MayJune05 Babies - Passing the 18 month mark!

[MayJune05Moms]

Welcome to the May/June 2005 Parenting thread!

To join, please submit a post to this thread with the following information:

Me: AGE (including real 1st name is optional)
DH: AGE ( " " " " " )
Married: Date
DD/DS: Birthdate (can include multiple stats here if you have more than one child - if you prefer)
Baby's Stats: Weight & Height (at Birth)
any other information provided is also optional. :)



Please post any requests for a change in roster info in RED. Thanks!

YOUR THREAD MODERATORS ARE DISNEYGIRL and ALIENHOST


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

45 members, WOW!!! :D

ahavnes
Me: Alicia (31)
DH: Scott (31)
Married: 2/21/04
DD: Gabrielle Kathleen (Abbey)
Born: 5/29/05 (7lbs 9oz, 20.5 inches, 5:11pm)

alienhost
Me: 36
DH: 42
Married: 8/02
DD: Katherine 4/27/05

allyray231
Me: Allyson, 31
DH: Brad, 30
Married: 11/23/02
DS: Aiden Harrison, June 10, 2005

Aunt Liv
Me: Olivia, 28
DH: Adam, 31
Married: September 2, 2000
DD: Maia Sophie, 5/14/05

BAM 9-21-02
Me - 26
DH - 25
Married 9-21-02
DD - Emma Mary
Born 6-12-05
Weight 7lbs 6oz
Height 20 3/4 inches

BridalLace
Me: Heather, 35
DH: Cristian, 33
Married: 7/6/02
DD: Elodie Cristine, born May 7, 2005
8 lbs 2 oz; 19.5"

BTB
ME: 28
DH: 29
Married: June 29, 2002
DD: Evelyn Christine, born April 13, 2005

Carissa
Me: Carissa, 26
DH: Eric, 25
Married: August 17th, 2002
DD: Grace Elizabeth May 15th, 2005
6lbs. 3oz 12:34 p.m. 18"

christy1010
Me: Christy, 36
DH: Curt, 34
Married: 10/10/98
DD: Sarah Elizabeth 5/21/05 5:39pm
7lbs 10oz 20inches

Chylynn
Me: Chylynn (29)
DH: Dave (31)
Married: September 22, 2001
DD: Rebecca Ainsley, Born April 2nd, 2005

cynder
ME: 29
DH: 29
Married: May 25 2002
DS: Samuel Basil May 19, 2005

Dally
ME: 36
DH: 39
Married: August 18, 2002
DD: Annalie, May 12, 2005

December27JJB
Me: Jessica
DH: Joshua
Married: December 27, 2003
DD: Parker Alexandria 6/13/05

diedra1027
Me: Diedra, 31
DH: Blake, 34
Married: August 24, 2001
DD: Avery Jene born May 5, 2005

DisneyGirl
ME: Jenn, 29
DH: Eric, 29
Married: June 15,2002
DS: 9/30/03
DD: NIkki 5/10/05

Dreshny
Me: Roseanne, 32
DH: Daniel, 32
Married: 9/30/01
DS: Asher Isaiah 5/31/05

happy1nuv
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 8/21/02
DS: Nic - 5/18/05

HedgeGirl
Me: Shann, 31
DH: 34
Married: Aug 17, 2002
DS Brady: June 22, 2005
Brady's Stats: At birth 6 lb, 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches

hub1176
Me: Kate 28
DH: Bruce 33
Married 7/20/02
DD: Rhiley Beatrice, June 1, 2005

IrishEyes
Me: 33
DH: 34
Married: April 26, 2002
DS: Brody, born 5/25/05

Jessiesmama
Me: 32
DH: 34
Married: June 8, 2003
DD: Jessica Alexa
DOB: June 8, 2005
Time:8:29pm
Weight:8 lbs 3 oz
Length:21 1/2 inches

jmvan74
ME: 31
DH: 28
Married: July 24th, 2004
DS: born June 13th, 2005

jrdhbunny
Me: 34
DH: 36
Married: 7/26/03
DS: James Edward, 4/26/05

kelseyledare
Me: 27
DH: 36
DD: Ava Victoria
6/10/2005 10:59 AM
6 lb 6 oz, 20 in

KGif
Me - Kelly 32
DH - Mike 36
Married May 3, 2003
DS, Jack, born May 16, 2005; 7 lbs 13 oz; 21 inches

kimthebride
Me: Kim, 31
DH: Tom, 31
Married: 10/18/03
DS: Thomas Ryan, June 3, 2005

kphillips4
Me: Kimberly (26)
DH: Chris (29)
Married: 3/13/2004
DD:06/17/2005
Baby's Stats: 7pds. 9 ounces and 20 inches long

ladybug0525
ME: Judie
DH: Jason
DS: Jack Campbell born 5/16/05
Married: 05/25/02

lattee22
Me: lattee22, Jaime, 29
DH: Brian, 27
Married: September 21, 2001
DD: Noelle, born May 2, 2005
Baby's Stats: 8lbs., 3 oz., 20 inches

LIZNKEITH
Me: Liz, 28
DH: Keith, 37
Married: July 28, 2001
DD: Caroline Elizabeth, June 15th

Misty911
Me: Misty, 28
DH: Patrick, 30
SD: Trisha, 9
DS: Caleb, 21 months Born Dec. 23, 2003 8lb 9oz 22" Long
DD: Emily, 5 Months Born May 9, 2005 6lb 13oz 19" Long

Mrs.Chappy
Me:29
DH:29
DS: Benjamin born 6-8-05
7.15 oz 20.5 inches.

Natrat80
me-Natalie 25
DH-Keri 26
Married 05.25.02
DD: Addison Grace, born 06.14.05
6 lbs 6 oz 18 1/2 inches

njnewyearsbride
Me: 32
DH: 32
Married: 12/31/03
DD: Hazel - 5/26/05
7lbs 4.8oz 21.5"

Pam27
me: Pam 28
DH: Ryan 27
Married: July 27, 2001
DD: Taylor Louise January 10, 2002
DS: Colin George May 4, 2005

portlandbride
Me: Brandi, 33
DH: Preston, 31
Married: September 16, 2001
DD: Brynn Pamela, May 12, 2005

psusna
Me: Becky, 29 (PR Manager, Internet Bank)
DH: Doug, 32 (Project Manager, International Energy/Automation Company)
Married: 9/22/01
DS: Jackson (5/3/05)
Stats: Birth--7lb. 7oz., 21"

rancherswife
Me: Kim 26
Dh: Brett 26
Ds: Landon Joseph 6/4/05 7lbs. 4 oz. 21 1/4 inches

Sasha
Me: Sasha, 30
DH: Greg, 35
Married: Nov. 3, 2001
DD: Sarah Elise, born May 16, 2005

September2002
Me: Carolyne, 34
DH: 32
Married: September 7, 2002
DD: Samantha, born December 19, 2003
DD: Grace, born June 2, 2005

Sherah
Me: 25
DH: 26
Married: 12/5/03
DS: Arik, 5-11-05

tgray99
Me: Tara 29
DH: 29
Married: 11/15/03
DD: Aidan Christine - 5/09/05
8lbs 3oz 20"

tgr68
Me: 26
DH: 26
Married: 6/1/02
DD: Shylah Ryann
Born: 6/18/05 (8lbs 0.8oz, 19 inches, 10:44am)

traciann
Me: Traci (30)
DH: Timothy (35)
Married: 11.23.02
DD: Mary Kate 4.26.05

usafwife
Me: 29
DH: 40
Married: 4/17/04
DD: Sarah Olivia
born 6/28/05
8 lbs, 7 oz.

wendstress
Me: Wendy, 29
DH: Jon, 34
Married: 4/28/01
DS: James Jack, born May 10, 2005

WinterBride1253
Me: 31
DH: 31
Married: 12/6/03
DS: Cole Robert, June 15, 2005

[MayJune05Moms]

Birthdays listed by date, and their Mommies... :)


4/2/05
Rebecca Ainsley...Chylynn

4/13/05
Evelyn Christine...BTB

4/26/05
Mary Kate...traciann
James Edward...jrdhbunny

4/27/05
Katherine...alienhost

----------------------------------------------------------
5/2/05
Noelle...lattee22

5/3/05
Will...Jenyfer9
Jackson...psusna

5/4/05
Colin George...Pam27

5/5/05
Avery Jene...diedra1027

5/7/05
Elodie Cristine...BridalLace

5/9/05
Aidan Christine...tgray99

5/10/05
Nicole Elizabeth...DisneyGirl
James Jack...wendstress

5/11/05
Arik...Sherah

5/12/05
Annalie...Dally
Brynn Pamela...portlandbride

5/14/05
Maia Sophie...Aunt Liv

5/15/05
Grace Elizabeth...Carissa

5/16/05
Sarah Elise...Sasha
Jack Campbell...ladybug0525
Jack...KGif

5/18/05
Dominic Jeffrey (Nic)...happy1nuv

5/19/05
Samuel Basil...cynder

5/21/05
Douglas...Ferris
Sarah Elizabeth...christy1010

5/25/05
Brody...IrishEyes

5/26/05
Hazel...njnewyearsbride

5/29/05
Gabrielle Kathleen (Abbey)...ahavnes

5/31/05
Asher Isaiah...Dreshny


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

6/1/05
Rhiley Beatrice...hub1176
Peter James...yooper

6/2/05
Grace...September2002

6/3/05
Thomas Ryan...kimthebride

6/4/05
Landon Joseph...rancherswife

6/8/05
Benjamin...Mrs.Chappy
Jessica Alexa...Jessiesmama

6/9/05
Ethan...golfer_girl

6/10/05
Aiden Harrison...allray231
Ava Victoria...kelseyledare
Madison Hannah and Logan Mackenzie...sabrinag

6/12/05
Emma Mary...BAM 9-21-02

6/13/05
Parker Alexandria...December27JJB
Collin Todd...jmvan74

6/14/05
Addison Grace...Natrat80

6/15/05
Caroline Elizabeth...LIZNKEITH
Cole Robert...WinterBride1253

6/17/05
Haley...kphillips4

6/18/05
Shylah Ryann...tgr68

6/22/05
Brady...HedgeGirl

6/28/05
Sarah Olivia...usafwife

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[MayJune05Moms]

15-18 month well baby visit stats

ahavnes
Abbey:
15-month Stats
Height: 32 inches, 90%
Weight: 23 lbs 2oz 60% (this dropped from 75% at 12 mos, but doc says that's ok)
Head: 48 cm 95%

Alienhost
Katherine/18 months:
weight 19 lbs 10.5 ozs
Height - 32.25 inches
head - 18.75 inches
12 teeth total (6 top/6 bottom - including 4 molars)

allyray231
Aiden:
22 lbs 8 oz -between 25-50th percentile
33inches-90th percentile
2 teeth

Aunt Liv
Maia:
15 month WBV:
20lbs, 6oz - 10th percentile
31 1/4" - 75th percentile
18 1/2" head circumference - 75-80th percentile
Teeth - has 12 teeth (6 top, 6 bottom, including 4 molars)
started walking on 08/02/06

BridalLace
Elodie: 18 mos.
weight: 24 lbs 8 oz. (51%)
height: 32" (56%)
OFC: 50cm (99%)
- 8 teeth in front: 4 bottom, 4 top
- 3 molars now popping through! (11 teeth total)
- saying tons of words!
- walking since March '06

Carissa
Grace:
15 month WBV
height: 30'
weight 22lbs and 3 1/2 oz
4 teeth and 2 more on their way down!

christy1010
Sarah:
15 month Stats
Weight 17lbs. 14oz
Height 28 1/4''
Head Circumference 43
Teeth: One with two more on the way

chylynn
Rebecca/18 Months:
Weight 23.4lbs
Height 32"
HC 18.7"
Teeth 14

cynder
Samuel:
15 month
Height: 30"
Weight: 21 lbs
Head: can't remember but it was 90%
Teeth - 4: 2 on bottom, 2 on top
Shots: MMR and CP (DH is all for infection control so no delay)

Dally
Annalie:
Weight: 17 pounds
Height: 29 inches
Teeth: six

Diedra1027
Avery:
Weight: 16lbs 12oz
Height: 27 3/4"
Teeth: 6 - 4 on top, 2 on bottom.

Disneygirl
Nikki:
18 month stats: 24.5 LBS 31 inches

Dreshny
Asher/18 month stats:
Height: 32 in (38%)
Weight: 22 lbs, 11 oz (12%)

happy1inuv
Nic:
18 month well baby stats:
Height: 33"
Weight: 25 lbs 4 oz
Head: 19"
One bottom tooth poking through

IrishEyes
Brody:
15 month WBV stats:
35 inches tall (>97th percentile for 16 month olds)
28 lbs (90th percentile)
14 teeth

Jenyfer9
Will:
Height: 30.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs, 7 oz (65th percentile)
Head: 18 5/8 inches (80th percentile)

jessiesmama
Jessica:
15 month WBV
Weight: 20 lbs. - 10%
length - 30" - 50%

jmvan74
Collin:
23lbs 3oz
31 3/4 inches
18.5 in. head
15 teeth

Jrdhbunny
James:
18-month well visit stats:
Height: 33"
Weight: 24 lbs
Head Circumference: 19"

kimthebride
Thomas/18 months:
Length 33.5" 90%
Weight 27lbs 75%
Head ?? 75%

Misty911
Emily Grace:
Weight 20.4
Length 28"

njnewyearsbride
Hazel: late 18 month wbv
height - 34 7/8" 95%
weight - 26lbs 14oz 75%


portlandbride
Brynn:
Weight: 18.7 lbs.
Height: 29 1/8 inches

psusna
Jackson:
18mo WBV Stats
Weight: 31.2lbs
Height: 34.5"
Head: 19.75"
all were 95%

rancherswife
Landon:
18 mo. WBV:
Height: 34" (90th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs. (25th percentile)
Head: Can't remember (but it was 75th percentile)

Sasha
Sarah 18 months:
Weight - 25.10 lbs (75th %)
Height - 34.5" (although I think it's more like 34", off the charts either way
HC - 18" (15th %)
2 lower teeth coming in

tgray99
Aidan:
15 Month Stats
Weight: 24 lbs 8 oz 75 percentile
Height: 31.5 inches 80 percentile
Head Circumference: 18.5 inches 80 percentile
Aidan now has 4 teeth and 2 more are breaking through

tgr68
Shylah:
15-Month WBV
Height: 31.25 inches
Weight: 21lbs 10oz
2 teeth

Traciann
Mary Kate:
20lbs 14.5oz (75 % down from 95%)
29 inches long (97% )
she has 2 bottom teeth, and this week 2 more have broken through.

usafwife
Sarah:
18 month stats:
Weight: 25.4 lbs
Height: 32.5 inches

wendstress
James Jack:
Height: 32.5" - 48%
Weight: 27.2# - 63%
HC - Don't remember the number, but 96%

[MayJune05Moms]

Repeat Offenders:

Congratulations to these Mommies and their newest additions:

Misty911
Joshua Holden on March 31, 2006

hub1176
Mia Angeline 7lbs 4ounces 20 inches long at 9:50 July 31st.

jennylou
Eleanor (Nora) Grace 7 lbs 9 oz, 20.25" August 10th

portlandbride
Addison September 24, 2006 at 8:28 pm.
7 lbs. 9 ounces; 19 3/4 inches long.

Carissa
Jonah Eric December 7, 2006 at 10:04 am
6 lbs 14 oz; 20 inches long

jmvan74
Brady Newell 9:31 on Jan 17, 2007
7lbs 14oz and 21 inches long

usafwife
Alexander Thomas 1:39 PM on January 19, 2007
7lbs 6 ozs and 19 1/4 inches long

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

Currently Expecting:

njnewyearsbride
It's a Surprise!!
EDD:2/19/07

rancherswife
It's a Boy!
Reece EDD: 2/27/07

ladybug0525
It's a Boy!
EDD: 3/20/07

happy1inuv
It's a Boy!
EDD: 3/31/07

diedra1027
It's a Boy!
EDD: 4/4/07

wendstress
It's a Boy!
EDD: 4/8/07

kimthebride
It's a Girl!
EDD: 4/18/07

DisneyGirl
EDD: 9/1/07

*more later!* :)

[MayJune05Moms]

Thread Histories: these links are now working! yeah! :D

MayJune05Moms Thread Archive (CC Threads):

Walking, Talking, Getting into Everything! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25186)
Toddlers Already?! (CC-Vol VII) (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23037)
Happy Birthday to You! (CC-Vol VI) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=19988)
Almost 1 Year Old!(CC-Vol V) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=17367)
Counting Down to Birthday #1!(CC - Vol IV) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=13352)
Nearing the 6 Month Milestone!(CC - Vol III) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=9575)
NEW! May/June '05 Parenting Thread - OPEN FOR POSTING!(CC - Vol II) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=5147)
MayJune05Mommies (CC - Vol I) (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=664)

May 2005 Thread Archives
Vol VI - 45 Peas in a Pod!! (Vol VI) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=489050&tstart=50)

Vol V - 45 Peas in a Pod! (Vol V) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=484869&tstart=50)

Vol IV - 45 Peas in a Pod! (Vol IV) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=479932&tstart=75)

Vol III - 42 Peas in a Pod, Due 5/05! (Vol III) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=477234&tstart=75)

Vol II - 42 Peas in a Pod, Due 5/05! (Vol II) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=473349&tstart=75)

Vol I - PG & Due in May 05! (Vol I) (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=469446&tstart=75)

June 2005 Thread Archives
3rd trimester - Junebugs 2005: Welcome Sierra, Matthew, Liam, Parker, Sarah, Dean, & Kevin! (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=486105&tstart=0)

2nd trimester - Junebugs: The Next Generation! The Second Tri... 12 Boys, 13 Girls and 8 Surprises (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=477403&tstart=120)

1st trimester - Junebugs: The Next Generation! *32* due in June 2005 (http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=471862&tstart=165)

[MayJune05Moms]

stats were updated for:

usafwife
rancherswife
tgr68
Sasha
happy1inuv
kimthebride

has anyone heard from njnewyearsbride?

thanks,

Heather

[Dreshny]

Subscribing.

I know that njnewyearsbride isn't finding out the sex of DC#2, if that's what you're asking...

[jmvan74]

Thanks for the new thread! I can't beleive we are on the way to having 2 year olds! :D

[psusna]

Thanks for the new thread -- it seems like we just started the last thread! Our little ones are growing so fast.

[DisneyGirl]

Thanks, for the new thread Heather!!

Talk to everyone soon!

[tgray99]

I love seeing all of those ROs...can't wait to join them and add another boy. I think I might be imagining things but I feel full in my lower belly. I know it would be insanely early to feel anything much less know anything but here's hoping. We're BDing our little hearts out. I've got a newfound appreciation for doggy-style (we're trying for a boy). Sorry if TMI! :o

[portlandbride]

Thanks for the new thread!
Can you please update my age to 33 and Preston's to 31?
Thanks!

[usafwife]

Wow, a new thread! I can't believe that my little one is soon to be 18 months old (but not until the end of December) and baby #2 is only about 9 wks away from making his appearance.

We had a good Thanksgiving and even got some shopping done on Black Friday. The rest of the weekend wasn't much fun though. Saturday morning our husky mix was having seizures. We took him to the vet. She tried to stablize him but didn't have any luck. She thinks he was poisoned but we didn't get to have any blood work done because he was never stable enough to get it drawn. Sunday morning he was put to sleep. :(

He was just 3 years old. He was a rescue dog who had been abused by his first owners (among other things they kicked him in his knees to the point where they weren't sure he would be able to walk normally). Thankfully with joint meds he was fine and had no ill effects.

There sure are a lot of little boys in the RO list. 2007 must definitely be the year for little boys!

I'm anemic so hopefully the iron supplements will work. Guess that's the reason for my extremely low BP, dizziness/lightheadedness, and being so darn exhausted all the time. I've also got some swelling in my legs and ankles. It isn't going away with rest and staying off my feet. So I'm probably looking at bedrest in the near future. Guess I won't get to avoid that this pregnancy either.

Dealing with a nice winter storm now. We've had freezing rain, sleet, and snow today. We've got at least 8 inches of snow on the ground and it's still coming down like crazy. Hope the roads are better by tomorrow afternoon as we have be gone this weekend.

If anyone hears from njnewyearsbride please tell her to stop by the Feb 2007 group and give us an update. We haven't heard from her in a while. We have her listed as having a surprise baby.

[rancherswife]

I've got a newfound appreciation for doggy-style (we're trying for a boy). Sorry if TMI!
LMAO!!!

You are too funny, tgray! I hope all that hard work pays off! ;)

Thanks for the new thread!!! Passing the 18 mo. mark!!! Do we have to???? I'm sad!

[DisneyGirl]

USA Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your dog and that you were unable to get some answers as towhat the heck happen. HUGS to you and your family. Its such a terrible loss.
AND, you are getting SNOW! ACKK...thank god i'm vacationing in FL where its in the high 70's..

[kimthebride]

If anyone hears from njnewyearsbride please tell her to stop by the Feb 2007 group and give us an update. We haven't heard from her in a while. We have her listed as having a surprise baby.
She's keeping it a suprise, but don't worry - I am working on her! ;) She's been pretty busy and doing some travel. I think she checks in here to read when she can.
On Sunday Dreshny & I will see her and demand an update on your behalf. :D

tgray
Seriously, you are a sharer aren't you? LMAO!!! Oh geez. Now I look like the boring missionary housewife, since I'm the only one having a girl. ;)

[jmvan74]

I've got a newfound appreciation for doggy-style (we're trying for a boy). Sorry if TMI! :o

LMAO!! You are too much! You better get your boy! hehe.:D


Winter Storm: Not here, but I hope all of you ladies dealing w/ the snow are keeping warm and safe! ( I am a bit jealous of the snow...okay more than just a bit):o

[happy1nuv]

Ok..since we're sharing..I'm confused. I thought girl on top made girl...missionary made boy. No?? (although, in the interest of tmi...BOTH apparently make boys for me)

[kimthebride]

OMG I can't believe what I am learning about you all!

I always went by the timing more than the position: girl sperm live longer, so give them a long trip to the egg (a few days before Oing or I guess a longer...um...vaginal journey) and you increase your girl odds. Boy sperm die quicker so get them as close to the egg as possible (DTD the day before and day of Oing and get them as far inside as possible - maybe this is where doggie-style comes into play?).

And if you want to be rather explicit here, it doesn't hurt to orgasm AFTER DH finishes so your cervix dips into that pool of baby-makers and increases your odds even a bit more....

I can vouch on the timing.

With DS we were so exhausted from DTD when I wasn't actually Oing (stupid temp charting doesn't work for me) that the one time I did O we DTD one time on that day and got a boy.

With DD it was a few days before Oing - which is why we were so suprised...I want to say it was 4 days before, then I got a migraine on the day I O'd so there was no hanky panky going on that day. I O'd much earlier than usual, so when it came it was a suprise - we thought we had more time.

[kimthebride]

PRODUCT REVIEW
Just had to share this: we hit BRU yesterday and I picked up:

Gerber Scoopin' Spoons
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/kidsstuff_1911_4563136
DS is feeding himself his Yo Baby right out of the container this morning for the 1st time! He can hold this spoon better than any others I tried, the bowl is deep and flexible, and the end of the handle and a lip on it to keep it from sliding into the bowl when you rest it. Ingenious!

[Dreshny]

I always went by the timing more than the position: girl sperm live longer, so give them a long trip to the egg (a few days before Oing or I guess a longer...um...vaginal journey) and you increase your girl odds. Boy sperm die quicker so get them as close to the egg as possible.

OTOH, you could be me. You could DTD (girl on top) 3-4 days before O'ing, and STILL have a boy. So it's just about the odds, not a guarantee.

[usafwife]

Thanks for the new thread!!! Passing the 18 mo. mark!!! Do we have to???? I'm sad!
We'll get our second chance in just a few months.


USA Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your dog and that you were unable to get some answers as towhat the heck happen. HUGS to you and your family. Its such a terrible loss.
AND, you are getting SNOW! ACKK...thank god i'm vacationing in FL where its in the high 70's..
Thank you. Yes, it is a terrible loss but he isn't suffering anymore so that brings us some comfort. Yes, we got TONS of snow here. We have well over a foot and was all DH could do to get out to go to work this morning. It was so deep that even with a 4-wheel drive truck he still had trouble getting out. The snow drifts are several feet deep in places on our property.


She's keeping it a suprise, but don't worry - I am working on her! ;) She's been pretty busy and doing some travel. I think she checks in here to read when she can.
On Sunday Dreshny & I will see her and demand an update on your behalf. :D
Believe, I understand being busy. We'd just like to hear how she's doing. Some days there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done that needs to get done and I wonder how they'll ever get done with two kids around. Especially during those first few weeks/months. I'm starting to panic just a little.


Winter Storm: Not here, but I hope all of you ladies dealing w/ the snow are keeping warm and safe! ( I am a bit jealous of the snow...okay more than just a bit):o
Julie ~ Believe me, we have more than enough that we can spare some for you. The morning low at around 7:15 was a whopping 5 degrees according.

Our dogs are loving the snow but the horses could do without it. The cats wanted in last night so they spent the night in the house. They haven't even wanted out yet this morning. DD was thrilled to have them in the house last night. She's been having a blast playing with them.

Teeth ~ Last night DH was able to see that DD is getting a molar. I'd suspected it due to her mood and behavior.

Non-toys ~ Another one who loves to play with credit cards. Of course billfolds/wallets are high on the list as well. Remotes have been a favorite for many months now.

[psusna]

Combine the theories of Kim and Happy and the result is our J-Man.

Same J-Man who had a fit of all fits when I put electric candles in the windows last night so they went bye-bye. Same J-Man who let out a big WOAH when we turned on the tree :)

Good tip on the spoons Kim. DS fed himself an entire YoBaby as well the other night. Any tips to keep the cartons (same for applesauce, etc.) from sliding all over the table other than holding it for him?

Sending warm thoughts to those of you braving the winter storm!!

[diedra1027]

I thought girl on top made girl...missionary made boy. No?? (although, in the interest of tmi...BOTH apparently make boys for me)Not true for us ;). Like Kim, I understand it to be a matter of timing, but it's not 100% guarantee (yeah, what Dreshney said!).

Thanks for the tip on the spoons..might make a good stocking stuffer :).

[Sasha]

LOL about all the info sharing on having boys vs. girls. :p

Kim - Those spoons look great, much better than the Take & Toss ones we are using now. Thanks for the tip, definitely going to pick them up.

usafwife - So sorry about your dog. ((Hugs))

So Sarah is all about taking her shoes off now and daycare isn't too thrilled. They asked DH yesterday if we had other shoes she could wear. Her main two pairs of shoes are both velcro, she can take both pairs off. :rolleyes: I really do not feel like trying to find super duper shoes that don't come easily, mainly because they'll probably be harder for me to get on and off her too! Anyhoo, any shoe suggestions for me?

Hehe, Sarah and Alicia's Abbey are going to have a playdate on Sunday since they are in town. The two girls are so much alike, it should be fun. :)

[tgr68]

tgray~LOL! Good luck with that! ;)

Meri~Please be careful traveling this weekend!! DH decided to go to work today (F.S. just north of us). It took him about 45 minutes to get there. He said almost nobody came into work, and most of them live in that town! :eek: Our lab is loving the snow too, although the belly flop off the porch this morning caught her by surprise! :p

Disney~It was in the 70's here too on Monday/Tuesday. Then BAM! probably a good 10" of snow on Thursday! Aaaah! Gotta love KS weather! :rolleyes:

Kim~LOL! Hey now! Woman on top makes girls too! ;)

Julie~I tried to get a picture of the snow for you, but it was too dark last night.

Timing & Gender~We DTD 2 days before O when I got pg with DD.

Sasha~What about a pair of zippered boots? Shylah likes to take her shoes off as well, and she rarely tries when I put her boots on her.

I got all the Christmas gifts I've bought wrapped last night!! Now I just need to put the final details on our family newsletter and pull out the store bought cards. My goal was to have them in the mail today, but I don't think that's going to happen. Oh well! Better than last year when we sent out Happy New Year newsletters! :eek:

[cynder]

Sasha We had the exact same problem and our teacher also asked me to find something else. I had a pair of Chuck Taylors that I bought more as a novelty but they work the best, double knotted. PITA to get on but at least he can't take them off.

Boy/Girl Damn, I think we've veered into weird territory that I don't need to know about all of you! :D :D :D

[allyray231]

you guys crack me up!!! Kim I might have to get those spoons.

Last day of my job today-crazy stuff. We move next week so if you don't see me around for a while (who am I kidding! I am a internet junkie) I will be back once we are settled in!!

[happy1nuv]

ally ~ good luck with the move! :)

usa ~ sorry about your dog... I can't believe I missed that the first time around... We have a husky too. {{HUGS}}

DH's cousin plows snow in NJ...he's said that for the past 3 years, on the same day in early Dec, it's snowed here. I forget which date it was... but... I'm hoping for a 4th year in a row :)

[Chylynn]

Popping in to say "hello"- man, it has been forever! I can't believe we have so many RO in this thread! Congratulations to all that are expecting. We are not going to talk about #2 until Rebecca's second birthday.

18 Month Stats
Weight 23.4lbs
Height 32"
HC 18.7"
Teeth 14

Spoons and forks - We use the take and toss for Rebecca and she feeds herself really well with them. We have not been able to feed her since she was 14 months old (she pushes our hand away) and does really well with silverware now.

Talking - We have about three words. Pediatrician is okay with it since she fully understands and follows directions really well.

Jumping- She gets airborn now and it scares the crap out of me! I am so afraid she is going to jump off of our deck in the backyard and get hurt. We have such a little tomboy on our hands!

Tree- We are decorating it tonight, but we have had it in the house since Sunday and she touches it and stares at it, but so far has left it alone. We will see after this weekend how it goes. She has left all of our other holiday decorations alone.

OMG, you all are cracking me up with boy/girl things!!

Please update my age to 29 and DH age to 31

[usafwife]

Sasha ~ Thank you. I can relate about the shoes. It's become one of DD's most favorite things to do. Usually it will happen when we are in the car. She's never been one that likes socks or shoes. She can untie her one pair and the others are velcro which are easily removed by her.

Naamah ~ We will. DH thought that they would cancel it this weekend but I knew they wouldn't. Things are not that bad there (considerably less snow). When DH got to work there were only about 5 or 10 people there and those were all out of town people like us. Several of the people in town got stuck getting out of their driveways. Doesn't surprise me...samething happened back in December 2000. I've got some pictures and plan to take more tonight after DH gets home from work. He said he wanted to take them so he could prove this weekend just how bad it was here.
Glad that the snow didn't happen last Thursday or we would have had a fun time going to kc on Thursday morning. Yeah, 70 degrees last Thursday and barely 20 degrees this Thursday. Gotta love that Kansas winter weather! ;) Looking forward to them getting the highway done. Those 4 lanes will make the trips even shorter.

ally ~ Best of luck with your move. Hope it goes smoothly. Last time we moved I was pregnant with DD and I swore I'd never move again when I was pregnant.

happy1 ~ Thank you. We have a full husky (red and white female) and a malamute (black, gray, and white male) besides the husky mix we lost. Our other husky that we lost in August 2005 was a silver/gray and white male with ice blue eyes. They are both loving the snow and cold weather (and are the only animals we have that are....the rest look like they are anxiously awaiting warmer weather to return).

[Jessiesmama]

Non-toy toys
All of the above mentioned. But this has been the best non-toy toy for DD....
A giant cardboard box. My parents used the box from the car seat. The floor is the bottom part and the top is opened. My dad cut a door into one side and a window on one side. She LOVES playing in the box. She and her grandpa color the box regularly - inside and out with crayons. She brings her toys in the box, etc. big hit!

[rancherswife]

LMAO!!! At the conversation we've got goin' on in here! Too funny. I have to agree, I think it's more of a timing thing, than anything else, we were missionary w/ Reece and lord only knows w/ Landon! Had a lot more time to get "creative" before kids! lol I know people that swear by both theories, the timing one just seems more logical to me! ;) Too funny! I needed a good laugh today!

Landon has bronchitis again second time in a month. Lovely! He's on Zithromax, haven't had to take this stuff since his first case of bronchitis a year ago, it's been amox., but this stuff kills it quick! Thank goodness. We go back next Thursday for his 18 mo. WBV! Never fails, my kid always gets sick a few days shy of going in for a WBV! :rolleyes:

ally: Good luck w/ the move!

ahavnes and sasha: Hope your playdate is fun. Take pics.! I'll be interested to hear how the two little "twinsee's" play!:)

Dh is home waaay early today, it's like noon here, and he's called it a day. He's gonna hang the x-mas lights on the house. Landon will be thrilled to wake up from his nap to find both his daddy home AND x-mas lights on the house! He totally digs the x-mas lights on houses! We'll get our tree tomorrow night and I'll decorate it when he goes to bed! ;)

[usafwife]

I've posted some of the pictures I've taken of our snowstorm in my journal if anyone is interested.

[alienhost]

thanks for the new thread!

can a mod update her 18 mo stats? I never update the # of teeth when I submitted it. TIA!

12 teeth total (6 top/6 bottom - including 4 molars)


usafwife I'm so sorry to hear your dog had to be put down. {hugs}. It's been almost 6 months since we had to put down our dog and I still think about her all the time. I still haven't put away her cookie jar or cleaned out her cabinet in the kitchen. I need to donate the food etc. but I just haven't been able to do it.

snow for those with snow storms, stay warm and safe!

Sasha and ahavnes enjoy the play date.

disney have fun on your trip, I'm so jealous you are in Disney World! I want a full report when you get back!

ally good luck with packing and the move

cufflinks thanks to those who responded to my ? on the cufflinks. kim that is a neat idea of doing DD's initial - still up in the air on what to do.

how to make a boy/girl talk you ladies are funny!

fever last night DD woke up at 12 and she was so hot. Her temp was over 101. I gave some tylenol and she went back to sleep (after 45 min of rocking). I don't notice any other symptoms. Strange. She feels a little warm again tonight and she asked to go "night night" for a second nap.

Have a nice weekend!

[alienhost]

usafwife wow that's quite a storm! It's in the 60s here in New England, so unseasonably warm for December, jeez, I cannot believe it is December already!

[rancherswife]

usaf: WOW! It's very pretty to look at, but I can imagine the pain that it is too! It sure does look like x-mas though!!! :) Thanks for sharing.

[psusna]

usaf: So sorry about your dog :( Rancher is right -- it looks like Christmas...so pretty.

Ally: Good luck!! I hope your last day went well and that you have a safe move.

Rancher: My DS ALWAYS gets sick after a WBV -- I hate going to the ped. Even if they do have "sick" and "well" waiting rooms it doesn't matter, he still gets sick. I hope the little man is feeling better. Glad the new medicine is working.

Disney: I can't wait to take DS to Disney World! Can't wait for a recap and pix :)

Teeth: Can someone remind me how many teeth the kiddos get initially -- 16 or 20? I think we are almost done with molars leaving just canines. I'm anxious for a break :)

[tgr68]

Here's further proof as to the craziness of Kansas weather Meri and I have been alluding too!

Last Friday (http://www.dropshots.com/videolink.php?userid=32398&cdate=20061124&ctime=183353&showVideo=1)
This Friday (http://www.dropshots.com/videolink.php?userid=32398&cdate=20061201&ctime=184005&showVideo=1)

[jmvan74]

Naamah: I love it!

teeth: There are 20 baby teeth. We're just waiting on the secondary molars for a complete set. ;)
Speaking of teeth.... DS has a gap between his front teeth. Is this normal? I thought it would close up as his other teeth came in, but it hasn't. I just don't want there to be a problem w/ his permanant teeth.

[happy1nuv]

teeth: I'm not sure how many nic has... 8 fully in and we're waiting for probably 10 more in various states of in... Speaking of which, when ya taking dc for their first dentist visit?

:)

[kimthebride]

As soon as my gag reflex dies down I am taking myself & dS to the dentist (his 1st trip). He's got a lot of teeth and I figure it's about time.

[LIZNKEITH]

Thanks for the new thread. I can't believe how many RO's we have!! Can you please change mine and DH's ages to 28 and 37? I guess it has been a little while since I've updated my stats. LOL!

Kim,
Thanks for the advice on the spoons. I'll have to pick up a pair. DD loves feeding herself, though it's usually with little success.

Boy/Girl
LOL...you all are hilarious. To further confuse matters, with DD we DTD on O day in missionary. Now I feel like I'm playing Clue: It was Professor Plum, in the library, with the revolver.

Meri,
I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. That's such a horrible thing to go through. Didn't you suspect that two of your dogs were poisoned when you were pregnant with Sarah? Are you still living in the same place with the same neighbors? I can't believe you are having to go through this again. (((HUGS)))

Weather
Man, what I'd give for some snow. It's been in the 60's and 70's here. It is about to take a turn though. They're predicting it to get down to the 20's tomorrow. Still no snow though. :(

Dentist
Ugh...I've been struggling with this. I just had to re-enroll for our healthcare & dental insurance for next year. I went back and forth on whether or not to incude DD on our dental and finally decided against it. My dentist recommended her first visit be at age 3. She's still only got 5 teeth and I don't foresee her having to go yet. I guess if worse comes to worse I can always have my dentist neighbot take a peek.

[BTB]

So happy to see the new thread, I've been behind for so long but have missed you all! "Seeing" y'all takes me right back to pregnancy, hard to believe that was 2 years ago now! I am so proud the May/June mommies from '05 have stuck together!

Wonderful threadmistresses... could you please update my age to 28, and DH's to 29?


Ok..since we're sharing..I'm confused. I thought girl on top made girl...missionary made boy. No?? (although, in the interest of tmi...BOTH apparently make boys for me)

Agreed with Dreshny - timing of intercourse and position of intercourse may slightly tip odds to favor one gender or the other, but really in the end you're not far from 50/50 no matter what you do, assuming you're both healthy. (there are rare d/o in which a woman can only make eggs capable of admitting x sperm, or conversely only capable of admitting y sperm; likewise there are men who can only make healthy x's or healthy y's. But all this is quite rare indeed.)

I can't reappear in this thread and NOT spout some random biologic fact... tried to resist... couldn't. ;)

Kim and the gerber spoons: we have a bunch of these, I second that they are great. :)

Teeth: Evie has 6 on the bottom, and 6 on the top, at 19.5 months. Not bad for a girl who just got her very first tooth 7 months ago! A good friend from undergrad who's now a dentist assured me we can delay her first official office visit until 2, but warned me to start brushing early so the child gets used to it, so we do that twice per day.

QOTD: What have you done/will you do with DC that is wintery? Will you go sledding? Try to teach DC to make snow angels? Walk around the block to look at lights?

[cynder]

Teeth 12 teeth and we seem to be in a lull which I love b/c I am not looking forward to the other 8. We're brushing with water and my friends a ped dentist and said she doesn't want to see him until 2 which isn't too far away.

Wintery stuff Well it was 70 here this week and today it's 60s and sunny. So not whole lot but we're planning on driving around to some Xmas Wonderland place. BTB You guys should go to Candy Cane Lane on the south side.

Witty Ladies I christmas shopping online. I thought this would be cute for DS to wear Christmas Eve but can you guys come up with some witty to monongram. I was thinking "Naughty and Nice" ?

Red Long Johns (http://www.redenvelope.com/re/gifts/product_display/product_information.jsp?nc=30884&BV_SessionID=@@@@1315923087.1165088140@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccekaddjhmimlhhcefecefedfgfdfmh.0&refPg=%2fproduct_display%2fgift_results.jsp&bct2=occasion&bcp2=1&bcm2=1%24%24-8031&bct4=holiday&bcp4=3&bcm4=1%24%24-8731&bct5=best+bets+under+%2450&bcp5=4&bcm5=29$$%2Foccasion%2Fholiday%2Fbest+bets+under+% 2450@@30$$-12489@@35$$12489&catOid=-12489&oid=20929519&nc2=1)

ETA- Stupid site has a mega photo so here's the link.

[jmvan74]

Dentist: We'll hold out until 2, but we do brush everyday. Collin loves his toothbrush. When I turn the water on to brush my teeth, he runs to the bathroom w/ a smile waiting for his turn.

Wintery activities: I would love to have some snow to build a snowman in. We will probably take a walk around the block to see all of the lights.

[psusna]

Ok, cool, 20 teeth -- we are getting there....he has 12 right now. Ugh.

DS and DH are at FIL watching Army/Navy (GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!) so I've decorated the house and trying to kick this majorly insane sinus pressure and headache. Blech.

DS and I set up his Little People Nativity set today and he loves it. He just sits and plays so nice, kisses the baby Jesus and plays the music. We set it up in front of the fireplace instead of under the tree -- he already took 3 ornaments off the tree so we want to keep him away.

Wintery activities: Definitely looking at lights both in the neighborhood and other 'hoods, going to our church's childrens events, dreaming of snow....

Cynder: What a cute idea! I like your monogram text idea :) You could also do "Silent Night?"

[HedgeGirl]

Spoons: I'll third the recommendation for the scoopin' spoons. We've managed to lose both though so we've been using regular adult spoons and DS is doing good enough with those. I did put utensil sets on his Xmas list...I figure it will be good to have a kid sized set.

Dentist: We passed on adding DS to our dental insurance this year too, but I plan to take him once sometime in the next year (adding him was more expensive than just paying out of pocket for a visit or two). I have heard that it is good to get them used to the dentist in case they have a teeth damaging accident. DS has 10 teeth in now.

Winter Activities: We won't have snow here either (we got hail once last winter but that isn't likely to reoccur this year). We are planning to spend the dec 26-31st in the snow though so I'm interested to hear what to expect of our kiddos in the snow from those that have snow already.

[rancherswife]

BTB: So great to see you back in the mix! You've been missed! :)

dentist: We'll go at two. He brushes twice a day. Would brush more if he had his way, he loves the tooth paste! ;)

wintery activities: Well....since it doesn't snow here, snow angels and snowman building are out for us. He loves the x-mas lights though. Since we're on a ranch, we normally don't hang x-mas lights, although since we built this house 2 1/2 years ago, I've told dh, we're on a hill where our home can be seen from a pretty busy road, so it does make sense to hang exterior lights...he never went for it, until this year, when he saw how DS LOVES all the lights around town and in my parents neighborhood..so, needless to say...daddy was on a ladder all afternoon yesterday hanging lights! :)

Ok...better get, trying to p/u my toy-ridden house before we go get our tree this evening. Landon's napping at my parents right now...it's soooo tempting to lay down and take ten, but knowing myself, my ten would turn into two hours! ;)

[kimthebride]

Wintery Activities
Will get him a good coat and bib pants so we can explore the snow. DH & I are complete cold wimps, but we'll tough it out for DS! I figure show balls, angels, maybe get a pull-sled at target and drag him around a bit once we get snow. I don't think I should be sledding anytime this winter ;) .

And of course, pick out and decorate our tree next weekend.

[tgray99]

Wow, I had a lot to catch up on...we just got back from Florida. We had a wonderful time!

Boy/Girl Talk: Sorry to be so graphic, y'all! :o We read something about rear entrance sex depositing the sperm closer to the cervix (it also mentioned timing but I don't chart so we pretty much BD'ed every day this past week). We had Aidan with me on top which I heard was one of the hardest ways to get pregnant since gravity works against you. <<shrug>> Who knows! I just hope I have an announcement to make in 2 weeks! :D

Snow: Aidan will see her first snow this Christmas when we fly to Colorado. We want to make snowmen, snow angels and have snowball fights...maybe we'll walk around MIL's neighborhood and see the lights too. :D I can't wait. I am nervous that her coat and stuff won't be enough for her but it's pointless for me to buy something huge and heavy for 1 week...maybe she can borrow from her cousin that lives there and is 6 months older.

[happy1nuv]

BTB... So good to "see" you again!! We've missed ya round here... ;)

Winter stuff: Well, we went to pick out a tree today... we just tagged it though, didn't bring it home yet (we're putting that off til the weekend of the 17th... it'll be a shortlived christmas tree, but I'm thinking thats better for this year...). Mostly I wanted to go for the photo op... I'm still clueless about what to do for christmas cards this year... ugh! (and winkflash's discount days are ticking away)... When we do have snow, we'll bundle nic up in snow pants/jacket/etc. and let him play away... I'm hoping to build a snowman (we'l see... I have a feeling nic will just want us to make snowballs for him to throw...) ...

Dentist: I missed the chance to add Nic to our dental plan, but I'm thinking since the consensus seems to be 2 (or later) for the first visit, that we'll probably save money by paying out of pocket for this year...

:)

[tgray99]

Dentist: We'll be taking Aidan to the dentist probably in late January/early February. I don't believe in blindly picking a dentist and my mom will be coming into town to work with a dentist for a week in January so we'll go based on her recommendations once she's met the doctors she's working with. I need a cleaning and Aidan needs to get an initial visit.

[IrishEyes]

Dentist: I want to take Brody to the dentist around his second birthday, but this kid won't even let me in his mouth, let alone a stranger! He's got at least 15 teeth, maybe 16.

Holiday decorations: So far, Brody is only obsessed with trying to bat around the ornaments on the tree. We didn't put any on the bottom of the tree, but there are some in his reach. Over the past four years, MIL has bought us the plush snowmen singing items, like this:
http://www.hallmark.com/wcsstore/HallmarkStore/images/products/gifts/nplpr1509_xl.jpg
Brody loves to play and dance along to the music.

wintery: this year, DS needs to get a snowsuit. Hopefully, we'll get some snow here! Some years, we only get a dusting or two, and then every three years, it seems, we get socked with a good snowstorm.

[rancherswife]

decorations: Surprisngly, he wants nothing to do with the x-mas tree. I think I put the fear in him yesterday morning when he woke up. On Sat. night, we went and got the tree, brought it in the house and he was so excited, running around like a crazy man (as usual ;)). Dh and I waited until he we put him to bed, then decorated it. Yesterday morning, when he woke up, he came out and looked at it, I turned the lights on and he said "oooh" and I told him, "no touching, it's hot!" (I know, bad mommy for fibbing!) He's scared to death of the fire place, so I knew that would work. So far so good, he stands and admires it from a distance, but that's it. He has a slight obsession w/ "NeeNo's" that's what he calls snowmen, not sure how he got neeno out of snowman, but we crack up. I have quite a few little snowmen decorations out around the house, which he loves to play w/ and my parents have a 6 ft. blow up snow man on their front lawn. He about had a heart attack when we went there for dinner last night!

[Sasha]

Cynder and tgr - thanks for the shoe reccommendations. Unfortunately, boots aren't an option right now, since it is still 80 degrees. ;)

BTB - Glad you see you here again!

Dentist - Sarah only has 6 teeth (4 top, 2 bottom), so we're not going until at least 2 years old. But we do brush teeth every night, which she loves to do herself. Sigh, I hate how much teething we still have in front of us!

Wintery Stuff - Well, not exactly any wintery stuff to do in South Florida, but I hope we'll get some snow when we visit my mother in Phila. in February. Actually, DH wants it really badly because he has never seen snow in his life (and he is 35). Poor guy has even been all the way to Russia and didn't seen snow there. So more for his sake than Sarah's, I really hope we get some snow!

Holiday decor - We put up the tree last night, so when Sarah came downstairs this morning, there it was. She didn't seem terribly interested, but we didn't turn the lights on either. And I'm very glad that my cats didn't express much interest in it...I had visions of one of my cats trying to scale it and it crashing down at 2am last night. :p

[happy1nuv]

sasha ~ Do you think she might keep something like preschoolians on? (They look more like slippers than shoes to me (but, they're definitely easier to take on/off..) ....preschoolians.com for styles, but they're soft styles that you wear outside... maybe you can trick her into thinking they're like socks so they'll stay on?

http://preschoolians.com/images/ItemImages/Small/Adorable%20Cream%20Orange%20Flower_IWB.jpg

[njnewyearsbride]

i'm still here :) lurking around!

30 weeks today - and yes it is a surprise!
hazels 18 month WBV is scheduled for january

Dentist - no plans yet -- we only have 10 teeth so far... when we have some more

Holiday decor - none yet -- we'll put up a tree evenutally just not yet :)

[Dreshny]

Holiday decor: We're Jewish, so none here, BUT we went to a tree-trimming party on Saturday that I was sure would be a disaster, but Asher had no interest at all in the tree. So maybe your kiddos will surprise you.

[Carissa]

Thanks for the new thread Heather :)

What a week and weekend it has been for us, we got hit by a huge ice storm and have been without power for 4 days, just got power back on this afternoon, it was awful fighting contractions and keeping an 18 1/2 month old in one room of our house to stay warm. We lost pretty much everything in our fridge but we did put our meat outside in the cold so it would stay frozen. What a week!

[psusna]

Carissa: Oh my gosh! I hope you are feeling well and that the contractions have subsided a bit. You get a big ole merit badge for thinking to stick the meat in the frozen tundra, and surviving that situation without pulling out your hair :)

[rancherswife]

carissa: You poor thing! Glad the power is back on. And....contractions????? Oh my goodness, you are getting SOOO close. Keep us posted! I can't remember, was Grace early???

sasha: How was the playdate w/ Alicia and Abbey?

Oh..I'm tired, I've been out test driving double strollers all day. Well, not all day, I did some other shopping too. ;) But let me tell you, these suckers are A LOT harder to push around than our nice little single strollers. But, I know I can't live w/ out one. kim, I left you a message in the double stroller thread, re: the duette, I test drove it today. Among many others. ;)

Ok...off to play w/ Landon...

[wendstress]

Just dropping in with 18-Month WBV stats (although we're actually at 19-months!)

Height: 32.5" - 48%
Weight: 27.2# - 63%
HC - Don't remember the number, but 96%

He jumped up in the weight percentile a little (was around 50% last time), but staying right in-line with the others.

Dr. was very impressed wtih James' vocab. I stopped counting a month ago, I figure we're at 100+ words.... He said typical is somewhere between 3 and 20 words.

On the food front, he re-iterated that this age is picky and appetite is variable. He said, "It's not uncommon for a toddler to only eat 2 green beans one day, to be followed by 50 chicken nuggets the next." Obviously an exaggeration, but point taken. He said it's important to look at nutrition from a weekly perspective.... In any given week, is the child getting a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc.

Funny little story before I drag myself to bed.....

We're living in molar-hell right now. Cranky, cranky, cranky. James woke up at 10 PM last night, inconsolable. Said he wanted to eat, but then wouldn't. Wanted everything he couldn't have...."MINE!" Whined and cried for the next 2 hours.... Around 11:30 PM, amidst a whining spell, I happened to toot, as in pass gas. James stopped whining, looked at me and exclaimed, "TOOT!". Then, he took a deep breath and picked up with the whining exactly where he left off. Funny how those little minds operate!

On another note, please keep jeggink & ali_ohli in your thoughts and prayers. Both are April 2007 mommies that just lost their little girls around the 20-week mark.

[rancherswife]

wendstress: LMAO at your cute little story. These kids are too funny these days! Hope the molar-hell lets up on you and your household very soon. That is NO fun to deal with.

Keeping the two April mommies who recently lost their babies in my thoughts and prayers! :(

As I mentioned in previous posts Landon's getting over a pretty bad case of bronchitis right now, so he's been in our bed since last Thursday. I just feel more comfortable hearing how his breathing is when he's sick like that. So, tonight was his first night back in his crib, dh and I thought for sure it was going to be a cry-fest, but nope, he went right in and went to sleep...we'll see what the night brings! ;)

[happy1nuv]

Carissa ~ HUGS... You poor thing!

[Carissa]

rancherswife Grace was 10 days early at my 36 week appt I was already 1cm dilated and 60% effaced, my Dr thinks Jonah will arrive a little early as well.

Keeping the April Mommies in my prayers.

[cynder]

Carissa I was totally thinking of you on the way home when I heard about the outages near MO/IL. I cannot believe what a trooper you are. We had a 5 day outage 4 years ago and I nearly lost it. Hope you are able to rest up nicely before Jonah comes (love that name!).

[happy1nuv]

Holiday question for you all... So, last year we said that we were going to start spending christmas day at home from now on and that everyone was welcome to come spend as much of the day as they wanted with us. My family came en masse with presents and we all opened presents christmas morning - then il's came for dinner and my family left immediately following dessert so they could have some "alone time" with us (it's a big deal to il's, don't know why)... Anyway... this year, bil's daughter is with them (she lives in ga with mom, she comes for every other christmas). BIL is taking daughter to mil's for christmas. What would you do? I want Nic to see all his family for christmas (we belong to the same church as my parents, and we'll see them for christmas eve for sure) ... BUT, I also want Nic to have christmas at HOME. My parents always put their foot down and said no visiting for christmas... if you wanted to see us, you came to us (but all family was 3+ hours away, so there was no we'll see you for xmas, other side for xmas eve). I always felt sorry for friends who got to open presents only to be yanked away to go visit family for the rest of the day ... not that christmas is about presents, but we used to spend most of the day in our jammies... and after dinner it was always family game time... sorry for rambling... families are so confusing sometimes... so...what would you do?
:)

[jmvan74]

Happy1nuv: I'm in a similar situation. I really wanted to stay home ALL day this year. Then SIL and her family announced they were coming in from TX. So now, we'll be having dinner at the IL's to spend some time w/ SIL and family. Luckily, they don't have dinner until 4pm, so I can still lounge around all day. :rolleyes: I would probably compromise on the issue.

Carissa: Sorry about the contractions and no power. Uggh.

rancherswife: I hope Landon is feeling better soon.

Wendstress: I'm glad to hear your ped's advice on eating. It's a battle here that I don't often win.

April mommies are in my thoughts. :(

[happy1nuv]

I forgot to add that if we don't see them for christmas, we'll spend the day after christmas at mil's, since that is where my niece will be (and, we'd see her for longer the day after). We'll see bil/sil the weekend before christmas, since we're going out to dinner for sil's birthday (w/o nic). So, its not like we wouldn't see them at all... would that make a difference to you? (I am kind of hurt about this too though...if bil doesn't care about niece not being at HIS house, why wouldn't they come to OUR house? As far as he's concerned, we're just as far away as mil's house, maybe a lil closer. And, they're leaving niece there til wed, so its not like they don't want mil/fil driving her around). UGH...

[Sasha]

Carissa - How terrible! Glad all is ok now. I will never forget the ordeal of living with no power for 11 days after Hurricane Wilma last year, but I can't imagine going through that while pregnant too!

Happy - Well, since you are going to see them the next day, it probably shouldn't be too big a deal. But if it is going to cause some sort of family issues if you don't see them on Christmas day, then I would find a way to compromise. Oh, and thanks for the info on Preschooltarians. I think Sarah would master the art of taking them off too, since she can get her socks off as well. I'm not sure what shoe she wouldn't be able to take off at this point!


sasha: How was the playdate w/ Alicia and Abbey?
Unfortunately, Abbey got sick, so we cancelled it. Hopefully the next time they are down this way, we'll be able to try again.

Keeping those two April 2007 moms in my thoughts.

So Sarah got a little more interested in the tree last night, mainly because we had bought some Sesame Street ornaments. Once she discovered Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, etc., it became much more interesting. But she was so sweet, saying "night night" to the tree and all of her ornaments before we went upstairs for bed. :)

[psusna]

Sasha: DS also tells the tree "night night" -- so cute!

happy: I agree that the day after is a great compromise. That's the way we always did it -- Christmas was just us plus mom's parents at our house and the day after was dad's family at Gma's house. This year I agreed to go to Il's hosue for dinner on Cmas day -- I'm starting to regret that decision but it was the only way I could be sure DS would be home Cmas eve to go to bed on time and do the whole milk/cookies thing. Holidays are a pain.

My heart is breaking for the April moms :(

[jrdhbunny]

Happy- Hmmmm...that's a tough one. It's a shame BIL won't come to your house, maybe he feels like he'd be imposing too much- I don't know. If no one would be offended if you didn't spend Christmas at your MIL's then I would just stay home and see BIL/niece later. But if there will be hard feelings, I would try and compromise.
We usually have Christmas Eve at MIL's and that's where the families open most of their gifts, but this year my SIL's family is going to her MIL's so we'll probably have a more low-key Christmas Eve at home and open presents on Christmas morning. (We're invited to her MIL's, but neither DH nor I want to go. :o) Christmas day we're going to SIL's for dinner.

So sorry for the April moms. :( :( How incredibly sad.

So I was about to post a desperate plea for help because for the first time in 3 weeks, James cried when I put him down for his nap and has been crying for the past 20 minutes :eek: But I think that he's finally sleeping. But in case he starts crying again, what do I do? How long should I wait before going in to soothe him? I admit that when he started crying I went in after about 3 minutes because I was worried he was hurt, but he was fine. So I sung him some lullabyes and put him back in his crib. Was that bad? We were so blessed that he adapted so well to the sleep training that I don't know what to do when he cries for such a long time.

[tgray99]

Aidan had her 18 month WBV today...I can't get to the stats...I'll get them later. She got 2 shots, Hepatitis A and the flu shot. She goes back in for a flu shot booster in 30 days and the 2nd Hep A shot in 6 months.

Pics: We're having Aidan's Christmas pics taken this Sunday. I still need to find her black patent leather Mary Janes!

I'm in the 2WW and over-analyzing every potential pg symptom...this is craziness! ;)

[rancherswife]

tgray: Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!! How much longer do you have to wait?

sasha: Oh! That stinks. Poor Abbey!

[tgray99]

tgray: Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!! How much longer do you have to wait?

AF is due 12/15 so about 10 days. I have a test all ready and waiting! :D

[tgr68]

Julie~I thought you might appreciate the videos! ;)

Dentist~Our dentist said definately not before two unless we have a major concern that our ped is not equipped to handle. They also mentioned to check with our insurance provider because some will not cover dental before the age of 3. I do though plan on taking her to my check up in March to let her see the office and let her see the dentist working on my teeth.

Winter Activities~I've taken her out in the snow a couple of times. I tried out the sled, but she couldn't hang on and ended up falling over in the snow laughing. :) I also showed her how to make snow angels. She didn't get it then, but now whenever I lay her down she moves her arms as if she's making one! We wanted to build a snowman, but the snow was too powdery for it. :( When it gets a little closer to Christmas, we may drive around and look at all the lights!

Teeth~Still at 5 here. Two bottom, two front top teeth, and one top canine.

Cynder~I'm sure it's too late for a suggestion, but what about "No peeking!"

Decorations~DD likes telling us the colors of the lights on our tree (blue and white). She also like to take the bulbs off, bring them to me, and say "Balls no-no" because she knows she's not supposed to touch them. :rolleyes:

Carissa~I PM'ed you with a quick question. Sorry you've had such a crazy few days.

Wendstress~LOL! Isn't crazy what will randomly catch their attention!

Keeping the April mommies in my prayers! :(

Happy1~Ugh! Tough situation. I can't offer any more advice than what you've already received, but I hope you are able to find a plan that works out best for everyone.

jrdhbunny~How did James's nap end up going? I hope he stayed asleep for you!

tgray~Thinking positive thoughts for you!!

Well, I've gotten all of my Christmas cards addressed with return addy labels on them!! I just finished our family newsletter finished/printed and purchased stamps today! I now need to decide on a picture to send out of Shylah since we didn't get a family one done in time! Maybe I'll dress her up tomorrow and see if I can get a decent one in front of our tree. Otherwise I think I'll be going with this one (http://www.dropshots.com/photos/32398/20061201/182745.jpg)! I'm hoping to get them all in the mail by Friday!

[Carissa]

Naamah I pm'd you back!

[happy1nuv]

thanks for the advice ladies... we still haven't decided what to do. i think dh wants to go just to keep peace, but i think we'd both RATHER stay home. ah well... we'll see. we were both grumpy last night, so we mutually decided not to talk about it... we'll see what tonight brings...

[ahavnes]

We're finally back in town and I am so glad. I'm not even going to try to keep up with what I missed...I lost you all somwhere around DTD on top vs. bottom. ;)

Thank you all for the well-wishes. Unfortunately, Abs was a total crank for most of the trip and hardly ate at all on Sunday, which had us very worried. We also had to cancel our playdate with Sasha and Sarah. :mad: It's probably a good thing though, b/c I now have Abbey's flu. Thanks Abbey. :rolleyes:

Hope everyone is doing well!

[rancherswife]

ahavnes: You poor thing, I think everytime Abbey gets the flu, you get it too! I'm sorry! Glad you made it home safe and sound! Hope you're feeling better soon.

Ok...I took my 1 hour GTT yesterday and am totally freaking out that I'm going to fail it. I don't know why, when I was pg w/ Landon, I never even thought twice about it. WTF? I think because there are so many ladies in the Feb. 07 group that have failed it. God, I hope I'm not one of them! I swear, I always have something to freak out about! I just pray I don't get a call from my OB!

[happy1nuv]

rancher ~ relax. There is nothing you can do about it now... and the worst that happens is you have to re-take and possibly alter your diet... which is probably healthier anyway... So, take a deep breath and relax if possible... (easier said than done i know)... This time around, I'm finding i freak about the weirdest things... strange yes!

[jmvan74]

Ok...I took my 1 hour GTT yesterday and am totally freaking out that I'm going to fail it. I don't know why, when I was pg w/ Landon, I never even thought twice about it. WTF? I think because there are so many ladies in the Feb. 07 group that have failed it. God, I hope I'm not one of them! I swear, I always have something to freak out about! I just pray I don't get a call from my OB!

I'm sure you did fine. I failed and am on a "modified diet," but it really hasn't been bad. After the initial shock, I'm eating better and not gaining much weight! LOL!:D


Ahavnes: Hope you feel better soon. :(

[Sasha]

Alicia - Ugh, I'm sorry you got Abbey's bug now. Same thing happens here - everytime Sarah gets sick, I always get it as well. It sucks.....feel better soon!

Rancherswife - I hope the test result comes back ok, but if not, it's not the worst thing that can happen.

Food Question - Does anyone else have a DC who refuses to try new food? I'm getting so sick of our food battle with Sarah. We are totally in a rut of the food she will eat because she refuses to try new foods. I mean, screams her head off, cries, throws a temper tantrum when there is something on her plate that she doesn't want to eat. Last night I shredded some chicken and put some BBQ sauce on it for her, she had a total fit. Fine, gave her some deli turkey, which is hit or miss these days. She ate one bite and then the tantrum ensued. Ended up just giving her cheese and strawberries. I'm sick of being a short-order cook on the days I don't make mac & cheese, pizza, Perdue chicken breasts or meatballs for her. Any advice or suggestions, please?

[jmvan74]

Food: We have the same problem. If I put something new in front of Collin, he throws it on the floor and says no. :rolleyes: It's so frustrating. He has even been refusing cheese, which has always been our standby. Occasionally, if he sees me eating something he will ask for some, but he will still spit it on the floor or give it back to me if it's not what he thought. :o

[cynder]

Food Well it's ongoing war in our house but I've really adjusted my attitude. We make one meal (generally of foods that he likes) that hits all the food groups and if he doesn't eat it, that's it. Dinner over, case closed. If we are trying something new and he refuse, I'll offer a standby which he if also refuse, we end dinner.

I haven't bought this books but have browsed, Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense and How to Get Your Kid to Eat. Basic idea is that it's the parents job to provide good food and it's the children's job to decide how much to eat for his or her needs.

[alienhost]

hi everyone, I've been trying to read along this week. I have a very sick kid on my hands, fever since Monday night, horrible cough etc. Tuesday night she woke up every 2 hours or so and I had to rock her for 1 hour. Last night she just got up once. Anyway we are going to the ped this afternoon, keep your fingers crossed for me that it isn't anything horrible.

To top it off we are having 30+ people at our house on Saturday for our annual holiday party. I hope she is better by then. I'd do shout outs but I have to go finish cleaning/decorating/baking for the party.

[psusna]

Alicia: Feel better!!

Food: We do exactly what Cynder posted. On nights where he eats next to nothing I'll give him an extra cup of milk or some raisins (dried fruit, etc.) before bed to help tide him over.

Alien: Oh no! I hope everything goes ok at the doctor today. Fingers crossed.... Hang in there!

Rancherswife: Fingers crossed for your test. I'm sure everything is fine.

Speaking of sickness...DS finishes his antibiotic tonight and I started ZPack and ear drops yesterday for a sinus and ear infection while DH started potent antibiotics for an infected lymph node in his mouth. That one's got me worried but the ENT said it wasn't anything major but would need to be removed if the drugs didn't work. It's always something.....

Tomorrow is the holiday dinner for DS' school at 6pm and the temp w/ windchill is to be 0!! Remember, I live in GA so people are freaking out! Watch them cancel the dinner b/c of the weather :)

Ally: If you are out there and reading along -- good luck with the move!!!

[ahavnes]

Thanks for the well wishes ladies. Geez, what is it with this thread? We are all sick, all the time! :o

I hope Carissa doesn't mind me sharing, but baby Jonah is here! :) No other details, I just saw it in her LJ. She was like 3 weeks early. Lucky dog.

rancherswife- Fingers crossed on the GTT. That was one thing I never worried about with Abs, but you're right, it's always something. ;)

Alien and Psusna- Hope you and yours get healthy soon!

[tgray99]

Yay! Congrats, Carissa! :D Welcome, Baby Jonah!

[usafwife]

ranchers ~ It actually surprises me how many of the Feb 07 mommies have failed the one hour test. I was worried myself but only because I dreaded the 3 hour test. It was all I could do to keep the one hour down. I couldn't imagine having to fast for 8 hours prior to the 3 hour. Oh the joys of dealing with m/s. That is one thing I don't miss about being pregnant. I love most everything else (even though my pregnancies are never easy, I've learned to cherish every little thing that happens during them).

Food ~ Usually if DD sees us eating something she'll at least try it. Most of the time she'll go ahead and eat it but hamburger at home is something that she refuses to eat. We don't press and usually if we are having beef I'll have some chicken for her (which is her favorite). Funny thing though, she'll eat hamburger from a local resturant though. And helps DH eat his soybean burger :shudder at the thought: for lunch when he has them. Now if only I could keep the grandma/great-grandma from giving her sweets things would be even better.

I've found that some days she wants to eat and other days would rather drink more milk than eat food. So on those days she eats most of her stuff in the form of milk. Every now and then she'll decide that it's more fun to throw everything off her tray rather than eating it.

alienhost ~ I hope that your little one is feeling better and that it wasn't anything very serious. DD is the midst of teething her molars so we spend an good amount of time rocking at night as well. I'll never be so glad as when we are totally through with teething (and that goes for this little one as well). Some days I want to pull my hair out. Hope everything goes okay for the party.

psuna ~ Hope everyone in your house is feeling better soon. Tell them the temp with a windchill of 0 is nothing. I'll let them have some of our 20 inches of snow with 4 feet drifts that we got a week ago that is still on the ground. Bet they wouldn't like the blizzard conditions we had last Thursday. But I know how people in the southern states freak when cold weather hits (DH and I lived in Mississippi for about a year and they freaked when it got the least bit chilly).

Carissa ~ Congrats on little Jonah's arrival!!! I was just lurking in the December thread to see if there was any news on Sophia. I saw where you mentioned that you didn't want to be in the hospital in labor over Christmas so I guess you got your wish. Congrats again. Thanks to ahavnes for letting us know.

Coworker Vent ~ Not sure if it was hormones or not but a coworker offended me rather rudely today. Someone had asked about how the weekend had went and how long it took us. I told them and then mentioned how the rest of the weekend had went. Well, said coworker apparently didn't give a care and said some rude things. Being a blonde I don't always get the punchline in jokes sometimes so I didn't get it at first but finally figured out that her comments were directed about my talking about the weekend (TOO LONG and TOO WINDY). Then a little while later she states that it was BORING, NO ONE CARED, and something else. Some of the other ladies stuck up for me and said her comments were uncalled for. If she didn't want to hear she didn't have to listen or respond. Then she called her remarks were made in a joking manner and we just didn't see it that way.

So if someone made those comments in regards to something you said, would you be offended? Seems that some of the ladies felt the way I did and others felt that it was quite fine. I don't feel they were fine to make and if she had a problem she should have came directly to me about it.

[kimthebride]

Hellooooooo JONAH!!! Welcome to the world!

(Sophia you must be soooo jealous...when exactly will you be delivering your 2nd DD? ;) )

[psusna]

Congratulations Carissa and welcome Jonah!

[jmvan74]

Congrats Carissa! Welcome Jonah!

[diedra1027]

Congrats Carissa and family! Welcome baby Jonah!

Food - Hit and Miss here. Some days (seems like most days lately) we have 'the battle'. We've talked about using the technique that cynder is using, but I don't feel comfortable with the idea yet since Avery is so underweight right now (18lbs at 18 month WBV - about 5 lbs under 5th percentile). Some days I don't have a choice, it's not what I'm offering - she just won't eat anything period.

[Sasha]

Congrats Carissa, and welcome Jonah!

Ok, glad to know I'm not the only one still going through food battles. :o

[ahavnes]

Developmental Milestones- I was just reading on the AAP website about what your child should be able to do by 2 years. Under the "Developmental Delays" section, it said to contact your pediatrician if your child doesn't say 15 words by 18 months. Does that seem kind of weird to anyone else? Abbey says just about 15 words, but she signs all kinds of stuff and understands almost everything we say (follows directions, answers yes or no, etc.) Plus, most of the babies I know IRL through playgroups and such don't speak nearly that much. I don't know, just seems strange. Thoughts?

[happy1nuv]

Food ~ As long as Nic eats one good meal a day (and by meal I mean one good sitting whether it be a traditional meal time or not), I don't sweat it. If he wants to eat what I offer, he can. Or, he can play with his food and go hungry. I no longer play short order cook. Dr. Fuhrman's book addresses picky eaters and his advice was that kids will eat when they are hungry and just to have a lot of healthy snacks on hand so they eat good stuff when they are hungry (so don't let them fill up on junk food in between meals) so they might night eat dinner, but if you give them carrot sticks and frozen peas to snack on... what does it matter. He did caution though, that if child gets one set of snacks, mom/dad should snack on that too. Like, feeding your kid carrot sticks and mom eating brownies is heading straight into food problem territory. (I am trying to eat healthier but so far all I've managed is to eat healthy in front of nic and snack on taboo stuff when he's asleep)
(However, we don't have any weight issues to worry about, so... although its easier to post than to practice really)

Congrats Carissa!! Welcome to the world, baby Jonah!! :)

Developmental milestones ~ When we went to our 18 month wbv, the dr wasn't concerned that nic said only 2-3 words since he could follow directions and point to stuff, and he babbled different sounds. He's slow to speak, but he is understanding what you say, so she said we'd just watch it and make sure he's just lazy (my phrasing, obviously)... I think it would be different if he wasn't showing comprehension at all.

[tgr68]

Alicia~How are you feeling today?

racherswife~Crossing my fingers that you passed the GTT.

Food~DD will eat just about anything, but we have a rule similar to what cynder posted. I put in front of her what I cook, and if she flat out refuses, I'll offer cheese/banana/apples (any of her standard favorites). If she still refuses, she is done.

Alien~Hope DD is feeling better!

Congrats, Carissa!!! Welcome to the world, Jonah!!!

Meri~
Now if only I could keep the grandma/great-grandma from giving her sweets things would be even better. When you figure this out, PLEASE let me know how you pulled it off! ;) GMIL insists on giving Shylah twinkies when she visits! :eek:

Developmental Milestones~I generally use those things as a guide rather than the rule. I think if your child is communicating with you (follows directions, signs, speaks, etc.), that is the most important thing.

Well, I picked up our Christmas card photos this morning. They are really cute!! So, my cards should be going out with today's mail, with the exception of about half a dozen, which I still need to get international postage for.

[kimthebride]

...it said to contact your pediatrician if your child doesn't say 15 words by 18 months
LOL! My kid is 18mo and barely says 5 words...I'm not worried at all. He knows what I am saying, follows direction etc so I just think he's more physical than verbal. Men! :rolleyes: ;)

[Dreshny]

Eating: Yesterday my kid ate one blueberry newton, half a banana, a slice of cheese, five grapes, sucked on an apple core, an olive, ten peas, and 5 bites of Annie's mac and cheese. Today so far he's eaten an Asher-size handful of pretzel goldfish and a muffin. Does it worry me? A little. Every once in a while he has a day when he eats a lot, and then he's back to next to nothing. He's thriving, though, and he does eat when he's hungry.

Welcome, Jonah!

[jrdhbunny]

First, huge congrats to Carissa!!!

Alicia and psusna- Hope both of you and your little ones are feeling better!!

rancherswife- Hope you passed your test and hope it's not stressing you out too much!

usafwife- OMG, how incredibly rude. I would be completely offended. I can't believe she was so mean.

Food- I feel like I'm always talking about food issues, but we've still got 'em. I haven't had the "courage" to start putting other food in his baby food jars, but I am encouraged by the fact that he's starting to ask me for food that I'm eating, even though he usually will hand it right back. He's also started biting into fruit (and some veggies- the avocado didn't go over too well ;) ).

Developmental Milestones- DS has started repeating words more clearly and says a few more on his own, but we're not at 15 yet and there are no multiple word phrases. But he understands almost everything, can point to all his body parts, and follows commands. I'm still concerned, but will wait until he's 2 to really panic. :p

Uh-oh, James is awake. More later...

[cynder]

Dev Milestones I agree with kimthebride. I think DS is way more physical than verbal and he's a boy. I take those statements as guidelines. DS had maybe 10 words at 18 months but the ped said that his receptive language and social skills were fine.

Hello to Little Jonah!!

Sasha Heck no we're not done with food battles! I'm fully prepared that this kid is going to get even pickier based on how my older nieces are now. I've just given up worrying about it and being a short order cook. :rolleyes:

[rancherswife]

so I just think he's more physical than verbal. Men!

Uhhh...I totally agree, I have a very physical little boy and he's got about mmm...15-20 clear words, he understands everything directions, etc. so I'm not concerned.

18 mo. WBV Stats:

Height: 34" (90th percentile)
Weight: 25 lbs. (25th percentile)
Head: Can't remember (but it was 75th percentile)

Dropped in the weight percentile, but ped. said not to worry, we talked about the milk issue, he said as long as he's getting dairy in other forms, he's fine (just as I suspected). Not much other than that. Said he's "doing great!" And told us hopefully he wouldn't be seeing us until we bring little brother in, in a couple of months! (That would be nice!) Sometimes, I feel like we live at the ped! lol

Congrats Carissa and Welcome to the world Baby Jonah!!!
What a lucky dog! I of course will go three weeks OVER DUE!!! ;)

Thanks for updating us, alicia!

alien: Hope dd is feeling better, and good luck w/ your holiday party. I'm hosting our monthly "girls night Bunko" at our house next Friday, it's hard enough getting everything ready just w/ a toddler, can't imagine doing it w/ a sick toddler!

Ok...better go see what kind of mess Landon is making, he's waaaay too quiet~ ;)

[wendstress]

Congratulations Carissa! Welcome to Baby Jonah!!! Hope Grace gives lots of kisses to her baby brother!

Dev. Milestones - We just had our WBV and the Ped said that anywhere between 3-50 words is typical at 18 months. The other point he made that was interesting was that by 24 months, 50% of what the child says should be understandable to an outsider.

They all develop in their own way.... James didn't crawl until after he walked, and he was one of the last to walk from this group. I worried a little. On the talking front, he is ahead of the game....so I guess it all evens out.

Milk Drinking - I think I mentioned it before.... When James was only drinking 2-6 oz of whole milk/day we figured out by accident that he loved chocolate milk. Now, we put a squirt of Hershey's syrup in every sippy cup and he downs it. Probably drinking 20-30 ounces/day of milk and no juice. Nice improvement from 2-6 ounces of milk, and way too much juice!

Food Battles - sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on the phase of the moon, I guess. :rolleyes: Tonight he didn't stop eating. Strawberries. Spaghetti. Blueberries. More Strawberries. Milk. And then he asked for Cheerios.

How's everyone's DC doing with the self-feeding? James has really seemed to get it in the last week and will barely let me feed him anymore. He does make a mess, but the majority makes it into his mouth. He practiced a whole lot with cheerios and a spoon and perfected his technique. Now he wants a spoon for ANYTHING he eats!

[kimthebride]

Ditto on the self-feeding, wendstress! I got those new Gerber scoopin' spoons and now he wants nothing to do with me. Fine by me! I can check out my email/CC while he eats. :)

Food Battles
He's normally pretty good about trying anything, and has a lot of likes. Thank goodness.

BTW: anyone interested in an announcement...head over to the June 2005 Moms thread to see the latest delivery....

[psusna]

Self-Feeding: Agreed. The last two weeks he has done awesome with fork and spoon.

Thanks for the get-well wishes! DS and I are doing better and DH is hanging in there. It's always something.

Alicia: How are you feeling?

oohhh.....going to check on Kim's tip in the June thread.....

[diedra1027]

Self Feeding - I was just thinking about this in relation to the food battles. Letting Avery feed herself has been one great technique that works for us to get her to eat something (or to eat just a little more than usual). We tried the scoopin' spoons last night and she downed about a 1/3 cup of mashed potatos! That's like a feast for her :). I usually have to help scoop, but she handles the rest.

[Carissa]

Jonah Eric made is arrival December 7th at 10:04 am, my water broke at 3 am and I labored for 7 hours.
He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches long, he is a little cutie!
We just got home today so I will catch up later.

[rancherswife]

Oh, congrats again Carissa, sounds like you had a pretty fast L&D!!! Can't wait to hear all the details and see a pic. of the little man! I'm also interested to hear how big sister Grace is handling things! :)

Ok, so in true Landon fashion, (I swear this kid's gonna give me a heart attack by the time I'm 30) ;) we had a HUGE scare last night. Did anyone watch GMA yesterday morning, about the little two year old who got a spinal cord injury when he was 18 mos. old from falling either off the couch or the bed, I can't remember? Yeah, well I watched it and was in tears and could not get it out of my head the rest of the day/evening. In fact, my mom came out and had dinner w/ us last night since my dad was out of town and I was telling her about it and how it bothered me so much. Not an hour later, Landon and I are laying on the bed reading a book and he gets up and starts "marching" on the bed. I went to grab him to have him sit down (since he wasn't minding my plea to "please sit on your bottom!" Go figure!) and as soon as I reached for him he jerked the other way and went (from standing) head first off the bed neck going one way, body flopping the other. I have seriously never been so scared! He was screaming, which was a good sign, but white as ghost. I was f.r.e.a.k.i.n.g. out as was my mom (Brett had gone to get ice cream). He cried and cried and was grabbing his head/neck and just so upset. I finally got him calmed down and checked him all out, after my mom took him away from me, as she said I was white as a ghost myself and she wsa affraid I was going to pass out! WTH? I called the dr. and by the time they called me back, he was running, jumping and talking, as usual. So freakin' scary though, esp. after just seeing the GMA episode that morning. Nurse said to watch for pailness to come back, vomiting, stumbling, wake him up every 2 hours for the next 48 and make sure he's responsive, etc. We've been through all this head injury mumbo-jumbo several times, when he was first learning to walk on the aggregate! ;) So, of course, he was in our bed last night, miserable for dh and I but Landon slept until 8:15, when I woke him up! It still makes me sick to my stomach to think about what could have happened. Oh, these kids, girls....they move SO fast!!!

[jmvan74]

Rancherswife: OMG! That is so scary! I'm so paranoid about head injuries... Collin is a climber! He climbs and runs on the couch, chairs, whatever. I'm so terrified he's going to fall head first on to the hardwood and break his neck. Ugghh.:(

[tgray99]

I did my Christmas shopping today and all I can say is :eek: Toys R Us was a madhouse (as was Target)! There were screaming kids, it was hot (inside the store) and there were grouchy people pushing their carts without regard to anyone else around. Thank goodness I left Ryan and Aidan at home, they would've both hated it. Luckily, I found everything I wanted to get for Aidan. I thought I wasn't going to be able to find the Barbie Lil ATV ride-on that we wanted to get her. I went to the display and of course, only the display and a ton of the little boy ride-ons were there. I asked 2 different employees if they knew where more were, if there were Barbie ones somewhere and if there weren't would they sell me the display. All of them said no, they didn't know where more were, no, they didn't know if there were Barbie ones elsewhere, and no, they wouldn't sell me the display. :rolleyes: Yay. So, I get her about $80 worth of stuff (the cost of the ride-on) to make up for not getting her the ride-on. I get up to the front to check out and lo and behold, there's a huge stack of them at the very front of the store. So, I take out the extra stuff and got her the ride-on. Then, while checking out, they wouldn't accept my check because my checks have a GA address while my DL has a TX address. I freaked for a moment, then got irritated because I'd just gotten paid. Then I figured out the problem...stupid for them to do that in an Army town. So, I'm all finished shopping for Aidan. Tomorrow we're going to Macon to Picture People to have her pictures made for gifts for all of the grown-ups.

[rancherswife]

tgray: Ughh..I had intentions of running into target this morning, but only made it to destination maternity ;) All I needed from target were personal hygiene items and I figured I'd be out and about this next week, when it's a little quieter, I did NOT want to fight any mad x-mas shopping crowds, when all I wanted was toothpaste, deoderant, etc. type stuff!lol Glad to hear you got Aidan taken care of!

jmvan: Little boys are SO physical and busy! I'm ultra paranoid as it is, w/ our aggregate in our entire house (thank goodness not in the bedrooms!). I really don't know what we were thinking when building this home. Between pull-handle door knobs, aggregate, a huge hearth fire place (in which he LOVES to climb on) and so many other non-kid friendly things, I am nervous all the time! After it all calmed down last night, my mom said "honey, he's going to try to do all the naughty stuff while you're trying to nurse Reece, in a couple of months!" Yeah, thanks for pointing that out to me mom! ;) I hadn't thought about that! (right)

[psusna]

Rancherswife: Oh no! I'm so glad that he's ok and feeling fine. DS did something simliar last month off of a chair in our bedroom -- I don't know how he wasn't seriously hurt. I'm just always on pins and needles when he's running around and playing hard. Luckily they are so resiliant at this age.

Tgray: Uh oh. You give me no hope for my pre-planned Target run this morning :) I definitely need to make it in and out before 11. Congrats on getting your little girl's list all crossed off.

DS had a little playdate lunch with a buddy at our house yesterday. They had a blast and were so cute eating lunch together. They exchanged Christmas gifts and luckily they didn't want what the other got, but were so excited by their own gift :) He had a blast at his school party Friday evening. He got to play with some older kids that he normally doesn't get to hang with so he thought he was big stuff.

Today I make my Target run, wrap and plan my Cmas eve menu. I can't believe the big day is coming up so fast!!

[happy1nuv]

rancher ~ OMG...how scary. Glad everything turned out to be fine. :)

[ladybug0525]

Congrats Carissa and Welcome Jonah!

rancher - Glad he is OK I have a Jack story from this week too! Let's just say we made our first trip to the dentist!

Eating - Jack goes through phases and right now it is a not much eating phase, then again his diet has been a little altered due to his fall this week.

So Jack feel with a toy in his mouth at school and we had to make a first trip to the dentist. I work from home and it was the one day my boss was in town so DH had to deal with it all. They dentist believe the tooth will fall out but we haven't seen any signs of discoloration, etc. yet. It was very tramatic for Jack having x-rays and having the dentist try to put the tooth back in place. It is twisted slightly but thank goodness nothing happened to his permanent teeth. We go back in 2 weeks for a re-check. Rancher, like your son Jack is ALL boy!!

[tgr68]

rancherswife~I'm glad he's okay!

ladybug~Ouch! Poor Jack!

[ahavnes]

Oh my goodness! What a scare rancherswife! Glad everything is ok. If it makes you feel better, Abbey fell off the bed last week at my parents and landed on her head on their tile floor. :o I felt like the best mom ever, especially while waiting for her to build up to that first big cry. :rolleyes:

tgray- Hah! That sounds just like one of my shopping trips, what with all of the confusion and roadblocks. :)

psusna and tgr68- I am feeling much better, thanks.

Off to Picture People to finally pick out our Christmas cards...

[tgray99]

Oy, don't mention Picture People! :rolleyes: We drove almost 100 miles today to Macon to go to have Aidan's pictures made for Christmas today. We got there early, they fit us in around 1 instead of when our appointment was for (at 1:40). They told us to come back at 3:15. So we go eat, wander around the mall, etc, and came back at the appointed time. "Sorry, our printer went down, come back in 30 minutes." So we do. Same story again. So we wait. We finally got to see our pictures at 5:30 and the girl showing them to us wanders off, no upsell, didn't tell us anything...she just left. So I took my pics back up to the counter and said, here's what I want. ANOTHER 30 minutes to get the additional prints made. I was ready to scream, Aidan WAS screaming while my ever patient hubby was calm as usual...just mildly annoyed. Calming but irritating at the same time. We got our pics and got the heck out of there...finally got home at 8-ish...we left here at 11am. :rolleyes: What a day.

[rancherswife]

Thanks for the sympathy. I think in the end, I'm more traumatized by the whole ordeal, than he is! Figures! Glad to hear mine's not the only to quote my husband "balls-out" kid around! ;)

ahavnes: So glad you're feeling better, oh, and so glad Abbey wasn't hurt on your parents tile floor. That's scary!

ladybug: Poor Jack. Hope the tooth is OK. At least it wasn't a permanent tooth!

tgray: Sorry for the mess at PP, that does not sound like a good time, but sounds completely like something that would happen to us! You've had a rough weekend, between Target and PP! It's a train wreck anywhere you go this time of year though, really!

Speaking of which....I am OFFICALLY D.O.N.E. with my x-mas shopping. I of course waited until the last day to order my calendars and get the discount, but I managed to get them done. Our computer is on its last leg and we're just trying to limp it along until our new one gets here in a couple of weeks. I had to order the calendars from my moms, which means, she knows about them, but, that's ok, she'll act surprised on x-mas morning! ;) Moms are good like that. Besides waiting for my pkg. to arrive in a few days, all I have to do is wrap. I am hosting our monthly Bunko at my house on Friday night. Just have to do some cooking/baking this week and I'll be set. I hope it goes as well as I have it figured. Celia (my cleaning lady) is coming tomorrow, she's been on a vacation for a month and thank goodness she's back! She'll be busy tomorrow morning! ;) I've warned her!lol It feels so good to have my shopping done, though I do need to find some shoes for Landon to wear on x-mas day but I'll most likely order those online, to avoid going out to the mall!

carissa: Thinking about you and hoping you and your family of four are settling in nicely!!!

Ok...time for bed!

[psusna]

Sleep help: Ever since Thanksgiving his sleep has been totally wrecked, specifically wake up time. He has consistently been up between 5:15 and 5:30. Normal wake up time is between 6 and 6:15 weekday and 6:30 on weekends. I didn't think anything of it at first b/c he had the double ear infection so I attributed it to that and then 2 weekends ago he slept until 7 and 7:30. Now he's right back to this 5 crap and it stinks. He'll call out for one of us and you can tell he's standing in his crib. I'm so worried he's going to climb out (eventhough he has never climbed out) if we don't go to him that I hesitate to let him go too long. We've tried a slightly later bed time, we've tried putting a soft book with him so he has something to do when he wakes, nothing is working. Ideas? Suggestions? Help?!?!?

Tgray: Boo PP
Ranchers: Yay for no more shopping! Are you interested in long-distance, freelance shopping for others? :)
Ladybug: Aye! Poor Jack. Let us know what happens with the tooth!

[jmvan74]

psusna: Sorry about the wake-up issues. Collin has been waking around 5:15-5:30, too. However, I refuse to get him until 7am. Luckily, he's been going back to sleep around 6am and sleeping the extra hour until 7am. I don't know what I'll do if he starts to get angry, instead of playing. :o

rancherswife: Hooray for being done shopping!

tgray: What a nightmare! I would have gotten myself some free pictures out of that situation!

ladybug: Yikes! So glad his permanant teeth weren't damaged. How scary.:eek:

[rancherswife]

psusna: I do exactly what jmvan does. Some days, if dh is still here when he wakes up, he'll bring him into bed w/ me and he'll go back to sleep if I just ignore and let him flop around and get comfy. Is your crib setting on the lowest one? I know what you mean, I think about him trying to climb out every morning, luckily he hasn't, and it would take a lot of work for him to, not that I'm saying he couldn't, this child shocks me daily w/ the things he can climb, etc.!lol
As for the freelance, long distance shopping, if I weren't almost 30 weeks pg, I'd take you up on it, I do enjoy shopping, however, it just doesn't appeal to me this year! ;)

[Carissa]

rancherswife How scary! Grace loves to jump and climb and it freaks me out.

Well Grace is being such a big sister she even tried sharing her french fry with Jonah. It is a little chaotic, she wants to help so much she puts the blanket over his haed and wants to hold him all the time. She get's about 6 inches from his face and just chatters to him and he just listens, I have a feeling they are going to be double trouble when Jonah is older. She is adorable around her little brother, we are loving watching her.

[rancherswife]

oh, how sweet is that Carissa? I would imagine it is completely normal to have pure chaos, that's what I'm expecting 100%!lol Hope you're able to get some rest, when you can. Is that even possible w/ two...umm...maybe don't answe that, I might not want to know what the answer is!!!lol Thanks for checking in!

[happy1nuv]

psusa ~ Sorry, no help for ya here... I was coming to post another sleep question.

So... Nic's been waking at night (no suprise, he ALWAYS has)... but, he doesn't open his eyes. He just kind of grunts/whines.. he doesn't want me, he doesn't want his pacifier. Usually by this time, we're co-sleeping. It usually happens sometime between 3-5 in the morning. If I pop 2-3 Hylands teething tablets in his mouth, he'll turn over and go back to sleep. (If you look in his mouth when he's laughing, you see spots of white all along his gums...I think ALL the rest of his teeth (he has his 8 front teeth, 4 top/4bottom completely in) are at various stages of coming in...but they have been for a while now.
He thinks the teething tablets are candy...LOVES them. He tries to grouch around for them in the am as well, but i think thats faking... this sounds mean...but, you dont think hes wise enough to pull this faker thing in the middle of the night, do you? (he's always woken in the night, but usually settles back down when you replace his pacifier... not sure if i created a monster when i started doling out hylands..)

[cynder]

Rancher I think my heart would have def. stopped in that situation. Thank god, he's okay. And yay you for getting your shopping done.

Tgray Count me in as another person who hates Picture People. You would think that if you're a person working at this type of place, you would at least be friendly with kids! I didn't even bother with waiting for the proofs so wish me luck today in getting those.

psusna Have tried putting him to sleep earlier. We're were having the same problems and decided to adjust his new 7:45 pm-ish bedtime back to 7:00/7:15 and it totally got us back to 6:30am wakeups. He's even playing in the crib for a solid 30 min where before he would cry for us. He's used to be like this so it's great to see it back again.

carissa Hooray for big sisters. (I am one! :))

happy1nuv I would cut out the tablets. I've never been a big fan of them but it's worth a try.

[Sasha]

Rancher - How scary, I'm glad he is ok! The foundation I work for deals with spinal cord injuries, so it's something I am very sensitive about. Sounds like you handled the situation very well.

Tgray - My patience would have been totally shot!

Carissa - Aww, it sounds like Grace is a very good big sister.

psusna - What about something like the FP Aquarium? On days when Sarah wakes up early, she puts it on and it will sometimes put her back to sleep.

happy - I'd try going without the tablets one night and see what happens.

My father and stepmother came for a visit this weekend and totally spoiled Sarah rotten with gifts for Hanukkah. She liked unwrapping the gifts, but would do it one small piece at a time, so I had help out to speed up the process. Of the many gifts they got her, her favorites by far the shopping cart with pretend food and the giant Dora doll that she puts in the front of the cart to go shopping. It's too cute. :)

[tgr68]

Sleep Issues~We are havnig them too. DD lets me put her down for a nap like normal, but then the second I'm out of sight, she starts throwing a massive tantrum. If I go back up to check on her, she hears me on the steps, lays down, and gets really quite. :mad: She's been doing this with her bedtime routine as well, except she acts scared when we do go into her room and wants to be held. The last two or three nights, she hasn't been getting to sleep until well after 10 (her bedtime is around 8:30pm). We've put a nightlight in her room, but that doesn't seem to help at all. I'm beginning to get really frustrated. She has always been a good sleeper.

[psusna]

Sleep: Thanks for the helpful tips, girls. His crib is on the lowest setting but I still worry about climbing out. I have a much easier time ignoring DS than DH does. If DS is calling out for him he’s in there in a hot second. Sometimes he brings him in with us but I really don’t want into that habit either. I just need 30 more minutes of sleep!! In the past DS would turn on his music box attached to his crib (the base of his old mobile minus the mobile part) and that did the trick. Now that's he's talking, he lays on the guilt:rolleyes: The hard part is that I have to be at work by 7:30 so we need to leave our house at 6:30. We tried the earlier bedtime per Cynder's suggestion but maybe we didn't go earlier enough...hhhmmm. His normal bedtime is 7:30 so maybe we need to go to 7.

I'm sorry for the others suffering with sleep issues as well (tgr and happy) :(

Carissa: I'm glad that Grace seems to be a doting big sis!

[alienhost]

Thanks for the well wishes for DD. She went to the ped on Thurs, no infections and her lungs were clear. She still was running a fever on Friday but it was better by Sat. She is still sounding like she is hacking up a lung though. She did great at the holiday party - she was walking up to everyone saying "hi". She's back on two naps duing this illness so she is sleeping a lot during the day. She is so much better today, eating a bit more etc. but still has a nasty cough. Oh and to top it off, we just saw her FOUR canines coming through, so on top of feeling crappy, she was teething all four of those bastards :eek: what a trooper...



alien: Hope dd is feeling better, and good luck w/ your holiday party. I'm hosting our monthly "girls night Bunko" at our house next Friday, it's hard enough getting everything ready just w/ a toddler, can't imagine doing it w/ a sick toddler!

I actually think it was *easier* to get the place cleaned decorated since she napped so much and she didn't have the energy to run around an get into everything. Plus my MIL and parents came to help watch her, thank goodness. It's amazing how things work themselves out!

my attempt at shout outs, keeping in mind I'm like 8 pages behind.

Congratulations Carissa and welcome Jonah it sounds like you, the little one and Grace are doing great!

psusna I hope everyone in your household is on the mend

ahavnes I hope you are feeling better too.

usafwife what a rude co-worker, just ignore her! ;)

rancherswife how scary about Landon's fall. I'm glad all is OK. DD fell off our bed a few weeks ago - she thought it would be fun to start "log rolling" across and she landed on the floor, I freaked but was thankful she didn't fall on her head and that we have carpet. The bed scares me! Yeah for finishing your Xmas shopping!

ladybug that's scary about Jack's tooth, I hope it is ok

tgray Picture People sound terrible!

[alienhost]

Xmas location happy1, I hope you can work out your Christmas plans. We have my parents here in the late morning and go to his parents in the afternoon for dinner. We stay home Xmas Eve. It's worked out in the past but I'd love to just stay home all day too!

tree she is fairly interested but I tell her not to touch or be gentle, she is doing OK with the ornaments (I put non breakables at the bottom).

dentist our ped said to go at 3, which seems late based on what you guys are saying

winter activities I hope to get her out for some sled rides (if it snows!), I bought boots, parka, snow bibs - the works, thinking we would "play in the snow" but I'm not sure that is realistic.

food I'm of no help here since she hasn't eaten hardly anything since she's been sick (mainly raisins, cereal and crackers). I'm hoping once her appetite is back she'll venture out.

self feeding she is doing OK with the spoon, but it takes forever to eat a small bowl of applesauce or yogurt. I must try those Gerber spoons.

OK I think I'm up to date!!!!

[kimthebride]

Hi everyone!

Let's see if i can catch up with you chatty ladies...

Danger Boys
DS looks like he was in a gang fight. :rolleyes: He has been in teething Hell the last 3 days and so cranky and distracted he keeps walking into things, falling, standing up when he's under the table, etc and ALWAYS hits the right side of his head so he has a shiner & a couple small bruises dotting that side. My poor boy! Thank goodness their heads are like rocks - he headbutted me the other day and i was in tears but he was fine.

alienhost
Glad DD is on the mend, and the party went well!
DS has all 4 canine coming in at once, too and it is a nightmare.

Sleep Issues
I wish I could help!
DS finally decided he wanted 1 nap a day, and it has been good. He goes to bed at 8pm sharp every night, I leave the monitor off so am not sure when he wakes up but DH gets him from his crib (awake) when he's headed upstairs to leave for work between 7:30-8am each morning, and he naps around 12-3. He does well with this routine. I find if i ignore him in the morning should I hear him up before 7:30, he'll just lay back down and accept it.

Sasha
I can't wait to get my unborn-DD the plastic grocery cart and food - I loved mine as a kid!

happy1: Teething Tablets
I always used them to take the immediate effect while giving Tylenol/Motrin time to kick in.
I do think Nic is just waking up for a 'treat'...maybe cut him off and see if he realizes he has no reason for getting up??

carissa
You just got me all warm & fuzzy. I can't wait to see DS be a big brother!

tgray
did they at least give you anything to compensate for the PP drama? How annoying! I hope the pics were at least really really cute, lol.

Xmas
Bah humbug!
I am almost done shopping, and dH is on my a$$ about how much I am spending (ummm...its 90% his family!!) but I'm doing well ignoring him :D. However...

All our Xmas decor and tree trimmings are in boxes in our storage unit 2 towns away that closes during the week before DH gets home from work. So I had to go out and buy enough ornaments, light, garland & a star to decorate a tree just for this year! We've been collecting ornaments for our 6 Xmases together and love going through them, so it stinks to do this.

Then we get the tree last night, all is well. Had to buy the tree, stand & skirt but alas its done. We put it up, its sturdy, DS isn't attacking it, yay for us. We figure we'll let it settle overnight and decorate it tonight.

After DS went to bed, I decide to check the new & fancy glass-bulb lights I got for the tree. I usually buy the cheapo $1.99 lights but figured i'd do some nicer ones to make up for the boring ornaments.

Anyway...
(cue the "12 Days of Chrismas" song where the guy is cursing out the lights)
...I plug the first set in and a puff of smoke comes off a broken bulb. Okay, a little wierd but i change it out with some effort. Then realize another bulb is broken (as is evident by the shards of glass on the carpet I already vacuumed 3x that day). As I try to pull that one out, it slips from my grasp and slits my hand from the center of my palm to my wrist. Its an open wound, I'm bleeding, it hurts like heck.

So now I sit here with 4" of guaze and half a roll of medical tape covering this wierd wound on my left hand, making it neccesary for me to wear a latex glove when cooking, cleaning etc since I can't just wash my hand all the time now.

And of course, DH is now referring to me as Michael Jackson because of the one glove. :rolleyes: Stop laughing. Its not funny.

So ho ho ho and off i go to finish wrapping gifts one-handed.

Oh, and did I mention that even after replaceing the bulbs the strand won't fully light up AND the other strand was half dead too? And I threw out the reciept so now I must head back to target for my $1.99 lights this afternoon with a cranky teething child, one hand, and a Grinch's disposition. Merry christmas!

[alienhost]

I totally forgot to address the sleep issues. I'm sorry so many are going through this. We have it too, I'm praying b/c she's been sick that she has been getting up at night just b/c she feels crappy and that this is not a new bad habit. She cries out, I go to her, wipe her nose, give her a sip of water, change diaper and rock her FOREVER. when I think she is relaxed and sleepy I stand up and she starts screaming "no no no". Usually I have to just lie her in the crib, she pops up and I let her cry for 5 minutes to see if she gets back to sleep. 90% of the time she cries for like 2 min and goes to sleep. The other 10% requires me to rock her another 30 minutes.

early risers when dealing with this pre sickness, I would rock her and tell her since it is still dark out she needs to go back to sleep, I've had pretty good sucess in getting her to go back down for a bit if she is up before 6 or 6:30.

kim ugh, I hope your hand isn't too bad. I did LOL though about the Michael Jackson comment. :D

Sasha I missed your post about the shopping cart. we got one for DD, I can't wait to open it!

[alienhost]

so I bought these cufflinks (http://www.redenvelope.com/re/gifts/product_display/product_information.jsp?nc=48766&BV_SessionID=@@@@1999474015.1165863873@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccjaddjilfjmjgcefecefedfgfdfmh.0&refPg=%2fproduct_display%2fgift_results.jsp&bct2=recipient&bcp2=1&bcm2=1%24%24-8070&bct4=for+him&bcp4=3&bcm4=1%24%24-8072&bct5=entire+collection&bcp5=4&bcm5=29$$%2Frecipient%2Ffor+him%2Fentire+collectio n@@30$$-12043@@35$$12043&catOid=-12043&oid=21441681&nc2=1) for DH from DD. They are from Red Envelope and I have to say I'm very disappointed with the quality, I thought they would be sturdier. My other issue is that how do I get the picture to say in the locket? When you open there is just a recessed area to put the picture but no cover or anything to hold it in place. Do I use some double sided tape? I wonder if I should complain to redenvelope....in the past I've been very happy with their stuff.

[diedra1027]

Sleep Issues - Just wanted to chime in that we are going through the exact same thing as some of the rest of you. We had two terrible nights last week where she woke up screaming at 2am and wouldn't/couldn't go back down until 5 :eek:! Things have been better since those two nights, but she fights me going down every night and still has a hard time getting back down if she wakes in the middle of the night. She is working on the canines right now too, but it seems like something more than that (since a dose of Tylenol didn't do the trick). I'm guessing by her tone when she does wake in the night that it's teething combined with some super seperation anxiety.

Kim - What a story!! As my mom used to say - I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you (to which I would always respond in the snottiest tone possible - I am NOT LAUGHING!!).

Carissa - So glad to hear that Grace is taking to her baby brother so well. Gives me hope :).

[Dreshny]

Reading along about the sleep issues, daredevil boys, and poor Kim's hand...

18 month WBV:
Height: 32 in (38%)
Weight: 22 lbs, 11 oz (12%)

Dr. said he wasn't worried. Well, actually he said, "Does he eat well?" And I said, "no, not really." And he said, "Yeah, I didn't expect you to say yes." :o He also said that 18 months is usually the all-time low point for toddler eating.

Weirdly, Asher's not a picky eater, really. I mean, he ate lots of curried chickpeas and saag paneer last night at an Indian restaurant. But he has to be in the right mood to eat, and most of the time, he isn't.

I will try not to worry. The ped says he's confident it's just Asher's small genes.

[rancherswife]

LMAO at your story kim, I'm sorry, but your humor kills me! I know you weren't trying to be funny, but, I think it's just par for the course w/ you! ;) I have had a x-mas like that before, BUT it was before we had Landon. We were building our house and moving out of our old one, even though our home wasn't going to be ready for another 2 months, all at x-mas time....I remember what a "cluster f_ck" (to quote my dh) it was that year!!! Hope the hand starts feeling better and hope Thomas hurries up w/ those canines....I hated when Landon was getting those!

alien: Glad dd is feeling better and glad the holiday party went well!

dreshny: My ped said the same thing about the 18 mo. eating slump!


sleep issues: Well, as far as nights go, for the past couple of weeks (bronchitis, then the fall on Friday night, where we then had to wake him every two hours for 48 hours) he's been in and out of our bed. Tonight, he will go back to his crib, and hopefully it's without a fight. Usually, if he wakes in the middle of the night, I wait to see if he can get himself settled back in, before I go settle him back in. ughh..i don't like those nights!

I'm so excited, the girl that painted Landon's nursery is all set to come the week after x-mas, she confirmed everything w/ me this afternoon. I was starting to stress, reading in my Feb. 07 mommies thread, they're all started on their nurseries, and I haven't. Once she's done (which only takes about a week) all we have to do is p/u the furniture at BRU and set it up, then I'll start transfering clothes into his closet.

[kimthebride]

Since you all seem to be getting a kick out of my wonderful day, here's a pic for you:

A teething, PO'd DS chewing on the bottom of the cup and spilling milk into his plate rather than eating his dinner as I give a good 'ole thumbs-up to the scene in my latex MJ glove.

http://static.flickr.com/139/319978055_d2814cef58_m.jpg

Exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes until the kid goes to bed and I catch a break!

[rancherswife]

Exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes until the kid goes to bed and I catch a break!

__________________
lol, but who's counting? I find myself counting down to bed time, MANY evenings, starting around 6:30ish! Hang in there, girl!

[tgray99]

PP: Of course I didn't get any free pics or a discount out of the deal...I'm a puss and didn't put up a fight...I just wanted the hell out of there. If anyone wants to give me bitch lessons, I'm open to 'em! Only 1 of the pics was absolutely adorable, the other that we got was just ok. They used a green background which I wasn't crazy about. <<shrug>> Whaddya gonna do?

I do want to say that I've never had issues with PP before. They've always been fantastic and we always get a great session with Aidan with lots of cute pics to choose from...I think it was just 1) the time of year and day we went and 2) the weird Christmassy green background. I'll give them 1 more shot when she turns 2 in May to redeem themselves.

[psusna]

Hear that? It's me officially putting my foot down with DH and this whole sleep mess. 3:40 a.m. is NOT an acceptable time for DS to wake, want in our bed, ask for the Wiggles or try to get down and prance around the 2nd floor of our house! I've had it, and I'm kicking DH out of any decision making related to sleep. That's how we got this far with a great sleeper, and I don't know what I was thinking giving him input now! Long story short, DS woke at 3:40 really like nightmare crying. I go in and calm him down, turn his music box on and rock and I feel him getting limp so I lay him down. He pops back up so I put him back down with a blanket and leave. He starts crying. I decide to CIO and tell DH this and he's ok. Well, DS starts throwing everything out of his crib -- blanket, paci, pup-pup so DH goes in to get him back down and next thing I know there they both come into our bed!!!!!!!!!!! I was PIST!!!!!!!!!!!! No more in our bed, no more going downstairs with DH to watch Wiggles and have breakfast while I get ready -- it's back to the old routine, boring, old routine that was working great.

I'm tired.

Kim -- LOL at your hand and that picture. I really wish I had an outlook on life more like yours some days. Hope you are feeling well today!

[happy1nuv]

Aw Kim... hope today goes better for ya. And...I'm glad I'm not the only one that counts down to bedtimes some (lots) of days...

Sleep ~ Well, we skipped the tablets last night. I was absolutely EXHAUSTED by the time bedtime rolled around (remind me again why I decided to hand make part of everyones gifts this year????) so I'm not 100% sure (I am a HEAVY sleeper, and can get up and go pee and not remember in the am) but I think we had a good night. I think he only woke up the once, and I popped the pacifier in and he went back down ... WOOHOO! (Of course, he did wake for the day at 6 - early for him, but... who's counting, huh?)

rancher ~ Yay for the new nursery completion in site... what's the theme for reece's room? (Are you gonna post pics here too? I remember landons nurery was AWESOME!)

psusa ~ Ha, gotta love well meaning but misguided dh's. At dinner last night, I didn't make Nic his own piece of chicken...just let him share dh's (its hit or miss if he eats it). Well, dh gave him DH sized pieces... ummm, what do you think nic's gonna do with THAT???):rolleyes:

tgray ~ That sucks about pp. I tried kiddie kandids for the first time last week(?) .. and the wait to get in was terrible, but once we got in they were WONDERFUL... except for the price tag, had me wondering why we didnt do that sooner! (I thought Nic would HATE it, but he was quite the model)

[alienhost]

kim love the picture! I often have a count down to bedtime or at least to when DH comes home.

kim - PJ question I remember you were asking about warm 100% cotton PJs, what did you find/what are you doing for Thomas?

psusna good for you! Stand your ground, it will work out!

rancherswife please post pics of the new nursery when completed!

sleep issue side note I *think* I might have determined why DD is waking at 3 or 4AM, it was freezing in the house last night and I think the cold wakes her up and then she fights going back to sleep. We are going to crank up the heat a few more degrees tonight to see if that works. Keeping fingers crossed for tonight.

professional photos what I found is that from late October to December it is a zoo at any professional place. Everyone is trying to get holiday pics done. I went with DD's 3 cousins for a group shot for the ILs in early November and it was crazy - kids running around every where etc. that it is very distracting to those trying to pose for pics. Then I had to go back in to order pics just before Thanksgiving and that was just as bad (I can't imagine what the weekends are like). I think it helps to go in earlier.

eating what I've heard is that toddlers won't let themselves starve so they will eat when hungry. I try not to get too hung up on it but it's so hard. Her weight gain was great from 18- to 19 months and I'm sure she has lost most of it b/c of her being so sick :(

[LIZNKEITH]

Kim,
LOL at the gloved hand. Hope today is better for you.

Roseanne,
I full expect the same talk when we go to the Ped Friday. I’m guessing C is about 22 pounds right now. Like Asher, sometimes she eats heartily and sometimes not so. But overall, I’d say she’s a very good eater. She still eats a lot of fruits and veggies so I think that it’s a combination of that and her small genes as well.

Rancherswife,
How terrifying! There’s nothing scarier than watching something like that happen and not be able to stop it. I hope Landon is doing okay.

Ladybug,
Oh no! Hopefully the tooth will be okay.

Christmas Tree
It was funny…we had it set up with the lights on it for two days and she didn’t so much as glance at it. Then, I decided to put the ornaments up. For two days straight we were talking her out of the tree. Once, we even had to go in after her. It seems that the novelty is beginning to wear off though. She hasn’t approached it in a day or two.

Self-Feeding
We actually haven’t attempted it much in the past couple of months. About the time she really started to eat table food, she started refusing yogurt and other spoon-fed food. I need to revisit it though.

Eating woes
Like all of you have said, it really depends on her mood. Sometimes she’ll shock me with how much she can eat in one sitting and sometimes it’s painful to get her to eat one bite. One day she’ll chow down on something only for me to serve it a few days later and she flat out refuses it. There really is no rhyme or reason to her eating habits. I think the important thing to look at the big picture: are they getting a variety of food and an ample amount over the course of the week.

[cynder]

Kim Girl, you crack me up. Sorry about your day, but love the photo!

Dreshny Well, you know how small DS is. I feel the same way about, he's not a picky eater but he's clearly stuck in the 10%. I love that he love paneer!

psusnaSorry about the bad night. We've had those nightmares wakings over the last few months. For us CIO did not work. We (I mean DH) ended up sleeping on the floor, not talking to him, next to the crib because he would freak if we left. Hope you get some rest.

I hope every is getting more sleep soon!

[Sasha]

Kim - LOL about the glove. Very funny photo. I hope you got some well-deserved rest last night!

psusna - I have those times too when DH says something he thinks will work and deep down, I totally know it won't, and I'm usually right. Stick to your mommy instincts!

Sleep Woes - We have a new one lately. Sarah always went to bed between 7:45 - 8:00pm. But lately, she would stay up in her crib, not crying, but talking and entertaining herself until like 8:15 - 8:30. So we moved bedtime back to closer to 8:15. Well the past two nights she has now stayed up until close to 8:45. Again, not crying, but she'll play with her FP Aquarium and talk. Last night I put her down at 8:15 and she cried, did not want to go to sleep. She still gets up at 7am-ish, and at daycare, still naps only anywhere from 25 minutes to one hour. I really don't want to move her bedtime any later than 8:15, because since she naps so little, I feel like she needs the sleep at night. Maybe we just need to wear her out more before bedtime?

[happy1nuv]

Question... I know I'm probably late in the season to be asking this, but I can't find one ANYWHERE... I'm looking for a onesie (or shirt) for Christmas. Something with a cute saying...ya know... "santa's lil helper" "I've been Nice/Naughty" in an 18-24 months size. I see them EVERYWHERE, but none big enough. Anyone have any ideas? (We put our foot down and are staying home for Christmas, YEA! ... so its really casual. He's wearing jeans with it... the closest I could find was an adorable pair of overalls from Little Me with trains embroidered on them... but they're a lil more formal than I was going for. A sweatshirt would work too... going for comfy but cute...

Oh... and The Childrens Place has 100% cotton pjs (one pieces or two pieces). Anyone find any cute christmas pj's? (at this point, I don't care WHAT material they are made of, but they do have to be a 1-piece. I don't like tcp designs...
:)

[psusna]

Cynder: That sleeping on the floor thing is the next step if CIO doesn’t work, good tip. I remember Wendy using the same technique. I need to look back at what both of you did in case we get desperate! This was the first night it was nightmarish crying, every other night he would just call out for DH. I’m not sure if it’s SA related or more just getting into a bad habit when he was sick. We’ll see what tonight brings….

Happy: I'd check Old Navy and Target for the shirts. My mom got DS some cute one-piece Cmas pj's from Carters.

Sasha: UGH! I feel you on this sleep issue. I really have no advice, just sympathy :( I always worry when DS doesn't get enough sleep (like last night) that it will impact his behavior at daycare. That always makes me so nervous.

[cynder]

psusna Over the last 2 months we had 2 different things. One was waking up in the middle of the night, clearly screaming and scared. That was fixed with replacing the nightlight bulb. Then after a week or two, we again had random, in the middle of the night, screaming and crying. We would go in to comfort and he would immediately lie down but the pop back up when we crept out of the room. We CIOed for like 5 minutes here and there but it was clear that he was freaked. Some nights after being comforted he wanted to goof off. Nobody gets sleep when we bring him into bed so DH decided to sleep on the floor. Every once in awhile DS would wake to see if we were there and then go back to sleep. It sucked but it's been a few weeks since it's happened. I am sure that he will do it tonight :)

Then we had early risings but the early bedtime has solved that.

[alienhost]

happy1 I agree with psusna to check Old Navy. They have these (http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=23276&pid=430529&scid=430529002) in 12-18 months, DD has been wearing this one (http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=23270&pid=430529&scid=430529032) for a few weeks and I think the sizing is fairly generous. I also saw long sleeve T shirts in the girls section with Xmas designs - they have larger sizes, 18-24 and 2T. ETA - I just noticed these onesies are out of stock on line in 12-18mos, maybe you can check your local store.

Sasha DD does that sometimes too, entertaining herself and not crying. I just let her "relax" in there and eventually she goes to sleep. If she isn't crying most of the time, I'd leave her at her earlier bedtime so she can at least "unwind".

Christmas PJs Gymboree has 2 for $20 PJs right now (until Wed or Thurs I think), they have a lot of cute wintery designs. But be warned, they run a little small (the arms are very narrow so they can be snug fitting), I usually buy a size up.

[ahavnes]

Whew! It has been a hard couple of days around here. :o It started on Sunday when Abbey woke up from her nap and felt a little warm. I took her temperature and was shocked to see that it was 104 degrees! :eek: She has never had a temp that high before. We had her sleep with us Sunday night, but she was still burning up, even with Tylenol and Motrin. Coincidentally, her 18-month WBV was Monday at 8am, so it turned into a sick visit. :o They took some blood and said she shows signs of an infection (sinus perhaps), but I think it's the flu b/c she is now coughing up a storm. Oddly enough, she is still eating a little and wants to play. Selfishly, I have to admit that I am stressed to the max from missing work and being home with a sick child when I need to do Christmas errands. She does seem to be feeling better today, so hopefully tomorrow will be a new day. I am not kidding when I say that this poor child has been sick 4 times in the last month! Sooo glad I breastfed for 8months. :rolleyes: Sorry, feeling cynical.

Also, the doctor detected a heart murmur. Great. She thinks it could be a result of the high fever, but I know it's not. I have one too; so does my dad. It's an H family genetic thing that is a royal pain and I feel terrible that I've passed it on to Abbey. It's nothing particularily dangerous, but it does cause major palpitations and we're supposed to take antibiotics before dental procedures. Just a hassle, but sad that I passed it on just the same. :cool:

Will try to catch up later!

[kimthebride]

100% Cotton PJs
I just went with the ones from The Children's Place, though the candy-cane-striped ones from Hannah Andersen are really cute!

Holiday Tees/Onesies
Gap
http://www.gap.com/Asset_Archive/GPWeb/Assets/Product/392/392575/main/gp392575-00p01v01.jpg

Otherwise, try JCPenney's or someplace like that where you can look through the many designers on the racks.

Eating
DS is still pretty good. His mough has been hurting for almost a week now so he's slowed down a bit, but he'll still take a variety of things, eat meals a day plus snacks. He likes to self-feed with a fork or spoon and does get frustrated when trying to use a utensil on something that doesnt take it (like eating Goldfish with a fork: not gonna work, kid!).

18mo WBV

Length 33.5" 90%
Weight 27lbs 75%
Head ?? 75%

He got the 2nd part of his flu shot and I got one while we were there. Perk of flu shots at your Ped's? Smaller needles. :) Said our next appointment is at 2 years. TWO YEARS! :eek: I can't believe that's coming up in 6 months!

Here's the info on the flyer they gave me today, since you all usually seem interested when I remember to post these!

"Normal Development: 18 to 24 Months"
- walks proficiently
- enjoys pushing & pulling toys while walking
- runs awkwardly and falls a lot
- walks backwards a short distance
- may begin toilet training
- begins to eat with fork
- speaks from 3 to 50 words
- wants to name everything
- uses a few 2-word combinations
- responds to simple requests
- repeats familiar and unfamiliar sounds and gestures
- rarely shows frustrations when not understood
- may show string attachment to toy or blanket
- resists bedtime
- responds with "no" constantly
- likes to show some independance
- begins to develop a self-concept
- enjoys imitating parents
- may favor father
- understands that something can exist even when hidden
- can picture objects and events mentally

[jrdhbunny]

ahavnes- Oh no! So sorry to hear about the flu and the heart murmur. :(

kim- OMG- what a picture!!! Hope your hand gets better quick!

psusna- Those troublemaking DHs!!! My DH did the same thing when DS was waking up and I got so irritated. I'm the one who got him to sleep in his crib, so maybe I kind of know what I'm talking about. :rolleyes: Hope you get some much deserved sleep!

tgray- Yeah, we had a not so great experience at PP lately too, although not nearly as bad as yours. It was more that the pictures weren't that great. But my SIL had major issues with her Christmas cards; she wound up having to take her own picture and have them done at Sams. I think that PP is getting too large to keep up with the demand and their quality of service is going downhill. I also think that their equipment is not built to handle the volume as our PP is constantly having "printer" problems as well.

Roseanne- DS is tall, but on the light side too.

alienhost- Glad DD is doing better!

rancherswife- Poor Landon and poor you! We had that experience in New Orleans; it was utterly terrifying!

happy1nuv- I was going to suggest Old Navy too. Bummer that the size is sold out. Glad you got the Christmas issue worked out!

Sasha- I don't have any advice because DS has a rather late bedtime (9pm) and we haven't had any success moving it earlier. But I agree with alienhost about keepin the bedtime the same.

sleep- Well, I figured out what caused our sleeping woes- Cars, the Pixar movie. It was either giving him nightmares or keeping his brain going so that he was afraid to go to sleep. The movie got put away and poof- no more sleep problems. But now DH and I are both really sick so I won't be a bit surprised if James comes down with it too and starts having some trouble sleeping. :(

Christmas PJs- Target has Christmas sleepers as well, both lightweight and in heavier fleece.

[alienhost]

kim thanks for the list, it is very interesting. I thought this was very interesting ..."may favor father" (how come my DD only calls for me in the middle of the night or at 6AM?)

ahavnes I'm sorry to hear Abbey is sick again (and to hear about the heart murmur_) I hope she gets well soon.

jrdhbunny[B] I hope you and your DH feel better soon and that James doesn't catch it.

[B]question on RSVPing so this is totally OT but do you usually RSVP for parties etc? We sent 40 invites for our annual holiday party (some mailed, some e-mailed) and I'd say over 20% didn't respond at all. I provided a phone # and e-mail (so you don't even have to talk to me to give an excuse why you can't come). It seems so rude that people wouldn't even acknowledge that we invited them to come to our house to eat, drink and be merry. Anyway enough venting...

DD is on her 3rd hour of her nap AND she hasn't had lunch yet (late breakfast and AM snack). I guess it's an early dinner for her.

[allyray231]

hey guys-well we survived the move. Aidenof course decided this was a good time to get an ear infection. thank god we already had a ped!

The move was nuts-we got here thrusday and I started my job yesterday. So far the job is great and I really like it

Hope to stop in when I have more time!

[rancherswife]

ahavnes: All I can say is poor Abbey, she has had a rough go of it lately! Hope you get your x-mas errands done w/ out incident! ;) That' s how I was last year, when Landon got bronchitis so bad, but it was a little closer to x-mas and I still had a list a mile long! Hang in there, girl!

x-mas pj's: Going to the mall and target tomorrow, I'll have to check out CP. Didn't see any at our Target, but wasn't really looking too hard.

alien: People who don't RSVP really irritate me, too! We have Bunko once a month and I always rsvp to whom ever the host is, but I always hear the same thing "do you know if so and so are coming?" " I haven't heard from anyone?" Yet, they'll either all show up or only half the group will. WTH? I do not understand why people are so rude when you invite them to come to your home, they could at least acknowledge the invite! I feel your pain!

ally: Glad the move is done and you are getting settled w/ the new job. Hope Aiden's ear infection is better!

[psusna]

Ally: Yay for a successful move! I hope Aiden is feeling better.

Kim: Interesting list. I'd say it's right on for DS.

RSVP: Just RSVP'd for a party tonight. I get annoyed when people don't respond. I hope you hear from some stragglers, Alien.

Alicia: I'm so sorry Abbey is sick again :( Please don't feel guilty about her murmor. I know it's easy to say but it's not like you hand picked what to give her or not give her -- it's just the luck of the draw. I know it doesn't ease the worry any, but it's good they can monitor it now as she grows. Hang in there and feel free to vent away whenever you need!

jrdh: Get well soon! Medding DH's...gggrrr.... That's so interesting about Cars effect on DS. I hope that hiding it away helps.

Bedtime...greeted with caution tonight. So far so good...we'll see what the night brings. I'm so nervous to go to sleep tonight.

[tgray99]

- rarely shows frustrations when not understood
HA!!!!!!! If I don't get whatever she's pointing at and grunting she screeches her fool head off till I find it. SO much fun while driving 70 mph down the interstate!

[rancherswife]

HA!!!!!!! If I don't get whatever she's pointing at and grunting she screeches her fool head off till I find it. SO much fun while driving 70 mph down the interstate!


My thoughts exactly!!! Good times! :)

[tgr68]

Carissa~So glad Grace is such a great big sis!

Alien~Glad DD is feeling better!

Tree~Shylah is very intrigued with it and touches it often, but we made it a very clear rule that the decorations were not to be touched. She did take a couple of bulbs off at one time, brought them to me, and said "balls no no". LOL!

Self Feeding~Not too bad here. She does a great job when it comes to mac-n-cheese and mashed potatoes!

Sleep Issues~Still not any better over here. I would like to say it is separation anxiety, but she always seems to make a game of us coming in to check on her. :confused: I know she has been feeling off though for a couple of weeks with her second top canine trying to push through.

Kim~Ugh!! Sorry about the hand. :( I had to LOL at the Michael Jackson comment and the picture though.

psusna~I hope tonight is better with the sleep issues and that you can get some rest!

Christmas PJs~I would love to get DD some but I've got to find time to get to the nearest decent mall - about an hour away from us.

Professional Photos~We just didn't have time for them this year. We really wanted to get a family pic taken before Christmas and didn't. I did get a pretty cute snapshot of Shylah with the Christmas tree to send out though.

Alicia~Poor Abbey. :( I hope she starts feeling better very soon.

"Normal Development"~Haha!! We have no problem with this one!
- responds with "no" constantly
RSVPing~I always try to do this. If I don't get it done, I usually won't show up but send a gift/card/etc.

Ally~Sorry to hear about Aiden's EI. :( Glad you are liking the job so far!

Off to get some sleep before DD (most likely) gets us up in a few hours! :rolleyes:

[psusna]

I don't know if the moon was in the 7th house and Jupiter aligned with Mars or what the heck happened but he slept all night and we had to wake him at 6:10!!!!!!! When DH put him down last night he asked if DS thought he could be a big guy and sleep all night long for mommy and daddy and DS told him yes. So I was up at 3:30 just waiting for the crying and calling out. DH was up at 4:30 waiting for the same thing. Nothing -- it was like a mirage or a good dream :) I won't say we are out of the woods but hope springs eternal! I hope everyone else with sleep issues is seeing the tide turn a little bit.

tgr: Too cute with Shylah and the tree :) Jackson is fascinated with a Mickey Mouse ornament we have. He goes over, points and says mouse but doesn't touch.

ETA: Forgot my funny story from this morning. On the way to school today I ask Jackson if the babies will be happy today, he says no. I ask if the babies will be sad, he says yes. I ask why they will be sad – his answer, gas :) Could be b/c we were cutting through a gas station to miss some of the traffic, I don’t know, but it was cute!

[kimthebride]

RSVP
You hit a nerve with me!
I respond to every invite, verbal, email or mailed, even if it's just a "maybe" so they know I'd like to come but may not be able to...I go nuts when people don't respond!
Mind you, I'm still annoyed at my wedding RSVP's in 2003 when about 30% of the people - most of whom I didn't know that were on DH's family or his parent's friends - didn't reply at all. It was a crazy manhunt to get a yes or no out of people. And heck, I learned my lesson: if people don't even RSVP to a formal wedding chances are they are going to be just as lame about regular parties. :rolleyes:

Ally
Sorry I haven't checked in with you, but I have been thinking about you the last couple weeks! Glad them ove went okay and your new job was welcoming. Make sure to check in with updates. Hope Aiden feels better fast!

"No"
I don't get the word, I get him laughing at me and running away. just as fun!

Questions At Ped's
They asked me:
- can he throw a ball overhand?
- can he kick a back from standing?
- what words he does say, are they clear enough to easily understand?
And it was yes on all of them.

They didn't ask anything on the list, just handed it out to me and said to read and ask any questions. it answered some of my questions, like if it was normal for him to want his blanket all. the. time. lately.

[happy1nuv]

Kim ~ interesting list. I'm STILL waiting on the begins to prefer daddy one... (I end up in Nic's room sleeping with him by the end of the night. DH wakes up and switches with me so I can shower before he leaves.... EVERY day, Nic divebombs for me the second he HEARS daddy walking down the hall. (Nic, I love you too, but seriously... can mommy shower without you giving daddy a complex about you not liking him????)

Xmas clothes/pjs ~ Thanks for all of the suggestions. I didn't think of Old Navy (brain dead apparently, because now it seems like the obvious choice) but I've been everywhere else and NONE are in his size... I may be desperate enough to try for a generous 12-18 months one.

Uggg... NIc's crabby today.... guess mommy is done on the computer...

Ally ~ great to hear the move went well and the job is good!

[IrishEyes]

Alright, I hate to crosspost, but this is from a thread I started in the 18 month - 4 year board that isn't getting much feedback for me:


My tall 18-month old (already 36-37 inches tall) has outgrown our Combi Savvy. His feet hang below the thin footplate and hit the tires. In addition, we'd love a swivel front wheel jogger, but we'll take a regular stroller if it works best for us long-term.

Any recommendations?

I know some of you ladies have tall kids like me. What do you have in the way of a stroller and do you like it?

[happy1nuv]

irish ~ saw your post, but have no advice for ya... We went cheap on the stroller and I'm regretting it now that Nic is actually using it (its a b1tch to steer)

Stocking stuffers~ What's everyone putting in dc's stocking? I have alphabet and number magnets and some chalk (they go with an activity cube/table that dh is building) and two small balls. Other than that, I have nothing (and i made the mistake of getting him a HUGE stocking...

RSVPS ~ Well, my friends are notoriously bad at them. They usually answer for formal (weddings) things, but for a house party... Add to that that they are notoriously late... and, well - I've learned to accept them but it royally pisses dh off. It is annoying when you are trying to plan though... (especially since one of my staples when entertaining is sausage and peppers...and neither dh or I really eat it... luckily its one of those things that usually goes quick so even if we over-make, we don't have too many leftovers...)

[tgr68]

psusna~Yeah for Jackson sleeping all night!! LOL at the baby's gas!

Kim~Ugh! I get the laughing and running away often! So frustrating!

Stockings~Nothing so far. We blew most of our money on her gifts. I do have about $5 left over. Maybe I'll slip in some teddy grahams or something like that.

We started allowing Shylah to watch a little bit of TV (30 min. per week). She hasn't been that interested until the last two Baby Einstein videos - Baby Neptune & a neighborhood/around town one with sign language.

[alienhost]

thanks for you sympathies on the RSVPing, I need to get over it...


RSVP: I hope you hear from some stragglers, Alien.

thanks psusna, the sad thing is that the party was last Saturday so 8 couples/people definitely didn't even acknowledge we invited them. Maybe their invite got lost in the mail :rolleyes:


I don't know if the moon was in the 7th house and Jupiter aligned with Mars or what the heck happened but he slept all night and we had to wake him at 6:10!!!!!!! When DH put him down last night he asked if DS thought he could be a big guy and sleep all night long for mommy and daddy and DS told him yes. So I was up at 3:30 just waiting for the crying and calling out. DH was up at 4:30 waiting for the same thing. Nothing -- it was like a mirage or a good dream I won't say we are out of the woods but hope springs eternal! I hope everyone else with sleep issues is seeing the tide turn a little bit.

yea!!! Hey we had a good night too, no night waking - I asked DH to crank the heat a few more degrees b/c I thought she was waking b/c it was cold. Well something worked, of course I took the credit. :D

ally I'm glad the move went well and work is good, I hope Aiden feels better soon.

kim we had to chase a lot of wedding guests too, how annoying huh?


RSVPing~I always try to do this. If I don't get it done, I usually won't show up but send a gift/card/etc.

I'm going to invite you next year. ;)

stocking stuffers there is a thread here (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26613) if you need ideas. I am putting in coloring books, stickers, finger puppets, raisin boxes, small toys etc. I'm also doing an advent calendar with her and that is eating up a lot of the small things....

ETA: I have a GYMBOREE coupon code for 20% off your entire purchase good through 12/24, PM me if you need it.....

[allyray231]

Thanks guys! Good thing was Brad loved the new ped

Kim I am so glad to see that list because A does all of those! Esp the daddy and blanket thing. Although now that daddy is home with him all day, I think he is going to be into mommy again so :)

So Aiden was feeling better last night after being MISERABLE yesterday and decided that he wanted to get up at 2am--and play. Now I don't know if it because we are in a new house and the room he plays in is smaller but oh man! he finally got pack to sleep around 3 or so. His fever seems to be gone and he is feeling much better today.

We haven't done his WBV yet but we have to back to the ped in 3 weeks for a follow up so we will do it then. The did way him with his clothes and shoes on yesterdy and I think he was about 24 1/2 lbs. I know he is tall because people comment all the time how he is the same size as their 3 year olds!

[diedra1027]

Favoring Dad - We're waiting for that one to start at our house too. DH has a total complex about it :(.

Stockings - Small 'pocket' book (or two) and a small stuffed animal (I love the plush little pig or frog that Old Navy is selling!!). Little bath toys can be fun too. We spend Chistmas Eve with FIL and his wife and open stockings in the morning at their house - they will probably fill the rest of the stocking to the brim!

[happy1nuv]

Wish me luck... we're off to the mall to try Old Navy and JCPenny to see if they've sold out of all the cute christmas onesies in Nics size or if we might actually score one... and, we're gonna check out gymboree too (some of those pjs were adorable...)

:)

[kimthebride]

Stocking Stuffers for DS
From the Target $1 end cap in the toy aisle:
- 3 rubber duckies with funny hats on
- a plastic microphone that makes an echoey-deeper voice when you talk into it

Also going to put in:
- stickers & sticker book
- cookies
- deck of cards

Under the Tree for DS
I am going to have to kick my own butt because I just keep picking up things for DS and we have no room for it!
- mini travel MagnaDoodle
- Elmo slippers
- V-Tech cordless phone/answering machine
- bag full of musical instruments (bongo, maracas, tamborine, etc)
And I broke down and got him the Radio Flyer plastic wagon with the seatbacks :o . Honestly, we have NOWHERE to put it but we got a TRU GC from DH's aunt and when I pulled it up on the website he stated laughing and pointing at it. DH said "just get it!" so I did. Oh boy!

Favoring Dad
He is starting to want daddy more and more, thank God!

IrishEyes
DS is only 33.5" but still fits in his Peg Perego P3 really well. If I wasn't having another kid, this would be the only stroller I'd have until he was done with strollers. My friend's son is 3.5yo and quite tall and still fits in his perfectly.

I am actually hoping the Peg front-to-back double has the same seating dimensions, etc because I have been so happy with the P3 I'd like to get as close to that stroller as possible in a double!

[rancherswife]

stocking stuffers:
Ummm...yeah, I still have to do that! I guess I *thought* I was done. What a dope I am! Still need SS for dh and Landon! sh!t! Thanks for the reminder, ladies!

under the tree:
Here, we went a little crazy, as did my parents!
From us:
-Elmo's work bench
-tool belt
-Bouncing zebra (which he loves, he plays w/ his cousins all.the.time.)
-Dirt Devil Jr.
-Radio Flyer fold and go trike
-The cutest pair of cowboy boots for $13 from ON!
-Musical instrument set

From my parents:
-Elmo wiggly chair
-Elmo TMX
-Radio Flyer trike (original) to keep at their house ;)
-Elmo and friends helmet and knee pads
-Dinosaur set
-Good old fashion wood building blocks
and clothes...

The kid is S.P.O.I.L.E.D!!! It's ridiculous!

favoring daddy:
He's a huge fan of daddy, and has been for about 5 mos. now. I swear it's because daddy does all the "fun" stuff and mommy gets to do all the " not fun stuff" w/ him. For instance daddy took him w/ him all day yesterday to see the big cattle trucks coming in and out all day delivering cows. Who wouldn't love a guy who did that sort of stuff w/ you? ;) No, really dh is WONDERFUL w/ him and they have a great bond. But, when the going gets tough, he still wants mommy! :)

irish: Ditto to what kim said. DS is 34" and if we weren't having another, that would be our one and only. It's the best, in my (and kim's ;)) book!

Ok ladies, totally of topic, but I value your creativity and ideas, and I need help. I know there is a gift giving section, but I'll just ask ya'll! My good friend (who's due w/ #2 same day as me) brought me an "early x-mas, belated b-day gift" and I am at a loss for what to give to her for x-mas (again, thought I was done shopping, totally not! ;)) She got me a super cute pj and slipper set from Victoria's Secret I'll be saving them to wear while in the hospital after having Reece, they're are super soft and cozy looking w/ a darling design. I want to get her something along the same lines, but cleary, not the same "pj's" idea. Any thoughts/ideas???? I need to figure it out asap, since I'll give it to her at Bunko on Friday night. TIA!

[kimthebride]

I want to get her something along the same lines, but cleary, not the same "pj's" idea. Any thoughts/ideas???? I need to figure it out asap, since I'll give it to her at Bunko on Friday night. TIA!

What is she into?

I love Gingerbread Lattes, so for our Secret Santa njnewyearsbride got me a gingerbread man, Williams Sonoma Gingerbread mix & a cute Xmas plate. It was perfect & very me. See how she went with a theme? Needless to say the only thing left is the plate ;) .

Give us some ideas of things you know she likes, and we'll help you out!

BTW...what on earth is a "bunko"???

[jmvan74]

ughhh.... How'd I get so far behind. :(

stocking stuffers:
2 board books
Jack's Big Music Show CD
playdough (candy cane shape/Target)
Elmo toothbrush

under the tree:
Little Tykes Side by Side kitchen
plastic food
Little People garage
Wooden, stacking train
bead maze
clothes

Favoring Dad: I wish! LOL! :D Collin is a momma's boy all the way. Well, unless I raise my voice to him or tell him "NO", then he runs to daddy! heehe.

[ahavnes]

Thank you all for the well-wishes (again!). I feel like I say that alot. :) Abbey still has a cough and runny nose, but is fever-free and happy, so she was able to go to school this morning and I got to go to work. Thank heavens, b/c this chica is way behind in work matters. :o

Let me see if I can catch up...

Food Woes- Abbey has always been a good eater in the past, but she's getting pickier. I think she just doesn't want to take the time to eat when she could be playing (i.e. messing with the Christmas tree). I was glad to read someone post that 18 months is the all-time low point for eating. Sounds about right here!

Picture People- I was actually really happy with our experience. They got some wonderful shots of Abbey and did a good job on our Christmas cards. Phew!

Holiday PJs- I was going to order the matchy ones from Children's Place, but decided to just get her these from Old Navy (online). I think they're real cute. :)
http://www.oldnavy.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/443/443814/main/on443814-00p01v01.jpg

Under the tree presents-
This is just from us, b/c I have no idea what kind of loot the g-parents will bring. :cool:
KidKraft play kitchen (island)
Shopping cart
Play food
Play baking set
Play pots and pans and plates, etc.
Dirt Devil Jr.
Bucket and shovel (for the park)
Little people sets
"My First" CD player
Books, books and more books!

Stocking stuffers-
Wind up Elmo for the bathtub
Small Sesame Street books
Need more here!

ETA: Looking back at her present list, it looks like we are setting Abbey up to be the next Martha Stewart! :)

[tgr68]

Alicia~i am wanting to get those exact PJs for Shylah for Christmas!

[Dreshny]

Favoring dad: Ha! Asher loves his daddy, but daddy doesn't make milk. :rolleyes:

Gifts: Honestly, I think he'll be thrilled enough to just light the menorah, so we didn't get him anything this year. I'm sure my ILs will make sure he gets lots of presents (my parents are signing us up for Music Together as his gift.)

[usafwife]

Stocking ~ I need to figure out what we are going to be putting in her stocking.

Under the tree ~
Little People Zoo
Little People set (right now not remembering the name of it...can we say pregnancy and mommy brain together :eek: )
2 sets of Little People that coordinate with the farm set we already have
some clothes
Pooh holiday DVD
(I know there are some other things so when I remember what they are I'll post them. My mom has a few things for her as well:

play phone with sounds
metal shopping cart
little basket with play food items/grocery items
play food)

Christmas Tree ~ Please tell me I do not have the only child who loves to take ornaments off the tree? I spend most of my day picking up the ornaments she takes off. I kept telling DH that we needed one of those playguard gates (the plastic ones) to put around the tree but he kept saying that she wouldn't mess with the tree. Yeah right! This is also the reason I wanted it to be put in the bedroom that will become the nursery but DH didn't get it cleaned out enough yet.

The other night I got her in her Christmas dress and tried to take some pictures by the tree but that was a joke. It only served to make me disappointed in that DD wanted no part of having her picture taken. About 15 minutes later she was out like a light so I figured that was part of the problem. Found out that she loved her dress because she would twril around in it and watch it swing. And the first person that states that it doesn't look Christmasy enough I'm going to have words with. DH picked it out and it's purple velvet. I love it and since I'll most likely be wearing a purple shirt in our Christmas pictures I thought it was good. DH will wear his plum dress shirt with his suit as well so I think it will look just fine. But I can imagine the comments we'll get come Christmas Eve (oh, she needed a red or green dress for Christmas).

Spinning ~ Anyone else have a child that will literally just start spinning around until they fall down? It's become an increasing fun thing to do around our house.

Favoring Daddy ~ DD still wants me most of the time though she has gotten better at wanting her daddy. I hope that with him being able to be home more the next 8 months (and perhaps more) will help with that as well. She will sit with him and watch TV, read, rock or just want to cuddle though. And that used to be only something she wanted to do with me. It's getting increasingly more difficult for me to do some of those activities with the ever expanding belly.

Sitting on daddy's leg ~ Hard to explain but DD has started doing this the past couple of weeks. She will go over to him (or me sometimes), sit down on his foot, wrap her arms around his leg and want him to walk. And if he doesn't walk she'll help him out. When she's had enough of one leg she'll switch to the other leg. She even did it while we were sitting in the chairs last night.

Christmas Parade ~ Ours was last week and DD absolutely loved it! She loved when the bands came by (she'd bounce and move to the music). She would wave and say hi and bye to the people walking. Loved the lights on the floats (ours is at night though I wish some years it would be during the daytime because it's so darn cold some years).

[kimthebride]

Please tell me I do not have the only child who loves to take ornaments off the tree?
You are NOT alone. At this point - and our tree has only been decorated since last night - all the bulbs are halfway up the tree or higher. :rolleyes:

[jmvan74]

Spinning ~ Anyone else have a child that will literally just start spinning around until they fall down? It's become an increasing fun thing to do around our house.



Collin just started this a few days ago. It is seriously funny to watch him try and walk after he spins himself around.

[tgray99]

AF arrived in all her nastiness today. :( On to cycle #2. No BFP for Christmas.

Under the tree:
- 2 shirts (one says "Everyone loves a blue-eyed girl" from Target and one says "MeMeMe 9-5 All the Time" from Old Navy
- denim skirt, leggings, boots and pink sweater outfit from Target
- 2 pairs of pajamas from Carter's
- Sesame Street purse set
- set of 4 Elmo books
- Elmo musical book
- Little Leaps game
- Melissa and Doug puzzle
- Leap Start Fridge Phonics

And from Santa:
- Crayola Art Easel, So Big Crayons, art paper
- Barbie Lil ATV Power Wheels

Stocking: Nothing so far...I'll pick stuff up when we get back to Houston.

Spinning: Yup, Aidan did this for a while. She hasn't done it very much lately, though.

Kimthebride: Bunko is a dice game played with a large group of women, 12 or 16. You bring $5 (or we do at least) to put in the pot then divide up into 3 or 4 tables of 4, roll 3 dice and try to get three 6s (which is Bunko). You can win presents or money. I didn't explain it all that well but that's the jist.

[diedra1027]

Please tell me I do not have the only child who loves to take ornaments off the tree?No, you aren't alone. Avery hasn't shown any interest in the lights (except unplugging them :rolleyes: ), so those go all the way to the bottom. The ornaments, on the other hand, start just out of Avery's reach. When I put the decorations on I put only two ornaments that she could get to just to see what she would do. Thankfully, I didn't have to undress 1/2 the tree when it was clear that she would get into it!


Anyone else have a child that will literally just start spinning around until they fall down? It's become an increasing fun thing to do around our house.Yes and it is hysterical. When she stops she'll shout out "DIZZY!".

[rancherswife]

tgray: Sorry AF arrived. I was crossing my fingers for you! :(

kim: This girl is so easy, that's why I'm not sure why I'm struggling. She does like to pamper herself...loves shopping, and anything "girly." I was thinking a GC for a pedi./mani. and some cute lounge pants for after the babe arrives???? I dunno. My hormones are making me so undecisive these days. ;)

Bunko: Like tgray explained, it's a dice game, we play w/ a group of girls 16 are on the list, we normally have about 12 that show. We play once a month. It's good "girl time"/therapy! We usually have a "cocktail of month" appetizers and dessert, along w/ beer, wine and water. We have a smashing good time just b.s.'ing, etc.! HOWEVER out of our group 4 of us got knocked up all within a month, so we're kinda low key these days, but we DO enjoy the appetizers, etc. We put $10 ea. in the pot and the person w/ the highest score of all four rounds wins the pot. Start off rolling for 1's, then 2's, all the way up, if you roll three of the # you are rolling for that round, it's a bunko! Wow, my ability to explain things has gone down the crapper since I haven't taught in almost 2 years! :( Anyway...it's a good time, it's hosted at a different house each month. Friday night, it's my turn. Wanna come? ;) You'd fit right in w/ your preggo self!lol All you ladies would love it, I'm sure! :)

[psusna]

Tgray: Sorry about AF :(

[happy1nuv]

tgray ~ Sorry about af... :(

rancher ~ How about one of those cosmetic cases (yanno, the square-ish ones made of fabric) filled with pampering stuff... socks, slippers, moisturizer, bubble bath... that kind of stuff.

So, I went to the mall and got 3 shirts... the red/white onesies in a 12-18 month size (I need to try on and see if they're "generously" sized enough for Nic.... and a third. It's a red shirt that says "Watch out Santa...Grandma's on her way" in the right size. .. I thought I was being really good cause that was exactly what I wanted ... got home and showed dh. His response... it looks girly. Well... I DID get it from the girls section... but its just a plain red shirt with white letters... of course, I can't find a picture to post... (sigh)

Under the tree:
-wooden blocks
-activity cube/table that daddy is building
-elmo tmx (daddy insisted)
-pj's

[jrdhbunny]

tgray- Oh bummer!! I was so rooting for you guys! :(

rancherswife- Yeah- the girly stuff sounds like a great idea.

usafwife- I think your Christmas outfits sound beautiful. Bah to anyone who says differently!

Alicia- Cute pjs! Glad Abbey was able to go back to school.

Stocking stuffers:
DVDs (Brum, Elmo's Potty Time, Elmo's Food, Water and Exercise)
Hammer that makes sounds
Mini boxes of cereal
Puffs

Under the Tree:
Leapfrog Fridge Phonics
Handmade (though not by me!!) Cowboy Curious George fleece blanket
Puppet dog
Lego Quatro truck
Various bath toys
V-Tech van w/ shape sorter (I never would have bought this for him, but he was playing with it at Babies R Us and usually he'll lose interest and put it down before the checkout, but didn't so I figured give it to him for Christmas)
Sesame Street book with sound effects
Mega Blocks
A couple random cars that DH has picked up for him over time
Roethlisberger jersey (he can match mommy!)

And his big gift- Brum pedal car

Then my MIL got him a xylephone, a Mega Block wagon and some other gifts that she's keeping a surprise

My SIL got him a shopping cart (I think that will be his favorite gift) with some play food and a Curious George board book set.

Not sure what my parents are getting him- my mom is notorious for sending Christmas gifts way late and my father will probably send a check or a gift card (fine by me!!!).

We're actually not sure what to do about Santa. We may not worry about it this year, but I've never really been a fan so I don't want to make a big deal about presents being from him. In fact, the tradition in my house was to get small gifts from all kinds of characters- Rudolf, Barbie, Charlies Angels, etc. But my in-laws are totally into "Ho-Ho" and I know they're going to really push him. Not a big deal though- just one of the random things that cross my mind. ;)

The Tree Itself- James loves to pull the ornaments off so I've only put a few within his reach so he'll leave the rest alone and not try to climb the tree for them :rolleyes: . He leaves the lights alone, although he does occasionally touch them and pretend they're hot (he's playing for laughs). He has a terrible habit of unplugging the lights, which we've scolded him repeatedly for, but we may have to employ a little hand slap.

Spinning- Not so much now, but he does like to pretend he's falling over, complete with over the top sound effects.

Favoring Daddy- Since DH stayed at home with him for so long, DS has always been very affectionate with him. But he's still a momma's boy.

[HedgeGirl]

Stocking Stuffers:
Stockings are a big deal in my family. My mom handles most of the stuffing for everyone, but I've managed to pick up a few things for DS:
- deck of cards with snowmen on the front (they were in the $1 bins at based on what folks here said about their DC playing with playing cards I figured it was worth a try)
- stickers
- small things of play-doh
- sesame street band-aids

Which reminds me: I must remember to finish sewing DS's stocking this weekend (we leave Thurs for the grandparents house where we will spend Christmas)!

Under the Tree:
From Us (we've tried to keep it simple since he'll get alot from other family...he's got 4 sets of doting grandparents)
- Thomas the Train conductor's (figure 8) set
- Melissa & Doug animal wooden puzzle
- Hockey Jersey Shirt & red henley from Old Navy

From Family (I only know some of what he's getting from family)
- Little People Airplane & Fire Engine
- Wooden Puzzles (probably several)
- Fridge Magnet Letters
- Mr. Potato Head
- Lego (not sure exactly what kind...I suggested duplo)
- Mittens (we are spending the 26th - 31st in snow...hopefully we'll be able to convince him to wear the mittens)

Christmas Tree:
Brady has done really well with the tree. I had him help put a few decorations on and those are the ones he likes to take off. Our tree has very few breakable ornaments on it and I was careful to put ones I didn't treasure within his reach so I don't mind if he touches them...as long as he does it gently (which, happily, he does).

Spinning: Brady just figured this out this past week. It is so cute when he does the spinning or walks backwards.

Bunko: Thanks for the refresher on bunko...I played back in high school with friends...it is a great opportunity to hang out with friends and chat. I think the next Mom's Night In for my playgroup is going to be bunko.

tgray: Sorry about AF.

Daddy: DS has always really liked his daddy time, but he has started to request daddy occassionally now and get upset more when DH leaves. Sure makes DH feel good when DS wants Daddy though.

[rancherswife]

So, apparently, I'm at the point in my pgcy where I wake in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep! Thus why it is 4:25 a.m. and I'm CC. Been up since 3:45, nice!:rolleyes: Not to worry, I'll be getting sleepy, long about the time dh is leaving for work and ds is waking ready to start his day!:D

After reading some of your posts re: x-mas gifts, I have totally remembered some stuff that I've stashed, thanks for reminding me, girls!

-puzzles
-books, etc.

Planning on doing my stocking stuffer shopping today. What would I do w/ out you ladies to remind me of stuff like this...actually....how could I forget something like SS's????:confused: Pg brain, I guess!

ahavnes: LOL at the "baby martha" you're creating!;)

Thanks for the recommendations on the gift for my friend, you guys are great! Gotta do that today too!:cool:

[psusna]

Spinning: Not so much spinning as pencil rolling all over the floor!

Daddy: Big fan 'o Daddy -- especially since he picked him up from daycare super early yesterday and took him to the park :) DH has come a LONG way in the daddy department!

Gifts
Stocking
-Christmas Weebles
-Pat the Pig Book
-Toothbrush
-Raisins

Santa gifts
-Indoor ball pit (totally DH's idea. I STILL have no clue where it will go -- it's basically an indoor play tent that holds balls. It's from PlayHut.)
-Elmo TMX (who we plan to hide in the ball pit)

Under the tree
-TONS of books (12 I think)
-Oversized pop together beads and lacing cards
-Musical instruments
-Toy food and microwave
-Bath Elmo

Family gifts -- I have no clue. All I know is that my MIL made him a tee-pee (again, where is this going to go?!?!?) and my dad made him a box to keep all of his puzzles (they slide in on runners). I think he's getting a shopping cart, a Thomas train set, books and puzzles.

jrdh: DS had a Roethlisberger jersey last year! Since their season stinks so much this year, i'll wait and get him a bigger one next year :)

happy: I'm intrigued by the activity cube your DH is making. What are on the different sides? Yay for finding a shirt -- maybe DH won't find it so "girly" once it's on Nic.

Sleep update: Not as good as the night before but we heard him a few times, very briefly, and he went back to sleep. He was up at 6. I THINK canine's may be the culprit b/c I noticed a runny nose this morning.

[jmvan74]

Rancherswife! 'Go to bed! LOL! I do feel for you, though.

[happy1nuv]

psusa ~ One side is going to be painted with chalkboard paint, one will be sheet metal so he can play with magnets (they dont stick to our fridge), one side will be a big abacus, and the other side will be wooden blocks on pegs that he can move through different "tracks". The top has one of those wire bead maze things... the bead maze comes out and the chalkboard/metal side swings in so that it becomes a table. It's a 2 ft square.

rancher ~ That sucks... would hot choc made with milk help, ya think?

[psusna]

Happy: What an awesome gift! That is a really wonderful idea made even more special because it's done by DH.

[alienhost]

rancherswife ugg, sorry you can't sleep at night, that stinks.

tgray sorry about AF

ornaments actually DD is pretty good about it and doesn't take them all off, but her exposure to the tree is limited since we put it in the dining room and that isn't her main play space. We go in there to check it out several times a day but I don't leave her unattended.

spinning she only does this occasionally, she prefers to do "ring around the rosey"

stocking stuffers
coloring books
stickers
socks
bath toys
roll of drawing paper
photo album with pics of family
finger puppets

under the tree way too much! I think there is more but I have to check the basement (I think I might hold some back for her birthday, clearly I went overboard)
shopping cart with food
pots and pan set for kitchen
more play food for her kitchen
baking set for kitchen
books (lots of them)
wooden puzzles
Leap Frog Fridge Phonics
puppets (cookie monster and ernie)
Huge stuffed duck
Pjs
Clothing
Parents "magnadoodle" knockoff toy

from Santa
PBK "Chloe" doll and maybe another thing from above

from others
Kidkraft Pink Retro Kitchen and hooded towel from PBK (my parents)
Little People Nativity set (SIL)
more play food
Elmo TMX (my sister)
not sure what my ILs are getting her

happy1 when it is done can you post a picture of that activity cube? DH likes wood working as a hobby and would love to do a project like that. Although I asked him to make her a growth chart and he hasn't had time to do that!

[Sasha]

Yikes, you guys have been a chatty bunch! Attempting to catch up....

Under Tree/Hanukkah gifts (not sure which are going to be which for some)
PBK chair
Imaginarium 5-sided activity maze (kinda like what Happy is describing, although store bought ;))
Parents "Magnadoodle" knock-off (thanks for description, Alien!)
Stacking blocks set
Books
Stickers
Clothing

We have no stockings (I am Jewish, remember ;) )so they are all either under tree or Hanukkah

Grandparents' gifts
ILs are buying a swing set/playyard for all 3 granddaughters for their house
Talking Elmo doll
Shopping cart and food
Giant Dora doll
Little People playground set
Doug & Melissa puzzles
clothes
Elmo fishing bath toy
Parents building set
Fridge Magnet letters
Books

I have no idea what my sister or SIL/BIL are getting her.

Tree/Ornaments - Sarah keeps trying to touch the balls. She also loves to point and "talk" to her Sesame Street ornaments. She's pretty good about it, but we do have to keep her from trying to take the balls off of it.

Spinning - Not so much.

Favoring daddy - At times, yes, but definitely not all the time. She freaked the other day when we took DH to have some tests done and then she and I left (had to take her to daycare). She cried her eyes out, screaming for daddy.

Tgray - Sorry about AF. :(

[Chylynn]

Phew, it is so hard to keep up with this thread!!!

Stockings
See and Say Elmo
Touch and feel flash cards
Elmo bath toy
Basketball bath toy
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Elmo Potty Book
Ralph's World CD/DVD

Christmas

Fun 2 Learn Preschool Center
Comfy PC (computer keyboard and program for 1-5 year olds)
Mickey Mouse flying airplane (she went nuts in Target when she saw this toy)
Grow with me basketball hoop and balls
Little People preschool -grandparents
Two Vacuums- hoover brand (one for In-law house)
Step stool (trying this route instead of purchasing learning tower. If this does not work, the learning tower will be her b-day present)
Tons of books (elmo, princess, ect.)
Quatro lego set
Baby Einstein words around town DVD
Little People Nativity Set (We gave it to her early)
Hooded towels -monkey, cat, duck and frog
Wooden Puzzles
Disney PJs (to be opened on Christmas Eve)

I know I am forgetting something...

Spinning -OMG, all the time! It is so cute!

Favoring Daddy -Not so much- still a Mamma's girl and I am loving every minute of it!

Ornaments -Yes, she takes them off our tree. We have had five casualties this year. OOps.

Christmas Tree -Rebecca has decided that it is her job every morning to turn on our Christmas Tree and our Christmas Villiage. So cute!

PJs -We went with the matching Disney PJs that we will all open on Christmas Eve. I took a picture of DD in it and she looks adorable in them:

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n38/Chylynn/348873B6937Ffp3693Evq3D32373E3A83A3.jpg?t=11661110 13

Santa picture -A little late, but here you go. She was not afraid of Santa, which supprised the heck out of us.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n38/Chylynn/348873B6937Ffp3773Evq3D32353E2623E3.jpg?t=11661110 55

Jumping -DD just started jumping and actually getting off the ground. So cute!

Tgray -Sorry that AF showed up. Bummer.

[ahavnes]

Can anyone tell me about a website that will let you upload a TIF file? Or how to change TIF to JPEG? Thanks! :)

Tara- Sorry about AF! :mad:

Ornaments- Yes, yes, yes!! She's obsessed with the tree. :rolleyes:

Daddy- Loves "Dada" and gets super excited when he comes home from work, but mom is still number one when she's tired or hurt.

[Carissa]

Just checking in! I am not getting much sleep but it's ok everything is going well. Hope to catch up one day :)

[cynder]

Ladies, you are a chatty bunch this week! :)

Ornaments Not really bothered b/c tree is in the dining room and he doesn't hang out there. He is obsessed with the neighbors lawn decorations that I have to load him in the car with the garage door closed.

Daddy I wouldn't say favor but he says Dada all the freaking time

Tara Sorry about AF

Stockings - Melissa & Doug puzzles, Crayola Color Wonders set

Christmas Presents - PBK Chair (already gave since we're traveling home for Xmas)

Man, I wish some of you were my parents! I totally loved play kitchens and play food as a child. You guys have to report back what was a total hit. DH is kind of surprised that I haven't been tempted to buy more presents but I am kind of waiting to see what extended family gets him. Plus the thought of flying back with all that is stressing me out.

[diedra1027]

Just adding the christmas list ;)...

Under the tree
* SVALA table and 2 chairs set from Ikea. I painted the table top with chalkboard paint and I'm painting the alphabet around the edge of the table. I also painted her name on the back of one of the chairs (I'll post some pictures when I finish!!).
* Two wicker arm chairs also from Ikea - one for upstairs, one for downstairs.
* A plush rocking horse
* A small bead maze
* A pair of Pedoodles

Stocking
* Small book or two
* Stickers
* Letter magnets

Gifts from others (I only know a few)
* Baby Doll cradle
* Little People play house set
* MIL just sent us a check to buy her something, thinking about getting her a doll stroller from grandma (she loves to use her own stroller for this right now, but she gets extremely frustrated when trying to push the thing around)

We're saving the play kitchen for her second birthday!

[rancherswife]

carissa: Glad you're hangin' in. Sleepless nights, good times...I'll be there w/ ya, long about the time little Jonah starts sleeping better! ;)

ahavnes: Sorry girlee...I'm no help in that dept.!

I was able to catch a couple more winks before Landon got up. But that just made me more tired. :( We were out and about all afternoon, then home to lunch and nap, now I've gotta run and get a few more things at Target, then tutor, then my parents are bringing dinner out and my mom and I are making fudge and spicy almonds tonight...I hope I last! :)

Loving the chalk board painting idea. I had no idea that you could do that. Where have I been???? Very cool!

[kimthebride]

Does Your Kid Love Your Laptop?
Target has a bilingual kids 'laptop' in the toy section for $15!! You know those blue boxes they put the ages and prices on for easy selections? Yep, in there. DS went nuts over a cousin's this weekend that was old and broken, and when I picked this up today he FREAKED OUT. One more thing under the tree...and for $15 I won't cry when he throws pasta at it, like I do when he throws pasta at our MacBook Pro ;) .

tgray
Sorry AF came to town...maybe you can start the new year with a whole lotta fun BDing and make a truly 2007 baby! :)

rancherswife
If we were in the same time zone I'd say give me a ring, since I'm up around 5am every day as well. Good times! :rolleyes: I am so freaking tired, but my mind goes zoomzoomzoom with too many hormones and thoughts.

I'm probably too late for your gift-shopping, but I like that kind of stuff and I'd go nuts of a travel toiletry kit like happy1 described with a gift card for a mani/pedi in it, some toe seperators, a few polishes and some foot soak & lotion.

Last Night
I should copy in my post from April Moms thread...let;s just say i needed to rehydrate and stay on my side last night but Thomas decided to be a complete maniac, open presents, jump out of his PnP, split his lip etc etc and it was mayhem. Then I was up 3x through the night and he NEEDED me at about 5:30am. Its hard to cuddle-sleep with a baby with a big old bump in the way.

Here;s hoping tonight is better! His girlfriend came over for an hour to wear him out, so hopefully it will be a quiet night. :p

[alienhost]

happy1 or diedra what kind of chalkboard paint are you using? Is it the spraypaint type or do they have regular paint?

laptop oh yeah, she loves punching the keys and looking at pictures on the PC - she always says "baby" when she sees a lot of your avatars!

kim I hope you are feeling better, take it easy!

holiday gifts I must stop reading all your responses b/c you are giving me more ideas and she does not need ANYMORE gifts! :D But I was at Marshalls and picked up anothe play telephone that had more realistic sounds. Oh and for those getting grocery carts/kitchens, KB Toys had play fruits and veggies that were very inexpensive. 6 plastic apples $2.49 as was 3 bananas. These were 1 piece of plastic (so nothing to break off) but say 4 and up, I think they should be fine though. The strawberry set was a bit small.

santa well since the first time I took her, the pic turned out terrible, I gave it another go. She still wasn't thrilled. As soon as I took her off his lap and put her in the stroller she was fine. Santa came over to say "hi" and she replied "bye bye".

this time I bought the CD with the pic and promise not to torture her any more...not so jolly....actually the picture this small doesn't make her look too upset but she is trying to jump off his lap and was crying. Good future blackmail material for when she is a teen.... :)

http://static.flickr.com/136/322540241_19fca0a6d5_m.jpg

[tgr68]

Favoring Daddy~She does favor him at this point. It really comes out when I go to pick her up from Ggmas. She immediately asks for DH.

Spinning~Yep! She does it on command, too! :rolleyes:

Meri~Our Christmas parade was hte night we got the big snowstorm, so it was way too cold to take DD. Glad Sarah had a good time!

tgray~Sorry about AF. :(

Stocking Stuffers~We bought Shylah a couple of sets of flashcards. Her Ggma has a set of animal ones, and DD loves them! I may get her this monkey toys that makes sounds because we bought one as a white elephant gift for an adult, and she did not want to let go of it!

Carissa~Glad things are going well!

Kids/Computers~Shylah loves to punch buttons on my keyboard. We finally gave her an old one to play with, so she would quit shutting mine down in the middle of me working on something.

Kim~Hope you are able to have a restful night!

DH is feeling under the weather physically, and I've been an emotional wreck today. I think we'll be going to bed early tonight.

[diedra1027]

happy1 or diedra what kind of chalkboard paint are you using? Is it the spraypaint type or do they have regular paint?
I used the Krylon brand paint and it does come both ways - can and spray. I used the kind that comes in a small can like regular paint.

Keyboards - She loves our keyboards too. We gave her an old keyboard to play with, but it's not as fun as using Mommy and Daddy's :).

[happy1nuv]

alien ~ I'll definitely post pics of the cube when I'm done (although I think the design is changing - dh can't figure out how to make it strong enough/square with the sides that fold in. He usually does blather on while doing projects about how tough I make them though, so I'm not sure if it's actually going to change, or if he's just testing me to see how difficult i'll really make it (we don't have room for a table/chair set AND an activity cube and I want both, of course). I'm going to get the chalkboard paint from michaels (forget the brand) but it comes both in the can and in a spray (and is eligible for their 40% off coupons). So, that leads me to my next question...

Table/chairs ~ Does anyone have one? And, does dc actually push themselves under the table? (Asking to find out if we do have to change the design of the cube if its better to have a "window" open and just have a small piece of wood on the ground in the way, or if i can just leave the sides solid and put a chair next to the cube and still use it as a table...

diedra ~ How'd the chalkboard paint work? Did the finish come out nice and smooth using the can? (I keep going back and forth on can vs. spray)

Nic would NOT sleep last night for some reason. He didn't want to play, but he just tossed/turned/whined ALL.NIGHT.LONG. I figured that at least naptime would be easy...it took ONE and a HALF HOURS to get him to nap (I wouldn't have pushed it, but we go to the drs today at 3 because dh wants her to look at a weird bump behind his ear (I KNOW shes gonna say its nothing, ugh!)... And, since he took so long to fall asleep, I'm gonna have to WAKE HIM, I'm sure...

[diedra1027]

diedra ~ How'd the chalkboard paint work? Did the finish come out nice and smooth using the can? (I keep going back and forth on can vs. spray)I think the finish turned out well, but not a perfectly smooth blackboard either (I think a 100% smooth surface is impossible painting on wood due to the grain). I did lightly sand between coats (have DH do this since you are pg!!) and I put on 4 coats even though the can seems to indicate that 2 should be sufficient. One thing I discovered after the first coat - shaking the can is not enough to mix the chalkboard paint. The stuff really clumps to the bottom of the can, so you MUST stir it with a stick or something to get it well mixed before painting!

[ahavnes]

Let's talk discipline for a minute, shall we? I know I'm not the only one here with a fiery little baby. ;) Lately, Abbey has been cracking up when we tell her "no." The more stern the face and voice, the funnier it is. Yesterday she even pointed at me while laughing! :rolleyes: Is it too early to start reading books about this? I know a few have been recommended, but if you all could refresh my memory I would really appreciate it. TIA! :)

tgr68- Great suggestion about the flashcards for the stocking. Thanks!

happy1- That's exactly what happened to us on Wednesday night and Abs was a bear all day yesterday. Good luck! :cool:

[Sasha]

Alicia - LOL, you knew I'd respond to this question, didn't you? ;) Sarah is the same exact way and has been for a few months now. I distinctly remember a time about 3 months ago, when I still attempted to change her on the changing table. Her changing table is next to the window and she was madly kicking and tugging at the blinds, which she is not allowed to do. I was practically pinning down her legs while sternly saying "no" and the sterner and angrier I got, the harder she laughed. Whenever I sternly give her a "no," she thinks its hysterical. Anyway, the only book I have picked up so far is "Happiest Toddler on the Block" but I just started reading it. I'm all ears for suggestions too.

Keyboard - Sarah loves to "type." And since she is so tall, she has been able to reach the keyboard for some time now.

[psusna]

Hope all mama's and kiddos are feeling well today!

Keyboard: Yes. We have an old one for him too but loves our laptops.

Discipline: I'm also reading "Happiest Toddler" and got some good guidelines from our ped at the 18mo WBV regarding use of time out, etc. Mostly we go with our gut and have a constant dialogue going between us about what we think about our decisions regarding discipline. Thankfully, this is one area we are totally in synch on -- unlike others such as TV, food choices, etc.

Alien: Cute photo! That's a good Santa.

DS asked to go to bed at 6:30 tonight. He was all drowsy and cranky and we asked him if he was sleepy -- yes. Do you want to get a bath and go to bed -- yes. He was in bed at 7. Normal bedtime is 7:30. He has a cold, again, but we also think his restless/sleepless nights may have caught up with him. I'm frustrated about the cold because he just got over the last one! I know he picked this up at the ped when he went for ear recheck on Monday as no one in his class at school is sick. Stupid petri dish ped.

DH and I have a holiday party tomorrow night at the home of his boss. I need to go figure out what I'm wearing. Ugh.

[happy1nuv]

psusa ~ Ugh... picking out nice stuff to wear is SOOo not fun anymore. We went out to dinner with the il's for sil's birthday (poor girl usually gets screwed since its so close to christmas) ... figuring I had plenty to wear, I didn't pick anything out ahead of time... Since I don't need my work maternity wear this time around I had no clue I had no clue where it was... ;)

Discipline ~ I have a great book I really like, Kids Are Worth It by Barbara Coloroso, but it's geared more for older kids. I'm looking for something in the same vein for toddlers... (I'd LOVE one that talks about what they are developmentally ready to understand too.. that's the part that I really don't know)

And a vent... So, we go to my parents every sunday for dinner. Today we just dropped Nic off, since we were going to dinner with the il's for sil's bday. Anyway... we used to bring our dog with us to dinner pre-Nic, and I went out and got my parents a covered garbage can - they leave the cover off during the week, but would put it on before we came over. Well, once Nic became mobile, I got the garbage can cover out again since Nic is fascinated by throwing things into things (read that as will throw good stuff away just cause he can) and he'll play in the garbage if he walks by and it looks interesting. Covered, he'll occasionally lift the lid but doesn't get any farther. Today, we get over there and my dad tells me that the cover was not on there, and wasn't going to be since we got it for the dog (forget exactly how he phrased it, but his point is that Nic should learn no - after all, he's a lot more intelligent than a dog). It didn't phase me at the time, but now I'm thinking we're setting him up to fail sort of thing. After all, why tempt the kid when its easy enough to put a lid on and solve the problem, yanno? Would you make an issue out of it and insist on getting the lid back out? (We weren't there today, so I have no clue if he went after the garbage or not)

:)

[diedra1027]

Discipline - We've had pretty good success with time outs. When she does something wrong, she first gets a warning. We get down on her level, make sure she's facing us, and say something like "You can not do x. If you do it again, you will get a time out.". If she goes back to doing x, we immediately put her in time out for one minute (sitting on the bottom stair is timeout at our house). I prefer to stay close, but out of sight while she's in time out - DH will plain just walk off to the other side of the house. Once time out is over we say again "you can not do x. It makes an owie." (or whatever *simple* reason there is) and we give her a hug.

happy - DH and I have that debate all the time. He's in the "all we have to do is teach her not to do that" corner and I'm the "why tempt her" corner. If they won't put the lid back on, can you ask that they at least move the can out of Nics reach while he's there? Learning is a process and who wants a kid in a trash can 800 times just to get to that point?!?

[jmvan74]

Discipline: I haven't tried time-out, yet and I'm not sure how well they'll work here, but I plan on giving it a shot if there is an offense I think warrants it. Right now, a simple no is keeping him in line...well except when the "no" turns in to a tantrum...whole different game.:o

tempt v. teach: I think I am safely in the "why tempt" him camp. We keep our trash locked under the sink. There's just no need for it to be out. He'll eventually understand that it's yuck and will stay away, but for now...no need to have it available.
happy: Maybe try explaining that even when there is a lid on the trash he is still learning it's not a toy, but it's really more of a safety issue. If there is raw food in there or empty cans, etc...it could be harmful to Nic. Good luck.

[alienhost]

I'm just dropping in for a quick second to let you guys know that I have another 20% off your online purchase at Gymboree code. Good through 12/24

I posted it in the sale thread as well. Just PM me if you need it.

jmvan I pm'd you.

[Sasha]

Loooong night last night. Sarah is cutting both incisors and molars right now. She was up, on and off, from about 2:30 - 4:45am. I had just been thinking that she was sleeping remarkably well considering she was getting both of those teeth in, so of course I had to eat my words. :rolleyes:

Happy - I am definitely in the "why tempt" camp. Can you explain to your parents that it will probably save a lot of headache to just keep the lid on? Jmvan had a great suggestion about the safety issue, I'd try that as well. Good luck.

Diedra - May I ask how you get Avery to stay on the stair during the timeout? I like the idea for a location, but I know that Sarah would probably just climb up the stairs, like a game.

[allyray231]

So we tried to go see Santa yesterday and the line was WAY to long. So maybe another day!

Discipline-ok I don't even want to say it but we haven't done too much because Aiden is pretty good. Ususally when he doesn't get what he wants he starts to cry and I tell him I know he is mad but he can't do it. He IS whining alot thought which is driving me NUTS! I try to get him to use his words-like up or out or all done but he just WHINES. It is killing me!

[diedra1027]

Diedra - May I ask how you get Avery to stay on the stair during the timeout? I like the idea for a location, but I know that Sarah would probably just climb up the stairs, like a game.Hmmm...I wish I had a good explaination for why Avery stays on the stair. When she does get timeout she seems to understand that she's in trouble - she pretty much whines through the whole thing, but stays put. Sometimes she does get up and we set her back down until she's been there for a minute (that's what we've seen them do on the Nanny shows, but these guys might be a little young to understand that one). I think that if I wanted to use time out and DC kept getting up, I would probably stand within visual range so I could immediately catch it if they did get up (and maybe use a chair facing the corner instead of the stair?).

[psusna]

Happy: After four outfits, overruling DH on one of them, I wound up in a green tweed Ann Taylor skirt that I bought last year and never wore paired with a brown sweater I got that day at Target. In the end it was appropriate and I felt good so that’s all that mattered :) My body shape changed so much with pregnancy that I really have a hard time finding things that look nice – shopping is a pain.

Tempt vs. Teach: I’m in the don’t tempt camp. I try to stay a few thoughts ahead of him but it doesn’t always work ;)

Testing boundaries: OH WOW. He did this all weekend. It was so hard. I really think the terrible 2’s have hit and it’s not pretty. Luckily DH and I are good about keeping the other in check and sticking to our guns about this issue. We talked about it a lot after he went to bed last night and again this morning once we both got to work. There are definitely some things we need to work on in terms of our parenting skills (like remembering that he doesn’t know ALL right from wrong, we need to do more teaching and less assuming he knows what is wrong and why it is wrong), but all in all I think we are doing ok at this point.

I’m hitting my annual end of year meltdown. Unfortunately, I don’t have an extended break from work this year and it stinks. I’m just trying to keep my head above water so I get it all done here and at home before the big guy slides down our chimney. Next week this time we’ll be knee deep in presents!

[tgr68]

Discipline~I use a variety of discipline methods depending on the infraction. If she is tantruming out of anger (which rarely happens), I sit her on my lap for a timeout until she calms down. That way she basically decides on how long the timeout is. If she is getting into things she shouldn't be, I redirect and put the items out of sight/reach. If she is being disobedient, I first try talking to her in a firm but calm tone giving her a choice to obey me and continue playing or disobey and receive a spanking (one swat to the bottom). For major infractions like hitting mom/dad, attitude problems (which sadly she gets from me) such as yelling at mom/dad, continually being mean to the dog/cats, etc. she will immediately receive a swat. Alot of distinguishing between what is an attitude problem and what is frustration/upset/wanting attention is just knowing her personality. Sometimes I get it wrong, and in those instances I do apologize to her and give her lots of hugs and kisses. I find that I have to stay consistant. Shylah is a pretty good kid, though, so I rarely have to discipline her at all.

Tempt vs. Teach~I'm more in the teach camp, but understand that I need to recognize what temps DD and keep those things out of sight/reach. All of our trashcans are out in the open, most of which do not have lids. Shylah loves throwing things away, so we have had to teach her what is and isn't appropriate to throw away - only "yucky" things get put in the trash. She'll occasionally throw something good away, which we will tell her "No. That is not yucky. That is good." However, while she is coloring, I move all other "non-colorable" objects off the table because she doesn't quite understand yet that she can color in some books but not others. I have tried to teach her what is/isn't acceptable to color, and she just doesn't get it yet.

Happy~I agree with jmvan. If you approach the situation as a safety issue, they might be more willing to compromise. Good luck!

Allyray~Such an adorable avatar!!

Santa Pictures~It went very, very well!!! :D At first she reached out for me, but I gently put my hand on her leg and told her it was okay. She didn't reach out for me again! Santa was wonderful! He could sense that she was nervous, so he didn't try to pull her onto his lap or touch her or anything, just followed her lead. She suspiciously looked him up and down and finally got the guts to touch his coat. It was so cute! We got a very cute picture of her looking up at Santa!
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/32398/20061216/214549.jpg

[DisneyGirl]

I'm back Just wanted to drop a quick hello and hope everyone is doing well while I was away enjoying the 78 degree weather in Disney.

I have to go back and catch up a bit..if thats even possible.

[ahavnes]

Surprise, surprise. Abbey has given Scott and I her cold. :mad: At least she is feeling better, which is what really matters. (Even if I didn't sleep last night from coughing!)

Time Outs Sounds like Avery is a very good little girl! :) There is no way that Abbey would stay in one place. She would definitely think it is a game and crawl up the stairs, or follow me and yell at me. :rolleyes: I'm thinking of setting up the pack 'n play as a time out zone so that I don't have to use the crib (thus creating negative associations with it). Ideas?

Disney- Welcome back! :)

tgr68-Adorable!

[psusna]

Alicia: We use the PnP for time out zone. There is no way Jackson would sit on the bottom step. He usually stands at the end of the PnP and waits for us to get him, or stands there and cries if he is feeling especially disenfranchised :) It's working well and we went a LONG time (like a month or more) without having a time out, but we've had 2 in the past two days. Ugh. I think once he gains a little more understanding and control we will switch to a time out chair. -- Get well soon!!

Tgr and Ally: Love the photos -- so cute!

[happy1nuv]

Timeouts ~ Well, Nic would NEVER stay on the bottom step... I've thought of cleaning out the pnp for that (right now its my catch all...and it sure does)... but haven't gotten there yet. I dont know that Nic would get a timeout though... don't they need to understand more first? (I SOO need to get a book for toddler discipline)


Oh, and we went out to dinner last night with the inlaws... they gave us an early christmas present - stamps with Nic's picture on them. They wanted to give them to us before we sent out our christmas cards, but didn't get them in time... I had no idea. Apparently...stamps.com :)
:)

[Dreshny]

Just a heads-up on shoes and playground slides:

We left Asher with MIL and FIL for an hour yesterday, and they took him to the playground. FIL put Asher on the slide and slid down behind him. I wasn't there, but apparently, Asher's shoe stuck on the slide, and his leg twisted. And FIL, being a very heavy man, came down behind him and smashed into his leg.

We spent 5 1/2 hours in the ER yesterday to find out that Asher's left leg is broken, and now he is in a hip-to-toe cast. He can't stand or walk or basically do anything besides sit.

We are very thankful that it was only a broken leg and not, say, a head injury. But still, in terms of his mobility, it is like taking care of a very large, verbal 6-month-old. Diaper changes currently require two people because his cast is so heavy. It is also a challenge because he is just BORED sitting around all day.

I'm staying at my parents' house for the time being (my mom works part-time), so I have help figuring out how to take care of/entertain Asher.

[kimthebride]

OMG Roseanne I am so sorry! That must have been so scary, and so sad to see him going through that. Did they say how long he'll be in the cast for? I hope he heals quickly. Poor guy.

[DisneyGirl]

roseanne sorry to hear about Ashers leg. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Carissa Congrats ..how exciting! I hope your are enjoying every min.

love all the santa pictures.

[psusna]

Oh Roseanne I'm so sorry! I hope that his leg heals quickly. Will they be able to cut the cast down at some point? Wishing you both rest and comfort.

[tgray99]

Roseanne: OMG! That's terrible for poor little Asher! I hope the poor little guy gets better soon.

LONG drive: Well, we made it! Ryan was able to sign out early so we packed up and got out of Georgia at around 6:45 last night and drove straight through to Houston and got here around 5:30 this morning. Aidan was pretty good. She slept some, played with Elmo and her new Elmo Goes Potty book and yelled about dropping "Baboo" (her paci) some. It was pretty foggy the whole way and when we got into Texas it was raining. We'll be in TX until Sunday and then in CO for a week, then we'll drive back to GA.

Time Outs: I've been trying to ignore Aidan's temper tantrums and making her use her words. She's getting better at it but still screams and stomps her feet. I'm definitely going to start trying time outs soon because I do not want a spoiled rotten child.

[alienhost]

Dreshny Oh goodness, I'm so sorry to hear Asher broke his leg, how horrible! I hope it gets better soon. The slide has always scared me b/c DD tends to put her feet to the side as well and the rubber soles always make her "stick".

psusna sorry to hear Jackson is sick again.

Disney welcome back, post pics when you have a chance! I'm so jealous!

sasha I'm sorry to hear about your night, I hope tonight Sarah sleeps better.

tgr adorable pic with santa

ahavnes sorry to hear you and your DH are sick, hopefully it passess soon

discipline I haven't tried timeouts yet but suspect she won't stay where I have it. If I tell her no (like touching the tv or turning it on and off) she tends to laugh b/c she thinks I'm being funny. Not good.

teach vs tempt I don't like to tempt so I tend to safeguard everything. We have a lid on the kitchen trash. The bathroom trash is open and she walks by and says "tissue" when she sees used Kleenex. ;)

using words we are having an explosion here. DH taught her to say "please" and when we say "use your words" she both says and signs "please" it is pretty cute. I guess she wants to make sure she gets her point across.

warning to moms with girls Well I left DD in the living room since she was playing so well, while I washed the dishes. I could see from the kitchen she wasn't into total mischief. I came back and she had taken her hairclip out of her hair. I picked it up from the floor and it was soaking wet. Clearly she had the entire thing in her mouth. I'm just thankful she didn't swallow it (it had a metal clip attaching the felt piece). Bad mommy! Now I have to remember to remove it when she is left alone for any amount of time (or in the car seat too I guess.

[rancherswife]

Let's talk discipline for a minute, shall we? I know I'm not the only one here with a fiery little baby. Lately, Abbey has been cracking up when we tell her "no." The more stern the face and voice, the funnier it is. Yesterday she even pointed at me while laughing! Is it too early to start reading books about this? I know a few have been recommended, but if you all could refresh my memory I would really appreciate it. TIA!

ahavnes: I could've typed the same exact post!!! No joke! We do time outs, but not w/ much success. I do the pnp at my parents, which seems to work better, but hesitate to start that at home, since in just a couple of months, his brother will be using the pnp while out in the living room????? I dunno, but I'm up for any suggestions, myself! :)

dreshny: OMG!!!! Poor Asher!!! I am so sorry this happened. I'm glad you're staying at your parents, I'm sure you need help 24/7! Poor guy... :(

disney: Welcome back! Can't wait to hear about your trip.

kim: Thanks for telling us about the lap top, I went and bought one this weekend, they're darling! I'm sure ds will love it, as he LOVES to beat on our PC!

Landon is spending the night at my parents tonight, I have an OB appt. at 8:45 tomorrow morning and my mom thought it would just be easier for him to stay there tonight. Any excuse for her to have "her boy" ;). It's fine by me, I plan on parking it on the floor and finishing my wrapping tonight. I cannot believe that after my appt. tomorrow, I'm down to every two week appts.! CRAP! I KNOW it goes fast after that!!!!

[happy1nuv]

roseanne ~ OMG. Poor, poor Asher! (My sister was in a cast soon after learning to walk... I think she was a little younger though. When she got the cast off, she had to relearn to walk...which back then the drs said was totally normal). And... there are two toys that nic will sit on the floor and play with for a long time... one is those wire bead mazes like on the top of the activity cubes and the other is a parents ball toy. Maybe something like that might be a good idea for him?
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000068P9J.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_.jpg

eta: Oh, I thought of another idea for you. How about a flannelboad? THey're really easy to make, or not expensive to buy...but its basically flannel/fleece covered cardboard that felt sticks to. If he's into stickers... they're reusable stickers (Nics getting one for christmas, but we havent tried it yet, so i dont know if its attention getting...)

[Sasha]

Roseanne - Oh poor Asher! I hope the leg heals quickly.

Disney - Welcome back!

Barretts/Clips - The one time I tried putting one is what little hair Sarah has, she immediately pulled it out and put it in her mouth. Guess her not having much hair comes in handy on this front. ;)

OMG, I hate teething. I think Sarah is getting 3 incisors and 2 molars all at the same time. You know Sunday night she didn't sleep well, then she barely napped yesterday afternoon at daycare, so last night at dinner time was a total meltdown. She didn't want to eat anything but screamed her head off when I tried to take her out of the booster seat. Nothing could appease her. She went to bed a little early, but fought that too. Thankfully she STTN last night and woke up in a better mood, but she is just chewing on everything in sight. Please let these teeth come in quickly!

[cynder]

Discipline I've posted it a couple of times but I am using some positive discipline books. If you search my posts you should be able to bring up the names.

I am home with a sick kid. Better this week than next. So whiny and uncomfortable. I finally popped a DVD to distract.

[DisneyGirl]

Quick question....Am I suppose to tip my Pet sitter for watching my cat while i was away?

Thank!

[Chylynn]

No time to post, but I wanted to drop off huge hugs to Roseanne and poor little Asher. Sorry Mama!

[usafwife]

Roseanne ~ Oh my goodness! Poor Asher. My heart goes out to all of you. I hope they are able to make the cast shorter at some point in the near future. Six weeks of that wouldn't be much fun and I think I'd be pulling my hair out after a week. {{{HUGS}}} to all of you.

Shopping ~ We went shopping this past weekend. We weren't intending on spending what we did but we couldn't pass up such a good deal. So DD got yet another big item, a covered sand box and a picnic table with an umbrella for $100. The next trick was trying to get it loaded in the SUV. Of course it also made for an interesting rest of the trip because someone had to stay in the SUV all the time because it only fit on top. I was worried/concerned that someone would try to take it off while we were inside the mall.

Christmas Party ~ DH's company party was over the weekend. I didn't have much fun due to all the people who were smoking. They weren't allowing smoking (ban on smoking in public places in our town and they won't let them smoke in the building at work) at first but soon one started and the rest followed. We were still eating when I smelled it the first time. DH looked and looked and couldn't find where it was coming from. I told him I could smell it and knew someone was. Sure enough he finally found who was doing it. It was all I could do to finish my food (let alone enjoy it). Cig smoke is one I can't handle at all when I'm pregnant. It causes me to have severe headaches when I'm not pregnant. Needless to say I spent a good portion of the evening in the bathroom because I was sick.

Even a woman who was pregnant was smoking right beside DH. We couldn't believe it. He said he was going to say something about it but decided not to for fear of starting something. I stayed at our table while the party went on because the smoke all went to the other side of the room when the casino started. Plus walking isn't easy for me due to the swelling.

Computers ~ Anyone else's child love their computer or laptop? My DD absolutely loves to sit and try to type when I'm doing something at the computer. I've given up hope of using the laptop when she's around. My poor laptop is not the same as it was before she touched it (the keys are her favorites and has gotten a few off. Thankfully I've been able to reattach them but it wasn't an easy process).

[psusna]

Night sep. anxiety: Oh goodness gracious. Last night he was up at 1 just crying and screaming and then wouldn't let me or DH leave his room. DH wound up sleeping on the floor with him in his room (after first trying to get DS to sleep in his crib and DH sleep on the floor but DS just stood there, leaning on the crib). Tonight, same bed routine as always, same time, DH goes to lay him down and screaming, standing up, throwing things out of the bed. DH sat there fake sleeping until finally he calmed down and laid down. Cynder, I've searched your posts and am open to any ideas or suggestions. He has a nightlight, a stuffed puppy and a paci. I'm not sure what else to do. Do we go to him? Do we CIO? Do we bring him to our bed? Anyone -- ideas?!? I'm totally stumped.

[wendstress]

Roseanne - my heart is breaking for the poor little man (and mama)! I thought I always heard that young bones heal the best and fastest, though!

Shopping - Done. Except that I ended up getting James the Elmo Giggle Chair tonight. We stopped by Toys-R-Us for a quick errand, and he saw it and sat in it again and again and carried it all over the store. I couldn't say NO after that! They also had TMX Elmo in stock, which was tempting, but I passed. James also got these for Christmas:
Activity Cube
Sit-N-Spin
Pounding Bench/Tool Box
Flash light with animal sounds

Not too much, but I know the Grandma's went a little crazy!

Discipline - LOL, the timing. Just last weekend, James kept going to the dogs kennel and shaking it (we have plants and other odds and ends on top). After several stern "no's", I tried a time out in his crib. Yeah, bad idea. After his time out, he went right back to shaking the dogs kennel. I sternly said "NO" again...he looked at me, said "night night" and sauntered off towards his crib. That's not going to work. Definitly looking to see what is working for you all. Most of the time I use distraction, but everynow and then he gets a bug up his butt and won't give up on an idea!

Climbing - Although he hasn't tried to climb out of the crib, everything else is fair game. Yesterday I caught him with 2 hands and a knee on the kitchen table (via a chair). Any one else have a monkey?


Jon graduated this past weekend - I have to upload photos. We taught James to say "Hooray Dada" which he has been saying over and over. (Including today, when Dada is in the doghouse for being a stupid jerk. Oh well.... Men, can't live with them, can't shoot 'em.) I really am proud of my husband - can't wait for him to get working again, though!

Daycares - Oh yeah. Been touring/interviewing. Hopefully Jon will start his new job (he has been given a verbal offer, but still waiting for the paperwork) after New Years, so that means FT daycare for James. I am sort of struggling with the idea, as it has been nice to be able to have Jon stay home with James. Still, I think he'll do well in a daycare setting. We've seen 3 places so far. 2 I loved, and one I couldn't wait to get out of. Luckily, 1 of the 2 I loved actually has an opening for January..... Hope to have the details sorted out by the end of the week! Just leave DC in the crib, and lay on the floor....no talking, no touching, no eye contact. Night #1 will be the worst, but he'll get the idea quickly!

ETA - night-time seperation anxiety - PSUNSA - we went through this last summer/early fall. What finally did the trick for us was exactly what you described....lying on the floor in James' room. Also solved the daytime napping problem. I want to say it took a solid 5 days of laying on the floor in plain sight, but not interacting with James at all before he finally got over his issue. Day 1 was 90 minutes of crying/talking/throwing things out of the crib. By day 5, it was only about 5-10 minutes of 'complaining'.

[psusna]

Wendy: Thanks for the advice. I remember reading about the tactics that you and Cynder used so that gave me the tip for DH last night. Unfortunately, he invited him down to join him on the floor instead of letting him stand in the crib. This is sssooo hard -- way harder than the daytime SA we had in the spring. When he throws things out of the crib, you just ignore him correct? Thanks again for the tip and congratulations to Jon!! :)

[wendstress]

Yup - ignore it all. Each day will get easier! Particularly now, I think, they are learning SO fast!!!!

[tgr68]

Roseanne~I hope Asher is feeling better today! I hope you aren't going too crazy dealing with everything! ;)

[Dreshny]

Thanks for all the well-wishes for Asher. I think he's finally in less pain, but it's such a struggle to keep him entertained and happy. He has (understandably) been a bit of a grouch. And unfortunately, he can't seem to concentrate too well these last few days. I figured I'd be reading hundreds of books, but he won't even sit through one (whereas on a normal day he used to sit though 5 or 6 books several times a day.) He won't scribble with crayons either, nor will he play with toys for longer than 5 minutes. He wants my mom all day, but she works weird hours (today it was 7-1 and 5-8) and I'm spending a lot of time alone and stranded (no car, but I'm also scared to drive, since it's been over 10 years.) Maybe I can go home sooner than planned because at least I can walk to everything there.

Sorry to complain, but this is really hard...

ETA: Naamah, you are reading my mind!

[happy1nuv]

roseanne ~ You vent away.... I couldn't imagine dealing with nic in a cast, so... we will all UNDERSTAND any complaints you have! Will he sit in a stroller for a walk at least (does he fit in the stroller anymore?)

[kimthebride]

Quick question....Am I suppose to tip my Pet sitter for watching my cat while i was away?


The guy who watches our cats works in our building, and does it last-minute every time we travel. So for xmas I pay him the usual for the days we'll be away, then give him a little extra $$ in a card thanking him. He also does small favors for us now & again, so there's a little in there for that as well.

Teething
I know! I hate it!

usawife
Did you see my post about the $15 kid's 'laptop' at target? Its great! You could distract DD from yours with one of her own. :)
Kool Toys Bilingual Laptop $15
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000EPJJL2.16._SCLZZZZZZZ_SS260_V62063212_.jpg

Holiday Shopping
i needed one more small thing for MIL and was going to go out yesterday...but after 30 hellish minutes at the P.O. with a cranky teething child I gave up, went home, and called her favorite facial place in chicago where she is to buy a gift certificate. :rolleyes: But at least i'm done now! Everything is in the mail, or has arrived, to chicago and all the stuff locally is wrapped and ready to hand out. Yippee!!

The good news is I do believe the VERY large Sephora shopping bag with wrapped gifts in it that is in the other room is all for me. :D Oh yeah!

Holiday Travel
Because of a disaster at DH's work (as in, he had 2 days to rework a proposal he had worked 6 months on) DS & I had to make the weekend trip to my parents house on our own last weekend. And now we won't know until maybe Friday if we can escape for a few days to do the usual trip to Chicago for his family for Xmas. Already the tickets are hard to find at start at $600 each...this is going to be an interesting few days!

dreshny
I can't imagine what you are going through! Tom felt so bad for Asher when he found out.
Maybe get some stickers to put on and peel off his cast? Or try new, simple 'toys' like deck of cards, taking wipes out of the box/putting them back in, stacking cups, making musical instruments out of kitchen stuff, etc?
I was wondering that too: can he sit in the stroller?

[psusna]

Dreshny: ((hugs)) I’m so sorry about this whole mess. Please feel free to vent – I can’t even begin to imagine how hard and frustrating this is for both of you. Poor little guy and poor mama :(

Unpredictable. That word best describes DS at this stage of his life. After the fight to go down to sleep last night, he didn’t make a peep all night. He still woke up looking tired today so I’m hopeful that if he did wake, he was able to sooth himself back to sleep. I’ll be keeping my floor sleeping supplies at the ready, though, because who knows what tonight will bring! Also, every little act – like getting dressed, combing hair, etc. – is a major battle lately. I’m going to pick up some of the toddler books recommended in this thread at lunch today. This stage is mentally exhausting.

[allyray231]

Rosanne I can't even imagine how hard it is with Asher right now! Hang in there!

[cynder]

Roseanne I wish I could come out there and drive you around. Poor guy. Can you get him some activity that makes him use his hands and spend energy. Maybe, action song CD or something.

psusna Hey hang in there. I can't remember but is he actively teething right now. Everything you describe reminds me of DS when he was teething his molars. Just remember it's a phase. I did what Wendy did. We did not take him out of the crib and let him throw things. We would sush and pat him to soothe but only once. He would do a gopher peek every 15 minutes to make sure we were still there and we had to do this for a couple of nights.

I highly recommend Positive Discipline books and am using one for 1-3 years olds by Jane Nelson et al. Just search that at Amazon or B&N and you should be able to find it. There is not a whole lot to be done but I at least have calmed down. I truly believe that at this age that they are "caveman" as Harvey Karp puts it so we need to get at that level. We still do a lot of redirection and making him "use your "words" when whining.I was going to use Time Out but have decided to hold off until he can understand consequences better. There is no magic technique (though w/ the plethora of books, you would think there is) but I think consistency in what ever you choose to do goes a long way. For us, we realize that if DS is teething, there isn't a lot of discipling we can expect from him. That was hard for me to accept but once I did, it made things a little better.

Now, I know we love to talk about eating or how little of our children eat but I thought some of you would enjoy these:

The Skinny on Kids' Diets (http://www.slate.com/id/2155816/?nav=tap3) - Slate.com Article

I just want to live to see him eat salad. Is that asking so much? (http://www.finslippy.com/finslippy/2006/12/i_just_want_to_.html) flinslippy blog

[Sasha]

Roseanne - You know you can alway vent here. I think we all feel your pain and wish there was something we could do to help you and Asher.

Cynder - Thanks for those links. The food struggle is never-ending in our house. :o

Kim - Can you please have your DH tell my DH that the holiday season is a nice time to reward his wife for all of her hard work? I know for a fact that my DH has yet to even attempt to shop for me yet. I am seriously beginning to think there won't be a single present with "For Sasha" written on it. :rolleyes:

Diaper changing question! Where are you changing diapers these days? Sarah is really too big for her changing table, so I've been doing them on the floor for a few months now, but lately she will get up and walk away mid-change. That's great when I am trying to change a poopy diaper. :rolleyes: It's like baby wrestling in our house during changes to get her to stay put. Giving her toys doesn't work anymore as a distraction. Potty training is seeming like a pleasant alternative to diaper changes these day!

[tgr68]

Roseanne~Vent away! I know I would be going crazy in your position!

Holiday Shopping~I still need to buy for my dad, FIL, & GFIL. I have no clue at all as to what to get for them. Maybe I could put a brownie mix with some chocolate or peanut butter chips and some nuts in a jar with baking instructions. They all have a MAJOR sweettooth with a weakness for chocolate! Hmmmmm......:confused:

psusna~I'm right there with you. I tell DD to come to me, she runs the other way. I tell her to leave the cat alone, she pulls his tail. I want to to stand up and get out of the tub, she sits and splashes me with water! Of course, she's a perfect angel and does everything DH says on the first (occasionally second) time! :rolleyes:

Diaper Changing~I change them wherever - on the floor on the changing table, laying down, standing up. Since she's so mobile right, she tends to poop while standing, so I keep her standing for the diaper change. I have her hold up her shirt ("Where's your belly button?") while I take off her diaper. Then I have her bend over ("Where's your toes?"), so I can wipe her. This usually takes 3-4 times of pointing out her toes. Then I slip on the new diaper. Since we use Easy Ups, she just steps right in and then helps me pull them up.

18-month WBV Stats
Weight: 23lbs 2oz (25%)
Height: 31.5" (25-50%)
HC: 19"

[diedra1027]

Time Outs Sounds like Avery is a very good little girl! :) There is no way that Abbey would stay in one place. I guess I'm lucking out in this department then. Avery must be taking after me - I *HATED* getting in trouble as a kid (well, I still do actually!!), so I was generally well behaved. Even as a teenager ;).

Roseanne - So sorry about the difficult time keeping Asher entertained :(. Can you go for a walk around the block/neighborhood to break up the boredom of being trapped in the house all day??

Food Battles - Thanks for the links cynder. We seem to be having a different kind of problem with the food stuff. Avery never really seems to be hungry (just like her Daddy)!! For example, yesterday she ate about 1/8c Life cereal and 2 bites of scrambled eggs for breakfast, about 2 Red Robin fries for lunch, and 2 small bites of chicken and a cruton for dinner :eek:. She never got 'hungry cranky' and never asked for anything else to eat (asked for sip of milk a few times, but that's it). She's down to pooping every other day now too when usually she's super, super regular (as in same exact time EVERY SINGLE DAY). It's been this way for almost a week now - she's never been a *volume* eater, but this is pretty outragous even for her. She is working on the canines right now, I'm hoping that they are at the root of this. Blake and I are slowly going insane with worry over her eating habits!

Diapers - We still use the changing table sometimes, but mostly doing it on the floor. Avery will usually play with a wipe long enough for me to finish the diaper change, but somedays it is a total wrestling match every time :rolleyes:.