier than first?? and also did you second child weight more than your first?

Nope-
Mia (#1) was 12 hours from 1st contraction and while it was really, really hard that was mostly b/c I waited until I was 8cm (after 10 hours) until I finally gave in and got an epidural. She was 5 days early and weighed 7.5lbs.

Jackson (#2) was 24 hours from the first contraction (he apparently didn't get the 2nd labors are shorter memo). I got the epidural at 3cm (after 12 hours of labor) and then got "stuck" at 3cm for the next 6 hours!!! So it was a long, but not as painful labor. He was 9 days early and weighed 7.11lbs.

[CMW02]

Well, I'm not officially qualified to answer, but here goes anyhow. :D

#1. 1 week late, only 1cm dialated so was induced day before. Induction started but slowed overnight so went in morning for pitocen and to start the process. Pitocen helped things quicken and went from 1.5 to 8 in almost 7 hrs. Then 7-10 took another 2-3. Finally ready to push and after TWO grueling hours, baby not coming down. Went on to C-sec.

#2. Uh, yeah. Scheduled c-sec for April 30th..at 8am. Should take about an hour start to finish. :)
I like that MUCH better. lol!

[annielynn]

I fall into the same boat as Cindy! :)

#1. Induced a week early already dilated 3 to 4cm. Started pitocin at 5am took until 8pm to dilated to 10. Heart decel from Jack when trying to push, c/section to follow.

#2. Scheduled c/section on April 20th at 7:30am. 10 days before my due date. That only bad part is having to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. icky

[K&H's mommy]

Sorry to answer so late.

#1) 2 weeks overdue. Had to be induced. Took 12 hours from start to finish. Epidural received at 5cm - was in excrutiating pain before that. Pushed about 3 times total. Girl - 8 pounds 11 ounces, 21 1/2 inches long.

#2) 37 1/2 weeks - had to be induced due to PIH. Took a while to get labor started but once it did get started, got epidural at 5cm, pain was very tolerable. Epidural didn't work and 20 minutes later I was 10cm and ready to push. Pushed for about 5 minutes. Boy - 8 pounds 3 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long.

#3) 1 week overdue - was having consistent ctx but they were not painful. got to hospital and was 6cm. smiling and laughing at 9cm even after they broke my water. No epidural, no pain meds nothing. Hurt like a mother $*&@@& when I laid down and hit 10cm. Delivered a few hours after arriving at the hospital. 8 pounds, 9 ounces. 20 inches long.

I am sure that #2 would have been overdue if I didn't have to be induced for PIH. It took a while for them to get me into labor because cervix wasn't ready yet. But I thought each labor was easier than the previous one.

[Paula R]

I'm late to answer too.

#1 induced with pitocin at 37 weeks(because my water broke) dilated to 9 cm and closed back to 7 so I had a c-section. 7 lbs 13 oz, 19 inches

#2 scheduled c-section for 10 days before due date but he choose to come 3 weeks early! Had a c-section. 7 lbs 14 oz 19 1/2 inches.

[mak]

Another C- section mom..

#1- My water broke 7 days late and after 23 hours of labor and no dialation ended up with a c-section. They did everything to get me to dialate, cervadil, pitocin..nothing worked. No medication until c-section, and had spinal. She was 7 pounds 10 oz.

#2- I had a scheduled c-section for May 31st (7 days before my due date) and I went into labor 10 days earlier. Got to the hospital and an hour and a half later she was born by c-section. (I have a uncooperative cervix so my doctor did not even attempt a v-bac..not dialated or effaced when I arrived at the hospital but yet my contractions were 2 minutes apart???) She was 6 pounds 10 oz.

[Abby'sMom]

So. Flippin'. Tired.

The move this past weekend went well enough. Note to others considering moving: Doing so with two kids is a PITA. Avoid. Oh my gracious. Oh, to have baby-sitters! MIL is our only baby-sitter and she has so far refused to help with Logan AT ALL. I know he's a difficult baby, but come on.

Abby's doing new and funny things just about every single day. We painted her new room a sweet sticky shade of pinky purple and she loves to call it her purply pink room.

Logan is crawling like a mad man and pulling up on absolutely everything he can get a grip on. And cruising, of course. As a result, he has two large bruises on his forehead. He looks like he's been beaten. :rolleyes: He also still sleeps like sh!t and it's incredibly frustrating. :(

Anyhow. Gotta go. Realtor is coming by to pick up a key to our old house soon!

[K&H's mommy]

Doing so with two kids is a PITA.
Oh don't I know it, LOL! Add a newborn in there and you'll want to slit your wrists. :( I'm glad you are in and each day will get a little better.

We had our first ER trip with Kyle last week (as my LJ buds know). Had to get two stiches by his eyebrow. I have a feeling they will know us on a first name basis since he is so crazy.

[CMW02]

EEK! (Sheri and Sarah)
Is this what I have to look forward to...with a boy??
LOL!!!
:D

[mia's mama]

eek...sarah! :( How scary!


The move this past weekend went well enough. Note to others considering moving: Doing so with two kids is a PITA. Avoid.

Okay ladies...SO NOT WHAT I NEED TO HEAR RIGHT NOW!!!! How about moving CROSS COUNTRY with 2 kids?! :rolleyes: We are out of our house on Thursday, living with my parents here in CA for 2.5 weeks, then staying with Brian's parents in MA for a week, and then we will FINALLY move into our new home sometime around April 15th.

The light at the end of the tunnel...MAK and I will be neighbors. Our new homes are a whopping mile apart. :)

[annielynn]

Stacey good luck with your move! Hopefully it will be smooth sailing for you guys. Welcome to east coast. :)

Cindy you are going to rock as a mommy to a little boy! At least he will not want to change his clothes 40 times a day! LOL

Things are hectic around our house. I have 4weeks and 2 days until my c/s. Not enough time to get everything done. Jack's Big Boy room will finally get completed this weekend and so that little excitement will begin. I just hopse that I can get a few more things accomplished before baby girl makes her debut.

[mia's mama]

Good Luck, Annie!

[Abby'sMom]

Go, Annie and Cindy, go! ;) (Not now, but soon, of course.)

Stacey, don't panic. :)

Forgot to drop this off before; from a week and a half ago:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/pinkbunny11/s41019ca106669_5.jpg

[AJX]

At least he will not want to change his clothes 40 times a day! LOL

Sure he might. A friend's DS at age 3 was so excited when he really got the hang of putting on his own clothes that he would change them himself several times a day. :) She'd find stray socks, shirts, and pants all over the house.

Good luck with all the moves and pregnancy home stretches!

[babyjinks]

Congrats on all the people moving into new houses! We will be doing that in the next year or two...

Evan is finally getting the hang of potty training..but will still not tell us when he has to go so you have to ask him all the time...but hey it is an improvement...

Evan doesnt change his clothes often but as i mentioned before he likes to strip..is that better??

Me: just trying to survive first trimester morning sickness again...ugh

Paula R: Closed back down again holy moly! I think that would just have sent me right over the edge!

[babyjinks]

Where is everybody?

[annielynn]

I am here, but as you can all probably imagine one busy woman. Claire's birthday is in 15 days!!!! I am still working and as of today there is no one to cover me while I am gone. I wish that they would get off their duff and make a decision who is going to cover my job duties while I am gone. Just imagine how pissed off I will be if my phone rings off the hook while I am at home with a newborn and 2 year old. ARGH So I have been keeping really busy at work trying to get all of my filing put away and organized in case someone needs something.

Jack is still giving us fits with his BBB. He just doesn't want to sleep in there. We are still given it the ol college try. He has to be out of there before we move Claire in there. The good thing is that she will be in the bassinet for the first few weeks at least until I go back to work. Keep your fingers crossed.

[CMW02]

I feel the pain Annie.

I cry everynight when Simone makes her grand entrance into our room/bed.
I just want SLEEP now..not that I get much of it, even when she IS in her bed. Thanks baby inside. LOL :)

I'm thinking of getting those door knob covers and put on the inside of her room...so she cant get out. But then I cry thinking how mean that is and how she'll just stand there and yell or scream and how awful I would feel.
But then I never was good at the CIO technique either.

Right now, we do the back to your room, its sleepy time dance. But I'm so tired of doing it that we are not consistent and she is taking advantage of our tiredness and we just all want to rest....so she stays in our bed a lot.

What do you all do? Or did you not co-sleep like we did and have no probls now?
FWIW, we were fine transitioning to the crib after co-sleeping, but when we changed to the toddler bed, she can not only get out it..she does and wont stay in her room if she happens to wake up.

[K&H's mommy]

We are here and having sleep issues as well. Kyle will not go down at night anymore. Basically we went from a 7:30pm bedtime, to sometime around 9:30pm. Sigh. I want some alone time without kids around and it doesn't usually happen until almost 10pm - and by then I just want to go to bed! We usually end up letting him fall asleep in front of the baby gate and put him to bed. Then he wakes up around 6am and comes into our room. He will lay with us another hour or so but I usually get kicked a few dozen times. So annoying.

How's potty training going for everyone? Kyle will go when we put him on but won't tell us. When DD is done with school I plan on staying home for a week and just have him in underwear and really train him.

[Allegra]

Hey can I join in here? I can't find a thread for December 04 mommies and since mine was born Dec 3, she's ALMOST a nov baby!! :) (or can someone point me to the dec 04 mommies thread? I didn't even know this group was out there!)
Allegra

[Abby'sMom]

Hi Allegra. Mak also has a December baby so you're in good company. :)

Potty Training. Ugh. Kill me now. Never gone in the potty. Not one single time. Simply WILL NOT do it. Infuriating. I think we'll just have to go naked in the backyard this summer.

[AJX]

Potty Training: Yes, I have grand plans for Naked Week sometime in May after exams (one down, three to go) and after our trip to MI. I don't see it going well, though. He is resistant to the idea, even if he does want to wear his Thomas the Tank Engine and "Cars" underwear. Actually, I think he'd be fine carrying them around or wearing them on his head. :-P

[K&H's mommy]

Aj - we have the exact same underwear. LOL!

[Abby'sMom]

Well, AJ, at least I feel better now. Abby also loves her Strawberry Shortcake underwear and wants to wear it but won't use the blasted potty. - Demands a diaper whenever she has to go. I SO resent the people who get kids who want to learn to use the toilet. :p I got screwed in that department. They say that boys are harder to train than girls so now I'm REALLY scared.

[mak]

Mimi is another one who loves to sit on her potty but only goes in her diaper. Oh well- I am not pushing it as we do not move into our new house until the end of next week. And our house has been hit with the stomach bug for the 2nd time in a month..not fun!! I will be another that will set aside a week this summer to tackle potty training.

Not today since she is so sick, but Mimi has a new habit of thinking everything everywhere is hers....anyone else dealing with this? It has gotten so much worse since Ella started really crawling and moving. Anything toy that Ella goes near, Mimi runs to it and says, "Mine or that's Mimi's" and tries to make sure she gets it before Ella. Everyday we spend the majority of the day dealing with this and it is getting rather tough. At the park, it is Mimi's turn, Mimi's slide..and she will listen when I tell her to share- but I even hear her in the middle of the night sometimes talking to herself saying Mine, Mine...it is like she is obsessed with everything being hers?? I am hoping it is just a stage and common.

[K&H's mommy]

mak - You're not alone. Everything is Kyle's right now too. "My turn" "my ball" "my baby" - everything is his, even when he doesn't want it!

sherry- Hanna was not potty trained until almost FOUR. I know. Embarassing. She refused. She was reading and writing her name before going on the potty, insane. But she went from being in diapers, to being potty trained in one day - and never an accident, not even at bedtime.

[AJX]

LOL, Sara, about the matching undies. My doc and his pediatrician wife did not even really try to potty train their twin boys until they were four, and it took one weekend. They wanted it to be fast and with as little trouble as possible, since they were fine with the diaper status quo.
Sherry, I wouldn't worry so much about Logan. Regression to the mean should make him easier.

I'm depending on regression to the mean for a lot of things, like Cindy's Jose Cuervo looking more like X, and our next child not being to walk on the ceiling every evening at 7pm as he gets his last, most manic burst of energy before bedtime.

Yes, "All through the day/I, me, mine, I, me, mine, I, me, mine," as the song goes. It's ruining some of our time at the mall train table, as he embarrasses me as a non-sharer and we have to leave (after giving him a count of 3 to share).

[Kates]

I'm still here, mostly lurking around CC, and posting on LJ.

Welcome Allegra, the more the merrier!

Potty Training - Nope, we have the potty but it never seems like the 'right time' to start. We were going to start in April but G's daycare lady is away on vacation next week. Her Mother and Father are taking over for the week, so I'm not really sure they'd want to go through that.

Mak - congratulations on your new home and sorry about the stomach bug. Our family had it before Christmas and it was just awful. Are you moving far?

'Mine, Mine, Mine' - Grady is actually really good at sharing. I think it stems from being at a daycare (our previous) where he had to contend with nothing being his, and daycare friend's little boy not sharing 'his toys'. Our new daycare is so different, none of the same problems.

-------------
Here are a few new pics of Grady for those not on LJ
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/243/455972964_a064686ce2.jpg?v=0
Grady and his little cousin Chloé
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/430920214_a6902d225b.jpg?v=0
Glued to the TV

[CMW02]

AJ wrote:


I'm depending on regression to the mean for a lot of things, like Cindy's Jose Cuervo looking more like X

You crack me up.... are you depending on it? Thats hilarious that you even think about it.
I've never asked you but what are the nationalities in your/X's family?
You seem very light.,..and X is definiltey a light skinned kiddo but then your H is caucasian correct?
Are you mixed also? I just wonder b/c you have often commented on S's coloring and your thoughts on it.

Cory is less than 50% Af.Am, as his birth father was mixed black and native american and the birth mother was Irish decent.
My mother is hispanic, but of Spanish decent and her family is VERY light plus my dad is caucasian (German/Irish)
... so our kids are less "ethnic" than DH or I are. They will be less than 25% AA and only 25% hispanic.
FWIW, the kids in our family are ALL over the place in coloring. We have TONS AND TONS of blonde/light haired, green/blued/eyed kids.... the "coloring" we dont have much of is red..but you watch... Gavin will get reddish skin from DH's "native AM" backround and/or red hair due to the fact that MY dad had red hair as a kid. That would be funny.


Its not just you, but a lot of people are "wondering secretly" and some not so secretly what Gavin will look like.

At our Easter family party, I mentioned that I was taking bets on how packed my delivery room will be on the birth day.
Its funny how so many people are so interested in what/HOW he will look, esp since Simone turned out to be exactly like my brother/dad. :D :D

Its just funny to ME, the interest.
For me the hardest part, after Simone was born, was all the "questions" and comments. Some people even had the NERVE to ask me "who the father was".
A friend even told me her sister saw a pic of Simone, said "isnt her Dad black? Are you sure she (meaning ME) wasnt ho'ing around?"
I lol at the comment but really, inside me, I was SO OFFENDED.
It wasnt funny...even though they meant it as a joke.

Genetics are a crazy thing....

I guess I'm just sensitive to talk about S's coloring. Dont see what the big deal is... she's just my kiddo. :)

[AJX]

All right, preggo brain ;) , we've had this convo before, but here goes :) : Yes, I'm curious, because our kids (meaning your & Cory's and mine & DH's) are ethnically similar, apart from the hispanic part. DH is German-Irish with 1/8 Native American (I should know the tribe, but I've forgotten) and other Celtic-Anglo stuff thrown in, and I am biracial/mixed with one African-Am biological parent and one German-Irish-English one. (Some might recall from pictures that my dad, my bona fide male parent, is my white adoptive father, my mother's second husband, but that's another story.)
So, in the old racist caste system that had to trace every drop of black blood, I would be a "mulatto" and X would be a "quadroon." And yes, I know what it is to have others speculate as to what the kids could look like.
If you ran a statistical model on probabilities of outcomes (something more serious and with more computational firepower than those "What will our baby look like?" photo booths I've heard about--and I've heard they're very off for any kind of interracial couple), you would find things like 75% of our kids would have brown eyes, 25% homozygously (two brown-eye genes) and 50% heterozygously, and 25% light when the 1-in-4 chance of an ovum with a light-eye gene and a sperm with one found each other. A pretty big range of skin tones would be possible, ranging from the caramels of a 50-50 black-white mix to the palest Euro tones. However, the distribution would form a bell-shaped curve with, IMO, something like X's color in the middle at the mean. Simi seems to be more out along the tail of the distribution. Hence my idea of "regression to the mean."
DH and I laugh at how straight from the mean X seems to be in terms of such modeling, which we suspect is different from how some people in our lives see it, where X has "this from Mom" and "that from Dad," rather than hello, the lovely mixture that sexual reproduction produces and has as an advantage over asexual reproduction. (DH has his degree in biology, FWIW.) But we realize that his siblings might not hew so closely to the mean, and could end up in a situation where people don't even instinctively see them as related like
a) my sister (technically half-sister) and I, where my sister is white, but also naturally tow-headed (so not merely "blonde," but palest, almost whitish blonde, unlike either of our parents--in other words, she's a tailie, too) and blue-eyed, and people left shaking their heads in amazement no matter how we explain our genetic background because in their heads, half siblings are "supposed to" look more alike than we do, and
b) how some people do a double-take when they realize I'm the mama, because I fall into their mental heuristic of "not white," where for some, X does seem "white" to them. When they do realize, I've had people say things aloud to help it all make sense to them like, "Oh, I see, you [X] got those curls from your mother!" (I will note that, just as all black folk know I'm mixed and have since the day I was born, they know X is in the family, too, and instantly recognize me as his mother. It's others who don't.)
When he's out with his dad, everyone seems to recognize that DH is the daddy, but sometimes ask questions about X's mama. (Italian? Mexican? Puerto Rican?) I tell him to amuse himself and say whatever he wants, just as for a while when I lived in LA, I started saying "Yes" to any mix people asked me if I was. The speculation was always half black and then half...Mexican? Pacific Islander (esp Samoan)? Philippina? Chinese? (My black biological father also heard this one, according to his mother, when he was a toddler. Something about the eyes, people would tell her.) LA's diversity meant that people had seen more different kinds of mixes, whereas in Michigan, the other half was always assumed to be white.
I apologize if I caused any hurt or offense. I just see our kids as "brothers from other mothers," and I know you've shown pics of X to your DH, which I assumed was partly because you know you could steal him and pass him off as your own. ;)

[babyjinks]

I am so happy you have all popped back out again!

Potty training...he is doing well in my opinion..slowly starting to tell us when he has to go...he will alway go or try to go when you take him to the potty..(i dont think either grandma or grandpa are trying very hard to recognize the signs)

Wow i didnt realize how many RO we have in here!

Grady is growing up to be such a handsome boy!

[Abby'sMom]

Now I'm confused.

AJ, I've been reading your LJ, but I don't understand why you're claiming preggo brain? .... ??

[AJX]

LOL, Sherry, it's an epithet I was hurling at poor Cindy. ;)

[Abby'sMom]

AJ, ok, good. I was worried that I'd missed some major announcement. I even re-read your whole recent LJ yesterday to be sure. ;)

[CMW02]

ITS FOR ME! PREGO BRAIN! LOL!

okay AJ, yes NOW I remember asking. :)

and yes...

I just see our kids as "brothers from other mothers," and I know you've shown pics of X to your DH, which I assumed was partly because you know you could steal him and pass him off as your own

CAUGHT! Yes...X is so cute...I would steal him for my own. But I showed DH last time b/c X looks EXACTLY like my H did when he was a kid. :D

[AJX]

Ahhh, Cindy, so DH used to look like that? Was his hair that light? I cannot tell if X's hair will darken, like so many kids' hair does between this very young age and puberty, because both DH and I always had our adult hair colors as kids. Neither of us ever had hair that light. I didn't even know his hair would get this curly because it curled up so much later than mine did. (I was able to rock some afro-puffs by my first birthday.)

Sherry, I promise I won't play coy when I make an announcement. It will be clear and unambiguous. :)

[CMW02]

AJ,
I think X's hair is a tad lighter, but from the few pics I've seen as a kid, Cory's hair was a lot lighter than it is now.
There are a few pics in particular where I think his hair is definitely BROWN..not black like it is now.

And my hair as a kid was a lot lighter until I turned 7 or 8..then it went dark brown.

My BROTHER was so blonde, ,white blonde..and is now a dirty blonde...so I expect S's hair to darken too as her eyes while still light, like my bro's also, have gone from blue, to green now.

Ah, genetics. :D

[Abby'sMom]

Borrowed from April 07 thread:

I am proud to announce that Annie had baby Claire Ryanne this morning!

She arrived at 7:44am, weighing 8 lb, 9 oz and is 20 inches long!

CONGRATULATIONS ANNIE!!!!!!

[mia's mama]

CONGRATS ANNIE!!!! Welcome Claire! :D

Well, the move accross the country went as well as can be expected and we are now in our new house. After several days of rain we now can play outside on the swings and we are LOVING our new town. I have the kids enrolled in some movement/music classes starting Monday and it will be nice to meet some moms & babies. MAK and Mimi will be in our toddler class, so it will be nice to meet them too!:)

Potty Training- Mia is halfway there...well maybe 1/4 of the way there. In panties during the day with the exception of naps but still has 1 or 2 accidents and could care less that she is walking around in wet panties.:rolleyes:

[Paula R]

Congratulaitons Annie! Welcome baby Claire!

Stacey, congrats on the move. Its good that you all are settled in and loving your new town and you get to meet one of our mom's and Child. How funny that you and Mak but moved to a new city and are living so close.

Caiden isn't thinking about potty training. We had a good day last Saturday Where he went to the potty as long as he was naked from the waist down. Well except for the one time when he purposely peed on the wall and laughed about it. When I put underwear on them, he will go in them and does not mind walking around wet. I am starting to think he will go to college in diapers!

[CMW02]

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I miss you guys..this was the best group, IMVH(yet.biased)O, that is. LOL! :D

I became a mommy again this week!!! YAY!

GAVIN ELLIOTT was born via planned c-sec on Monday April 30th.

his stats:

wt: 8.75
ht: 19.5"
brown hair
blue eyes
Has daddy's nose and looks more like him than me overall. Daddy is VERY HAPPY about that one. :p

Simone loves her little brother and came to the hospital last night and practically mugged him the entire time. She is w/my parents right now while DH and I assimilate at home w/Gavin and introduce him slowly to our dog and our home. So far, he loves it here. LOL! :D

Here is the newest addition to our family...little G man.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/cmw02/IMG_4479.jpg

and w/his doting big sister....
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/cmw02/IMG_4466.jpg

I love being a family of 4...so very cool. :D

[annielynn]

Congratulations Cindy! He is such a handsome little man. Sounds like Simi has taken to G like Jack has taken to C! It is cool being a family of 4 isn't it! ;-)

I just realized that I never posted pictures of Claire after she was born. So hear you go girls...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/Claires%20Birthday/ClaireRyanne42007078.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/April%2007/April2627292007018.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/April%2007/April2627292007006.jpg

[CMW02]

Annie: Wow...Gavin's girlfriend is SO BEAUTIFUL!!! LOL! :D

Claire looks like such an angel..so soft and girly and delicate. Gorgeous! :)

[annielynn]

Cindy: That funny I was just telling Paul how handsome Claire's boyfriend was! :)

She is really girly for now, but that is only because mommy is having fun dressing a little doll! I am sure that by the time that she is Jack's age she will be just as rough and tumble as he is! :)

Stacey - Congrats on the smooth move. Welcome to the East Coast!!

Potty training isn't happening in our house. Jack is showing zero signs of wanting to start. I cannot even get him to sit (or stand) near the potty. Although he loves to flush it. Silly boy!

[mia's mama]

oh, Claire and Gavin are both so precious! Gorgeous babies with great names!
Cindy- I SOOOO wanted to name Jackson Gavin, but my DH has a cousin Gavin and didn't want to use it...L.O.V.E. it!
Annie- the picture of your 3 "kids" napping is so cute!

[CMW02]

Awww, thanks Stacey!!

And I *DO* remember how much you loved the name Gavin. :D
(great minds think alike eh?) LOL!
Gavin was on my VERY short boy's name list last time too, but b/c we were having a GIRL.. I never got to use it, therefore never mentioned it was on my list back in 2004. ;)

This time, it was the ONLY name that DH and I could agree on...but I totally thought of you b/c I remembered how your DH had nixed it....so I was surprised when MY DH said YES to it..when I presented him w/the name. LOL!

FWIW, I totally love the name Jackson too...but I already have TWO cousins who have both a JACK, and a JACKSON...so that was out. SO many cute names were already taken b/c of my super large family with mostly boys this new generation. :D

I am glad to hear your move to Boston went well and that you are enjoying your new city. Its such a cool place and so historical. Cant wait to visit there again one day. :)

[mia's mama]

anyone else have a demon child when it comes to sleep? I am about ready to sell M on Ebay so if any of you are looking for a good deal on a screaming toddler (she's especially loud from 9pm-midnight), check out my auction.

[mia's mama]

Man, I killed this thread! You guys know I was kidding about ebay, right? ;)

Oh and we did a little sleep bootcamp over here and Mia is sleeping like a champ again...thank god!

[K&H's mommy]

sleep - A few months ago Kyle decided that 7:30pm is not a good bedtime. Now he refuses to go down any earlier than 9pm. Usually it's closer to 10pm. He falls asleep at the top of the stairs behind the gate and then we put him back in bed. Every. Single. Night.

Oh and if I hear "my turn" or "I do it" I will scream!!!

[Kates]

Sleep- Yeah, we're in the same boat as you Sara. Grady is supposed to go to bed at 8:00 but we're still dealing with a sleepless child at 9:30 sometimes. DH will put him to bed, read him stories, and then stay with him until he falls asleep. I don't do that (stay with him until he falls asleep), because I'm a mean Mommy, so when DH has given up trying to get him to sleep, I go in and tell him if he gets out of bed again, Mommy is going to come and sleep in his bed. Good scare tactic, eh? The funny thing is that it works! He's a funny kid.
Stacey - I'm interested in hearing about your sleep bootcamp. How's the new house btw?

[mia's mama]

Stacey - I'm interested in hearing about your sleep bootcamp. How's the new house btw?

Then ew house is awesome, thanks! As far as sleep bootcamp, I just decided that we had to nip it in the bud. Mia went from being an awesome sleeper (7pm-7am) a few months ago (before the move) to a HORRIBLE sleeper....wouldn't stay in her bed, screaming, crying coming into our room at all hours of the night etc. I did worry that it was because she was having trouble adjusting to the new house/room, but my mom (a child psychologist) assured me if there was any emotional difficulty, we would see it at other times trhoughout the day.
So...
We bought blackout curtains for her room (her new room has 3 huge windows, and is right on the street so the street lights were flooding in plus she was up at 5:15am). Then we set up the video monitor and put a baby safe doorknob lock nad put it on the inside of her door. We gave her several chances to sleep with her door open, but she would wlays come out of her room and scream at the top of her lungs at the baby gate at the top of the stairs which would wake J and have me fuming. SUCH a crappy way to end the day. SHe would do this for HOURS...5 HOURS the night before bootcamp began. I tried silently returning her to her room without making eyecontact, losing my patience etc. I did that 21 times (no exaggeration) and then I DID lose my patience. I totally lost it and screamed at her to stay in her bed and then we both started crying - it really sucked.

Mind you Jackson just started sleeping through the night at 10 months, so I was really pissed that now I had to be up with Mia.

Anyway, the first night we gave her one chance to have the door open which lasted about 30 seconds. Then I closed the door, turned on the video monitor and watched. SHe ran around like the Tazmanian devil for about 3 minutes, stomping, crying, screaming, banging on the door and then got in her bed and passed out until 7am the next morning. The next night, it took 30 seconds. SHe STILL requests to have her door open, I leave, she gets out of bed, I have to go into her room, put her back in bed and she squaks for about 5 seconds before going to sleep. I guess it's now part of the routein.

Anyways- it worked and BOTH kids are finally sleeping through the night!!!!

[annielynn]

Oh and if I hear "my turn" or "I do it" I will scream!!!

You too huh Sara! Jack cried/screamed for 20 mins yesterday afternoon because I closed the door when we came home. Everything in our house HAS TO BE DONE by Jack. "I do it" is his most loved phrase. I am happy to hear that he is not the only one. ;)

Sleepy Time - Jack goes to bed at 9:30 every night. It was 8:30 but after weeks/months of fighting with him to go to sleep I finally gave in. But like Kate I am the mean mommy and I read one story and of to sleep you go. Paul will go in and read to him for thirty minutes. He would stay in there until Jack was asleep if I let him. Most nights I have to peek in and tell him that it is time to let Jack fall asleep. MEAN MOMMY! huh

Stacey that sounds like a great bootcamp idea. The best part about it was that it worked! You go momma. Congrats on the new house and the big move to the East Coast. It sounds like it is going well.

[Paula R]

I with you all. I am so tired of hearing "I do it myself" for every little thing. He has to shut the car door himself even though he can't reach it. He has to buckle up his carseat harness even though he don't know how. He has to do everything. I wish he would go to the potty of say I do it myself when it came time to change his diaper.

We still have problems with bedtime. However, last night he went to sleep with no problem. I let him sleep with one of his action figures and he said good night and went straight to sleep.

[K&H's mommy]

Glad to hear that Kyle is not the only one. He has to undo his diapers, and then tries and put a new one on (while laying down and everything, it's quite a site). I had to reopen the car door today because he was upset that I pushed the button to close it. He always wants to tie his own shoes which is a lot of fun. He has to be the one to go in the baby's room first because it's "his baby". I swear, I go to sleep at night hearing "my turn!"

[Abby'sMom]

Man, I'm so with Paula on the diapers/potty thing. Abby wants to do EVERYTHING by herself except use the toilet. STILL hasn't gone on the potty one single time, even with the promise of a new tricycle lingering in the air. She's incredibly stubborn and strong-willed. Drives me nuts. I think she's been in the naughty corner (seriously) 11 times today, and it's only 3 PM. She doesn't listen to instruction and constantly knocks Logan over by the face. I'm very interested in how preschool will go this Fall.

And Logan... well, Logan is my sleep fighter. Homeboy is sleeping better at night (knock on wood), but fights naptime tooth and nail. As a matter of fact, he's upstairs screaming in his crib right now. He's been up since 7 and he NEEDS his nap. Gah. Totally humiliated me in the grocery store earlier, too. Had a complete screaming, crying meltdown in the stroller (we walked - it's about a mile and a quarter away) right smack in the middle of the store. :( UGH!

[Abby'sMom]

I have just one thing to say to one person who knows who she is:

PTTTTTTTHP! I caught you!!!

[AJX]

Sherry, see Page 19: http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26608&page=19
Nope, you misttok "preggo brain" as referring to myself rather than Cindy. I was playing coy that particular week, hoping to be discovered, but then regained my strength.

For those not on LJ, I'm pregnant, due with DS #2 on Oct 21. It has been an awful 18w5d, and I feel like I am due in July because my tummy is so big and I seem to have skipped any and all notions of a honeymoon phase. I went from wickedly nauseous to unable to sleep (comfortably, anyway) and riddled with heartburn.

And now I have to see if I can remember how to change my siggie here....

AJ

[Abby'sMom]

I maintain that I suspected something was up ;) but congratulations around regardless. I totally know how you feel - I never got a HM phase with either of my pgcies, either. Hang in there.

[annielynn]

AJ again I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS on baby boy #2! I just know that he is going to be just as gorgeous as X is.

Big news at our house. 3 days ago Jack decided that he wanted to go peepee on the potty. He is doing really really well. Yesterday evening he had the same pull up on until bedtime with no accidents. I was very pleased. He even stopped riding his bike outside to tell me that he needed to go. Now that is dedication! I am really hoping that he keeps this up. I would love to see him out of diapers and pull ups by the middle/end of summer! :) That would make me a very happy mommy.

[mia's mama]

Wow! CONGRATS AJ!!!! Wonderful news!

[Kates]

Congratulations again AJ!
I forgot to ask, were you more nauseated with this one or with X?

Stacey - sleep bootcamp sounds like lots of fun;) Glad it's working out for you.

[AJX]

Thanks, Annie, Stacey, and Kate.

Kate, yes, I was very nauseated with both of them, but not vomitocious. I got food poisoning at a grad reception, though, and did throw up from that the last week of classes. And got a doctor's note to get an extension on a horrific econometrics assignment. :p
I have very high hCG levels (above the median for twins, according to some websites, but still within that giant range seen for singletons), which probably makes me feel so badly. As a neat coincidence, for example, I had my betas checked at 23DPO for both, and the levels were 7421 and 9065.

Stacey, your video monitor revealed exactly what I expected, based on the noises we hear from X's bedroom, especially at naptime.

[Paula R]

Congratulaitons AJ!

[April1234]

I will fully admit, I didnt know A THING abotu AJ being preggo again. I already said it but it still doesnt get old....CONGRATS miss thang!!!!! I am SO excited for you.

Im not sure I came in here to announce Im pregnant with #3 (12 1/2 weeks now) but I think most if not all of you are on LJ already know and besides....when am I ever NOT pregnant:D :o ;)

Feeling OK right now but I truely think thats because I am so busy running after a 2 1/2 year old and my newly walking 1 year old that time passes by to quickly for me to lay down and complain. LOL Im not sure if we are going to find out the sex of this one and if we do we wont be telling anyone....should be fun.

Hope everyone and all the babies new and old are doing well.

[CMW02]

Congrats AJ!
And while it was just a hunch..I *did* have a hunch you were either actively TTC..or had already.

Congrats again lady. :)

[duke's flygirl]

It has been so long since I have been on here, I had so much to catch up on!

Congrats to AJ and April again!

Stacey, glad the move to the East Coast went well and that you are all adjusting to life in the new house!

I'm glad to hear that J is finally sleeping through the night(any tips on how you got him to do it? See below), and that the boot camp for M worked!

Liam is still up 3-4 times a night and when we get home from Ontario, we are doing big time sleep training with him! I can't handle getting 2.5-3 hour stretches at night any more and I go back to work August 2nd, he HAS to be sleeping better or else Mommy is going to loose what it left of her mind! Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Ryleigh is a funny little thing! She is starting to get the potty training and I am letting her lead the way as opposed to trying to get her to do it, and it seems to be working better for her! She got a tutu from my sister yesterday, and it is so cute on her!

We have been at my parents since 23rd of May and we will be leaving for home on 14 June. My Dad flew to Halifax and drove us here and it was an experience for sure! 3 longish days in a Van with 2 under 3! Day 3 was NOT a great day, but we made it! We have seen many people and had some great experiences already with more to come!

Hope you are all doing well and I will try to get back here sooner next time!

[CMW02]

I've already said so, but Congrats to miss April on #3!!!

Sleep issues: Okay...I'm so bad. Simone is the WORST sleeper and most nights, she sleeps in our bed. I was one of those co-sleepers in the beginning until at around 15months I had enough and decided she needed to be in her crib. That worked fine for a while until we changed to a Big Girl bed and now she HATES sleeping in her room..and she can obviously get out.
I am not the meanine mom that I should be so the thought of locking her in her room, especially since we've been so liberal with her being in our bed for now, is heartbreaking to me. I think she would go into shock.
If there was one thing I would do over, its the sleeping in my bed as a baby/toddler. WHAT was I thinking??? Now its the hardest to break.

She currently has a toddler bed in her room which she loves, but I'm wondering if we need to upgrade to the twin bed now especially b/c she is so used to sleeping in "our" big bed. What do you guys think?

I just dont know how to get her out of our bed and into her bed happily, without having to lock her in the room which would kill me to see her cry that way.
We are now trying to use reward system but since Gavin's arrival, I just dont have the time or energy to fight her...so unfortunately, one of us (DH or I) sleep on the couch at night and the other sleeps in the bed..yeah..right next to Simone.

I am about to lose my mind on it and yet I dont seem to be doing much about it..but complain. LOL!

She starts pre-school in Sept, so I need to get this going right away so that she gets more of a schedule down and learns to sleep, and sleep WELL, in her bed/room.
HELP!

[annielynn]

Jack's new word. Just this weekend our dear sweet son has learned a new word...... "why?" OMG can I just tell you how annoying that word can be. ;) Now I know where the phrase "Beacuse Mommy said so" came from. I had to use that several times this weekend. This kid is too smart for his own good.

PT is going well. He actually pooped in the potty all by himself this weekend. He was very proud of himself, as were we. I am hoping that he keeps it up.

Claire is doing great. She is getting bigger and bigger by the minute. I am already having to put clothes away that she will never fit into again. She actually slept for 8 hours a night this weekend. Which made mommy very happy!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/June%202007/June8_9_10004.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/June%202007/June8_9_10019.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/June%202007/June8_9_10040.jpg

[mia's mama]

Great Pictures, Annie! Jack is looking SO old (and handsome!) and Claire is just adorable.

Here are a few new ones of M & J:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1169/542521798_a056026501.jpg?v=0 http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1073/532269536_a62d8ca538.jpg?v=0

[annielynn]

Thanks Stacey!

Mia could be a model! What a gorgeous little girl.

Jackson is growing up way too fast!! He is a very handsome little man.

[AJX]

Stacey, I want to pinch those adorable cheeks on Jackson! So cute! Mia is lovely as ever.

[Kates]

Stacey - I agree with Annie, Mia could be a model! Jackson looks like Mia around the eyes! Is he starting to walk?

Annie - Again, great pictures of the kids! Claire is such a cutie. We haven't gotten to the 'why' stage yet, we're still dealing with the 'no' stage :rolleyes:

Just a quick update for those who aren't on LJ, Grady had his first ER trip two weeks ago. He fell on a shelf at daycare and split his eyebrow open. He ended up getting four stitches and was so brave, the dr. was freezing him and he didn't even flinch. I think the freezing didn't take in one area, because he lost it when the Dr. put the third stitch in. Poor little guy, his hair was drenched with sweat, tears and blood by the time it was over.
Here he is right after. It looked much better after we cleaned up the eyebrow.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1092/526853597_31684c4d3c.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1247/526853601_408e66187a.jpg?v=0

The stitches are still in (we're still waiting for them to dissolve!) but the cut is almost healed, you really can't tell other than a few red spots, which are mostly from the stitches.

[annielynn]

Oh poor Grady!! I bet that was traumatic for both mommy and son.

[CMW02]

Stacey: your kids are SOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful. Mia totally looks like a model and Jackson is such a cutie. They both have eyes to die for!!

Annie: YAY for miss Claire sleeping 8 hours! Lucky lady!!

Kate: Grady is as gorgeous as ever. That boo boo looks like it hurts tho!



We are finally back home after our trip to Salt Lake to see my sister and her family.
We had a great time, even though my sis got sick one day which meant that I had to babysit SIX kids! 4 kids ages 2-12, and TWO NEWBORNS! I was freaking out and hoping that they both didnt cry at the same time. Luckily they were both on their best behaviour for me. LOL

We got home yesterday, and wouldnt you know it, my sister got sick again and ended up in Emergency and today is in surgery (right now in fact) to have her gallbladder removed.
I'm so sad that I went home now. I wish I were still there to help her. Luckily our mom is flying down today to be with her which makes me feel better. How awful...and her little baby is only 3 weeks old and REALLY a mama's girl... my poor sis!

GAVIN is doing great. Cant believe he is SIX WEEKS old already!
He is SOOOOOOOO BIG too. Really chunked up in the past 2 weeks and is really solid! lol
Next to my sis's 3wk TINY girl, he is a chunky monkey. lol. My DD was the same..grew really fast and never got the chubby baby rolls or anything, but they both got chunky cheeks and solid little bodies. I'll dl my pics later and post them. I have to take my mom to the airport soon, but when I get back I'll post some recent ones. He is so cute and his hair has lightened up so much in the sun..it almost looks red! haha

I'll be back later with recent pics of my kiddos. :)

[mia's mama]

Thanks, guys for the sweet words- I think they're pretty cute too! ;)

Poor Grady! That must have been so scary, Kate! He is SO cute! I think Jackson is actually going to look a little like him as he gets older- Very similar coloring (J's eyes are almost the exact same color brown- funny, since I have green eyes and DH has blue) and J will probably have the curls too.

Cindy- what a bummer about your sister! 6 kids...YIKES! I would have lost my mind!:eek:

[K&H's mommy]

stacy the kids are adorable as always! You and your DH make beautiful babies!

Everyone else is on LJ - you all know your kids are cute!!!

[Kates]

Stacey, it's funny that you say that J will look a little like G when he gets older, I always thought Mia and Grady looked a little alike as babies!
BTW- when are you coming over to Livejournal? I think you may be the lone holdout ;)

Cindy, you brave girl, 6 kids! It sounds like you had a good trip, minus you sister being ill. I hope her surgery goes well and she's not in the hospital too long!

Sara, I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile, Allison has the most perfectly shaped eyebrows! I love the second picture of her, you should have it framed.

[Abby'sMom]

Stacey, they're both adorable. They look soooooooo much alike. :)

Sara, like I said on LJ, those are some great shots! Actually, same to Kate and Annie, too. Stacey, for goodness' sake, get over to LJ!

Here are mine...

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/pinkbunny11/IMG_2516copy.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/pinkbunny11/IMG_2579copy.jpg

[duke's flygirl]

Look at all the beautiful babies and toddlers in this thread!

Stacey; WOW! Mia is beautiful and Jackson is handsome! Glad to hear that your move went well and you are adjusting to life on the East Coast! You really should get onto LJ!

All the rest of you, (Sara, Sherry, Annie and Kate) I am sure that I commented in your LJ's on how beautiful your children are!

We got back almost 2 weeks ago from trip to my parents and I finally got the pictures uploaded, so I thought I would share a couple here too.

Ryleigh playing with my sister under a "tent"
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/dukes_flygirl/Inthetent.jpg
Liam standing at a friend of my parents place
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/dukes_flygirl/AtThatchers15.jpg

And I can't resist the tutu picture again! My sister bought this for her:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/dukes_flygirl/Tutu1.jpg

Life has gotten a little busier in our house since Liam started really walking! He started getting up from the middle of the room on Saturday and he LOVES to be walking around! He still looks like a little Frankenstein and falling a lot, but he is getting better. Now, if only he would start STTN, mommy would be MUCH happier!

Ryleigh, well, sleeping has become a thing of contention with us again, she is now afraid of the dark, and is waking up in the middle of the night, so now that my DH is at sea, I am getting up with BOTH of them! Needless to say I am VERY tired and have little patience with her typical two year old behaviour. She has a night light, 3 in fact, and we leave her door open to her room as ours is just across the hall, but it isn't working all that well. I hope that it ends REALLY soon!

Hope you are all having a great summer! Take Care!

[mia's mama]

Sherry- those photos! Beautifully shot! Have you taken up photography? I voted for you on that Father's Day contest you posted about in the July thread and noticed all of your awesome photographs. Abby and Logan have different coloring but I still think they look quite alike. So cute.

Joelle- Ryleigh's hair has gotten so long! Both kiddos are adorable!

Sara- I think Kyle and Allison look quite alike too...love the tutu pic!

Boy Moms....Any suggestions on a few 1st B-Day presents for Jackson? I am at a loss, but am thinking both kids would probably like a train table....

LJ- never seem to have the time to figure it out!

[annielynn]

1st B-day for boys Jack got a lot of clothes and books for his first birthday. Poor thing. ;) I did get him a couple of ride on/push toys. He still likes those. We never had room for a train table but I know a lot of friends that got that for their kids. Good idea. I am sure that Mia would like it as well.

Jack also got blocks and cars for that birthday. His second birthday was a lot more fun for the little boy toys! I am sure that 3 is going to be even more fun. ;)

[AJX]

Stacey, X got this
http://www.babystyle.com/common/dProductDetail.asp?pmid=15812&dept=37&sc=140
(The Fantastic Fun & Storage Station)
for his first birthday and loved it. The bead maze doesn't interest him as long today, but now he can talk about how the train has an engine and two freight cars, and the alphabet side interests him now. I love it because it is the only alphabet in our house that doesn't have "X" stand for xylophone or, if animal based, the x-ray fish. (It uses the Brazilian xenopi bird.)
For his second b-day, he got a train table. I think it's great for multiple kids, both as they start doing "independent co-play" and eventually can play together cooperatively. Also plenty of opportunities to talk about sharing and taking turns. :p My friend with b-g twins has one, too, and the kids both love it.

[K&H's mommy]

Ok we haven't posted in this thread in 1.5 months!!!!

Let's see what's new with Kyle.... well, he was potty trained for 3 weeks and now he's not potty trained. He regressed and then fought us tooth-and-nail. Now he is potty trained with pee-pee but not for #2. As long as he isn't pooping on the floor (which he was doing A LOT) I am OK with him doing it in a pullup!

We also found out he is allergic to peanuts. He has a moderate allergy so not sure what that means...we will just keep all peanuts away from him!

He starts preschool in less than two weeks! It's Tue & Thur for three hours a day. He is excited to go and "play with boys". He loves to be around other kids so I know he'll have a great time. And I will enjoy a break for 6 hours a week. ;-)

Here's a picture last week at the Discovery Kingdom
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/NICU_nurse/P1040872.jpg

[Paula R]

My oldest son started Kindergarten today. And Caden started a new preschool. He was just like a big boy. He didn't cry and just said "bye mom" I'm so proud of him. (The kindergartner on the other hand held onto my legs and didn't want me to leave.)

Caden has been potty trained for about a month now. One day, he decided to go to the potty and has not looked back. I am most suprised that he has not had any accidents wetting the bed. I'll have to post some pictures of my big boy.

I'm concerned about his speech. He talks a lot but there are consonants that he cannot say like W, Y, L, and F. When he's talking he will just drop those consonants if they are the first letter of the work. For "water" he says "ater" for "you" he says "ou". I having him evaluated by the early intervention program to see if he has an articulation problem that he can get help with.

Not much else going on with us. When/if I get some time, I'll have to check you ladies out on LJ.

[mak]

I have not been in here for ages!!! Things have been crazy..we moved to Boston in February and long story short we did not move into our house until the end of April and have been renovating room by room since. Totally insane with two kids, but so far it has been worth it.

We actually have been spending time with Stacey, Mia, and Jackson...which has been so fun. Also, it has been making the transition a little easier knowing at least one person in town and Mimi LOVES Mia.

Mimi has been potty trained for 2-3 months now??? and even at night for the past 3-4 weeks with no accidents -which shocked me too. We need to move her to a bed soon as sometimes she calls to us in the middle of the night to get her from her crib to use the potty. I am not sure how she will handle the freedom of a bed and I am a little nervous for it.

I am also having Mimi's speech evaluated this week actually. I also think she has an articulation problem. I have trouble understanding some words and there are some sounds she can not make. For Look..she says yook and I can not understand sometimes if she is saying snack (nack) or nap. I will be interested to hear what they think on Friday.

I am still trying to figure out what we are going to do this fall, we missed the sign up for preschools in the spring and we are still trying to see if there are any openings..if not we may just take a bunch of classes like dance, music, etc. to fill our days.
Hope everyone is having a great summer. I will try and post pictures soon.

[annielynn]

Things are great here!

Jack is potty trained (I think!) We have gone a week with zero accidents. He is really awesome about it. I just hope that he keeps it going. He thinks that he is hot stuff when he goes all by himself. I think that he has shown everyone his "unnerwear." If you walk into my house he pulls his shorts down to show you. Silly Kid!

Claire is getting bigger by the second. It makes me sad to think how fast she is growing up. :( No more baby stages for me.

A couple of pictures!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/August%2007/BrotherlyLove8_6_07.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/August%2007/100_3365.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/alynn0903/July%202007/July20_21_22055.jpg

[mia's mama]

Great Pics Annie & Sara!

update from us...
As Megan mentioned, we have been haning out with Mimi and Ella a few times/week which has made the move accross country very easy from a social standpoint. Both Mia and Mimi and Jackson and Ella play well together which is so great.

Mia has also been potty-trained for a few months and with encouragement from MAK we stopped using pull-ups at night a few weeks ago. I'm happy to report that we have had no accidents! Yeah!

Mia starts preschool 2 weeks from tomorrow and we are all pretty excited about it (especially me ). She'll go on Mon/Wed from 9-1. It'll be nice to have some 1:1 time with Jackson and this will allow me to take a Mommy & Me class with him too.

Hope you are all well!
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1203/1203284822_e4ceb70297.jpg?v=0

Here's a new one of J...he lucked out and got the same outrageous eyelashes as Mia:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1215/1214025590_0dd5a62176.jpg?v=0

[CMW02]

Stacey-Glad things in Boston are going well. How fun that you and MAK can hang out!

Simone stats pre-school in two weeks from yesterday also..and ITA. I'm looking forward to the 1:1 w/Gavin a lot. I'll miss S, but I am happy about just having my lil guy alone for few hours twice a week. ;)

[duke's flygirl]

Glad to hear that everyone is doing well, and that Stacey and the kids are settling into the Boston Area. How great that you and Megan and the kids have been able to get together!

The pictures are incredible of all the kiddos!

Us: I'm back to work now for over a month, Denis left for 2 weeks at sea this morning (on a Saturday it is normally unheard of!)

Ryleigh has been wearing panties for over 2 weeks now and has only had one accident and it happened in the bathroom so very close!

Liam was baptized in the middle of August and we also had his first birthday party!

I'll leave you with a picture of each of them just because!

Ryleigh:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/dukes_flygirl/Ryleighinherprettydressfromgrandma1.jpg?

Liam in his outfit from the Baptism(he was baptized on the same ship as Ryleigh almost 2 years ago!)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y206/dukes_flygirl/SailorLiam7.jpg?t=1189270618

[mia's mama]

Joelle- I can'r believe how long Ryleigh's hair is! She looks like she's devising a mischevious plan in that picture- and Liam looks so much like her!

How is Pre School going for those that are sending their kids this year? We had "orientation" on Thursday and Mia clung to DH like glue the entire time, crying for most of it. Monday (first full day where I will actually leave her) is going to be fun:(...I bet I'll cry longer and harder than she will though.

We started a new round of swimming lessons today (first since we left LA in April) and M is a serious fish. She won't even let DH touch her in the pool anymore and is CONVINCED she is swiming on her own (they have to wear a flotation device around their bellys, which she has never worn before). I'm sure she would sink if it wasn't on her, but she kicks, puts her face in the water, blows bubbles and paddles her arms like crazy. Hopefully she'll be swimming completely on her own by next summer. It'd be nice to take both kids to the pool which I can't do now with 2 little ones who need to hold onto me.

[K&H's mommy]

preschool - Kyle ran in and never looked back. He has yet to give a crap that I am leaving ;) Although he is very happy when I pick him up. There are a lot of kids that cry every single day though....

[Paula R]

Caden cried almost every day at the first preschool he went to. I swear after 6 months he was still crying so I had to get him out of there. The second school he adapted very well. My DH dropped him off and picked him up every day but he said Caden never cried. The school he's at now he absolutely loves. He started there during the summer for summer camp and now it like a second home to him.

[Kates]

Pre-school - We're not sure what we're going to do. Grady is starting 4yr old kindergarten in Sept '08 FULL DAYS! He won't even be 4 by then. They do a full day for the French Catholic school board in our area. I say let him have his fun at daycare until then, he'll be in school full time until he's 18! BUT we're concerned about him not speaking French well enough for the French school. He understands everything DH says to him (Denis has spoken French only to him since he was an infant), but responds in English.

Stacey - I hope Mia's first day at preschool went ok!

Paula - That's great that Caden likes his school, that's a great start when they like school right away ;)

Just before I post a few pictures of Grady, I wanted to let the girls who are not on LJ know that I'm expecting again :) I'm just a little over 14 weeks now, and I'm due in March. Hopefully this pregnancy will be a lot less eventful than with Grady. So far, so good, my blood sugar has been ok, and besides being really sick, it's been uneventful.

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http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1387/1270737549_5e306f824b.jpg?v=0
At Storyland

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1372/1357811990_e3595548f4.jpg?v=0
At the beach. You can see that his scar is still quite visible.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1091/1270723231_4266596fd5.jpg?v=0
Grady and Bob

[mia's mama]

Kate- CONGRATS on #2! What great news!!! Grady is so damn cute...

Well, yesterday was Mia's first day of school and I am happy to report that it was a success! We had a few (okay, A LOT of) tears during the drop off process, but that was to be expected. When I picked her up 4 hours later, she was beaming and chattered about her day at lightning speed for the next 20 minutes or so.

The highlights:
-She has a class pet, a turtle named Franklin ("today is his birthday!").
-She got to paint on the easel and they even had purple paint.
-She got to play outside on the swings, slide and in the sandbox ("and this slide is huge, Mommy, HUGE!")
-She ate lunch and helped a friend open her "container".
-She played with a toy farm that has "73 horses and a bunch of pigs".
-She sang a song about "Sticky Gum".

Here is my big girl all ready for her first day:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1077/1360333896_853f784854.jpg?v=0

and after school with Jackson who is ALWAYS trying to kiss his big sis:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1233/1360334926_aeaca13305.jpg?v=0
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/1359445227_b1e2200874.jpg?v=0

[annielynn]

OMG how cute is that kissy picture Stacey!!

Grady is such a cutie pie Kate!

QOTD I have a question for all of you. Florida Law states that a child must be 5 years old by Sept 1 in order to enroll in Kindergarten which means that Jack will not start school until 2010. How are the rules in your states/countries different?