September 2005~ We're 2 what can we get into???

[September05Mommies]

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: philnikki & wildcat &
cr8nme

[September05Mommies]

List of September 2005 Mommies by username!

AlisonCO
Me: Alison, 29
DH: Scott, 36
Married: April 28, 2001
Baby's Name:Caitlin Kennedy
EDD: 9/5/05
ADD: 9/10/05
Time of birth: 2:02am
Weight and Length: 6lb10oz, 20"
Other children: Aidan William, 10/08/03

AndreaMMS
Me: Andrea, 35
DH: Rich, 45
Married: May 25, 2003
Baby's Name:Naomi Soleil
EDD: 9/22/05
ADD: 9/23/05
Time of birth: 11:53AM
Weight and Length: 5 lbs7 oz, 18.5"
Other children: None

BeachBum
Me: 28
DH: 40
Married: October 13, 2001
Baby's Name: Henry Stephen
EDD: 9/13/05
ADD:9/6/05
Time of birth: 12:23
Weight and Length: 8lb11oz, 21"
Other children : None

Brink
Me: Tina, 35
DH: Dan, 37
Married: June 26, 2004
Baby's Name: Aimee Jean
EDD: 9/26/05
ADD:9/25/05
Time of birth: 1:29pm
Weight and Length: 7lb11oz, 21"
Other children : None

charmcitygirl
Me: charmcitygirl, 31
DH: charmcityboy, 33
Married: 3/04
Baby's Name: Jake Christopher & Arizona (Zoe) Logan
EDD: 9/18/05
ADD: 8/14/05
Time of birth: 7:23am & 7:24am
Weight and Length: 5lb5oz, 18" & 5lb2oz, 17.5"
Other children: none

Cr8nme
Me: Name: Michelle, age 24
DH: Name: Alex, age 27
Married: June 1, 2003
Baby's Name: Noelle Alexandra
EDD:September 3, 2005
ADD: September 4, 2005
Time of birth: 6:11am
Weight 7 pounds 3 ozs. Length: 20 in.


Cr8zyforAF
Me: Kim, 32 (33 on Halloween)
DH: Andrew, 31
Married: May 18, 2001
Baby's Name Ashley Marie
EDD: 9/4/05
ADD: 9/6/05
Time of birth: 12:25 AM
Weight and Length: 7lb8oz, 21"
Other children: none

crow
Me: 32
Married: June 1, 2002
Baby's Name:crowbaby
EDD: 9/19/05
ADD: 9/21/05
Time of birth: 12:48pm
Weight and Length: 7lbs6 oz, 20"
Other children: None

dbers
Me: Diane, 32
DH: Jason, 31
Married: April 5, 2003
Baby's Name:Alexandra Claire
EDD: 9/2/05
ADD: 8/25/05
Time of birth: 5:16pm
Weight and Length: 6lbs15 oz, 19.75"
Other children: None

fifibee
Me: Betsy, 32
DH: Felix, 32
Married: 6/19/2004
Baby's Name: Maximilian (aka Max)
EDD: 9/22/2005
ADD: 9/16/2005
Time of birth: 5:32pm
Weight and Length: 8 lbs 15 oz, 21 3/4 in
Other children: None

Hisdaffodil
Me: 24
DH: 35
Married: May 5, 2003
Baby's Name: James Dorian
EDD: 09/15/05
ADD: 08/20/05
Time of birth: 9:18am
Weight and Length: 5lbs13.8oz, 17.5"
Other children: Emerson, 5/28/03

hmbay
Me: Heather, 33
DH: Jon, 36
Married: May 3, 2002
Baby's Name: Alexander Jonathon
EDD: 09/25/05
ADD: 09/10/05
Time of birth: 8:51am
Weight and Length: 5lbs15oz, 20"
Other children: Colin Ronald (11/07/03)

jo&sean
Me: Joann, 31
DH: Sean, 31
Married: May 18, 2002
Baby's Name: Addison Marie or "Addy"
EDD: 09/15/05
ADD: 09/08/05
Time of birth: 8:57pm
Weight and Length: 6lbs, 17"
Other children: 5 furbabies: 2 dogs, 3 cats

Kay2003
Me: Kay, 32
Married: 2003
Baby's Name: Kaito
EDD: 9/15/05
ADD: 9/23/05
Time of birth: 3:04 pm
Weight and Length: 8lbs2oz
Other children: none

Lora
Lora, 31
Gary, 31
Married: July 20, 2002
Gary William II
EDD: 09-26-05
ADD: 09-12-05
9 AM
8lbs 11oz 22 inches
Abbey Rose 10-07-03
MichieG
Me: Michelle, 29
DH: Matt, 31
Married: September 26, 2003
Baby's Name:Katherine Grace
EDD: 9/26/05
ADD: 9/19/05
Time of birth: 6:58pm
Weight and Length: 7lbs12oz & 19.5"
Other children: She's our first!

philnikki
Me: Nikki, 26
DH: Phil, 30
Married: 8/28/2004
Baby's Name:Ava Grace
EDD: 9/3/05
ADD: 8/23/05
Time of birth: 9:04
Weight and Length: 7lbs7oz, 20.5"
Other children: 2 Furbabies, Bella & Bailey

pixiecat
Me: Julie, 27
DH: Ari, 32
Married: July 26, 2003
Baby's Name: Lily Eve
EDD: 9/26/05
ADD: 9/27/05
Time of birth: 9:18 pm
Weight and Length: 7lb4oz, 19"
Other children : one furbaby, Sully

PrincessCrappy
Me: Carrie, 29
DH: Scott, 33
Married: June 1, 2002
Baby's Name: Griffin Christopher
EDD: 9/9/05
ADD: 9/1/05
Time of birth: 6:49 p.m.
Weight and Length: 8lbs3oz, 21"
Other children: nope

randysmandy
Me: Amanda, 25
DH: Randy, 31
Married: August 15, 2004
Baby's Name: Hunter Edward
EDD: 9/3/05
ADD: 8/31/05
Time of birth: 2:27pm
Weight and Length: 7lbs3oz, 20.5"
Other children: nope

Sabre
Me: Sabre, 30
DH: Tony, 30
Married: April 7, 2001
Baby's Name Anthony Charles
EDD: 9/18/05
ADD: 9/10/05
Time of birth: 2:39pm
Weight and Length: 8lb4oz, 20"
Other children: Isabella, 3-17-03

Sandie78
Me: Sandiegirl, 26
DH: Sandieboy, 25
Married: May 2002
Baby's Name Zach
EDD: 9/16/05
ADD: 9/12/05
Time of birth: 6:45pm
Weight and Length: 7lb10oz, 21.5"
Other children: none

SD601
Me: Laura, 24
DH: Tim, 25
Married: June 1, 2001
Baby's Name: Josiah Thomas
EDD: 9/20/05
ADD: 8/15/05
Time of birth: 12:41am
Weight and Length: 5lbs13 oz, 17"

Solongtogo
Me: Lisa, 28
DH: Dave, 27
Married: June 7, 2003
Baby's Name:Courtney Elizabeth
EDD: 9/4/05
ADD: 8/25/05
Time of birth: 12:22 pm
Weight and Length: 6 lbs3 oz, 19.5"

wife&wannabemom
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: April 27, 2002
Baby's Name: Patrick Joseph
EDD: 9/6/05
ADD: 8/29/05
Time of birth: 9:22 am
Weight and Length: 7 lbs4 oz, 20.5"

wildcat
Me: 29
DH: 29
Married: September 14, 2002
Baby's Name: Lauren Dawn
EDD: 9/22/05
ADD: 9/27/05
Time of birth: 4:45pm
Weight and length: 7lb13oz, 18.75"
Other children: one furbaby - Brody

[September05Mommies]

Reserved For Any New Mamas!!!!

[September05Mommies]

List of Babies by Birthdate

August 14
Jake Christopher & Arizona (Zoe) Logan
Mama: charmcitygirl

August 15
Josiah Thomas
Mama: SD601

August 20
James Dorian
Mama: hisdaffodil

August 23
Ava Grace
Mama: Philnikki

August 25
Alexandra Claire
Mama: dbers

Courtney Elizabeth
Mama: solongtogo

August 29
Patrick Joseph
Mama: wife&wannabemom

August 31
Hunter Edward
Mama: randysmandy

September 1
Griffin Christopher
Mama: PrincessCrappy

September 4
Noelle Alexandra
Mama: cr8nme

September 6
Henry Stephen
Mama: BeachBum

Ashley Marie
Mama: cr8zyforaf

September 8
Addison Marie
Mama: jo&sean

September 10
Caitlin Kennedy
Mama: AlisonCO

Anthony Charles
Mama: Sabre

Alexander Jonathon
Mama: hmbay

September 12
Zach
Mama: Sandie78

Gary
Mama: Lora

September 16
Maximilian aka Max
Mama: fifibee


September 19
Katherine Grace
Mama: MichieG

September 21
crowbaby
Mama: crow

September 23
Kaito
Mama: Kay2003

Naomi Soleil
Mama: AndreaMMS

September 25
Aimee Jean
Mama: Brink

September 27
Lily Eve
Mama: pixiecat

Lauren Dawn
Mama: wildcat

[September05Mommies]

Reserved for updated pictures...

[September05Mommies]

Reserved for Pictures!

[September05Mommies]

Reserved for Stats if needed!

[September05Mommies]

Ladies you may now post! Remember all updates or pics that you want posted please make the working RED

Happy Posting

Michelle

[Cr8nme]

Okay Ladies I am here! I sure am gonna try and post here more often! I just got kinda tired of all the mess on CC!

However here is a pic of Miss Noelle Last week! She is getting big!

http://media0.dropshots.com/photos/209000/20070721/221007.jpg

http://media2.dropshots.com/photos/209000/20070512/002051.jpg

I officially have Noelle off the thumb and almost potty trained! Wooo hooo!

Oh and she climbed out of her crib and fell and hit her head so no more crib for her... She is getting a twin bed today!

Michelle

[wildcat]

Thanks for the new thread cr8nme! I'd offer to help, but I can't even keep up with dishes, let alone the CC thread:) Beautiful pics of N!

cr8zy - Congratulations!! That is so sweet about the baby being conceived when B was still with you...totally sweet...not silly at all. =)

Subscribing!

[pgbg]

Hi everyone, is it too late for me to join now that my son is almost 2?? :rolleyes: I wasn't so much into CC earlier on, but I've been following along with this thread and just felt stupid joining in so late when you all seemed to know each other. But I figured now would be a good time!
Our stats:

Me: 33
DH: 34
Married: April 2004
DS: Jacob Leo 9/2/05 (EDD: 9/8/05)
Wt/Ht: 7lb 3oz, 20.5 in
Other kids: EDD 2/23/08!

Thanks!!
Bethany

[AlisonCO]

CONGRATS cr8zy! That is wonderful news!!!

solong - I am glad to hear that you are not quite as sick this time - maybe it means boy...

cr8nme - Thanks for the new thread - cute picture! My 2 cents is that when we need to start a new thread we should just not add the stats etc on the first pages - maybe it is just me, but I don't look at those stats or pictures anymore. I can start a new one next time - let me know.

WELCOME pgbg - your son is so so cute! Just hop in and start talking - we are a very nice group:). Oh and congrats on #2.

[Brink]

Hi All - thanks for starting the new thread. I can't believe our babies are turning two!

I guess my stats should be updated to read:

Other Children - Katie & Kristi (1/31/07)
Oh, and I'm now 37 and DH is 38


Cr8zy - OMG - a huge congrats to you. I guess it goes to show us that for every sad thing in life, there is always hope and joy around the corner. I am so happy for you. I can't wait to follow along.

pgbg - it's never too late to join. Yes, many of us have formed friendships over the last couple of years, but we always welcome new members. Welcome to the group!

Not much new going on here. Aimee is getting into the babies more these days. She is "helping" me with them. When we give them baths, she helps me wash them and when we change diapers, she helps me put lotion on their cheeks (ok, must of it ends up almost in the eyes, but still). She now talks to them and says "it's ok baby" when they are crying. The other night she sat down next to them while watching Nemo and explained all of the characters to them. It's very cute to watch.

[cr8zyforaf]

pgbd - welcome - your son is adorable.

Brink - so cute - I bet Aimee is a big help.

I am too lazy to do shout outs from the old thread...but I have been reading along.

question - it teeth brushing a huge battle - I feel like I am a bit lax about it because she hates it? Also, has anyone had a dental visit yet? I feel like I am lagging behind on that.

[Sandie78]

Cr8zy First off Congratulations! Hope you are feeling well. Didn't you feel pretty bad with Ashley?
Teeth/dentist We've been brushing Zach's teeth since about 15 months. It is a struggle most nights, although it seems to be getting better. He had his second dentist appointment today. (The first was 6 months ago.) It was a total disaster. Zach was kicking a screaming and throwing a fit, but we survived. Thankfully it's only twice a year.

[jo&sean]

Cr8zy - Congrats on the BFP!! I think Brink said it best...for every sad thing, there is a bright thing. I totally understand your sentiment about Bailey. Our animals are a HUGE part of our lives and I still terribly miss our kitty that died in November...

pbgb - Welcome :)

Teeth - We are having a battle here too. Addison will visit the dentist in mid-september for the first time. It shall be interesting...

We were able to get out of town for a few days this past weekend which included a short visit to the ocean. Addison LOVED the ocean...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/1176977937_4fc14d1cf8.jpg?v=0

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/1177832530_7828a801e8.jpg?v=0

As we got closer to the water, she started shedding more clothes. It was pretty chilly but that didn't stop her from taking it all in.

Addison is doing well on potty training and is having a lot of fun with her verbal communication skills. Never a dull moment is all I can say. We are getting ready for her party on the 8th. I still need to go shopping and get everything ready...

[PrincessCrappy]

Thanks for the new thread, cr8nme. The pictures are adorable!

Congratulations, Cr8zy!! The circle of life is just amazing! I am so happy you have such great news to celebrate!

Jo&Sean - Those look like professional pictures -- Addison is just beautiful!

On the last thread I was asking if anyone had any ideas on where to find a music themed shirt. I was poking around google and found this site: www.spreadshirt.com. I made this for Griffin:
http://www.spreadshirt.com/image.php?type=image&partner_id=1000&product_id=2602769&img_id=1&size=medium&bgcolor_images=whitehttp://www.spreadshirt.com/image.php?type=image&partner_id=1000&product_id=2602769&img_id=2&size=medium&bgcolor_images=white

Of course I paid more for 2-day shipping than I did for the shirt! I hope I like it and that it fits when it gets here!

[Cr8nme]

We are doing Noelle's party on September 8th... I hope to get everything out of the way this weekend but we will see...

I will try and update the new stuff tomorrow! I am agreeing that we shouldn't do stats or pics on the main page... I will be posting pics of Noelle every so often!

[crow]

Thank you cr8nme for the new thread, feels like a new start! Noelle is such a beauty!

Welcome pgbg.

Alison-I have been way too tired to post, but your recent photos of your kids--they are so so cute, and photogenic as always.

Crazy4af--omy,, Congratulations on the BFP!!!!

RE: Teeth brushing, my husband was searching the web for suggestions, and here's what we're doing now-- we say, "oh, let's see if there are any PILLBUGS (which my son loves) in your mouth. Open real wide. Are they here, or here, or here (while moving brush around)" This has really worked for us. We didn't think so, and so far (1 week) he has not tired of it.

Jo&sean-- Addison (wow! her gorgeous hair!) looks like she is having a ball. OUr son, is always asking to go to the "ocean? ocean?" Everyday. We feel bad we say no, all the time! We are seriously considering going to Hawaii this winter.

Princesscrappy--I love that new shir you designed. Is it black? So few toddler boy shirts are black, isn't that odd?

Cannot wait to see photos from our parties. We have not planned a thing. We're going to see ILs and they will have an early 2 party for the extended family, and then near DS's real bday, we'll have a bbq or something simple here.

[hmbay]

pgbg--welcome!

teeth/dentist--I'm lousy at brushing his teeth. As for dentist. I finally took my almost FOUR y.o. to the dentist for the first time so no I have no plans to take Alex for at least another year. Heck he isn't even on my dental plan right now.

pictures--just had his 2 y.o. pictures taken last night at Pennys. It's amazing how "old" he looked in some of them. Sniff. :(

big boy bed--we have success. 3 nights now. Of course we have 30 minutes of hysterical screaming every night first and he has refused naps since we moved him but we have 3 nights in his bed. woo hoo!

[solongtogo]

teethmy dentist said that he dosen't normally see kids until they're at least 3, but I'm a big slacker on tooth brushing as well :(

[AlisonCO]

teeth/dentist - as I think that I have mentioned before, Cailtin is fine with teeth brushing because she watches Aidan. I do it after am snack and before bed. I read something the other day that said that you should try to brush after sleeping because that is when saliva production is at its lowest thus not washing away the bad gunk. She has not been to the dentist yet as our insurance doesn't cover it until after they are 2 - I might take her this fall. I think that the AAP recommends age 3 but the ADA says after they get their first tooth just to check things out and to make it less scary. I will say that Aidan freaked last year so I bet there is something to that.

jo - beautiful picture!

[randysmandy]

Oh my gosh--I haven't been on in AGES. Things have been crazy so I will catch up and catch YOU up!

HAPPY B-DAY AVA
Cr8zy HUGE CONGRATS after such a sad time.
jo What kind of camera do you have? I LOVE your photos! And what curls!!
Welcome Bethany and congrats on baby no.2

updates: DH=33 My age=27
Potty: doing great, but still wetting at night
B-Day party: we are having 2 since my dad's wife and my mom can't share space. So pizza and cake at my mom's on his b-day a BBQ the day after at our house (possibly at the water). No themes, just spiderman plates and some ballons. We are getting him some Play-DOH, a backpack, puzzles, cars to play with and some animals figures...as you can tell I still have to shop!

Vacations: Nothing much but a weekend at the cape and this weekend we are heading to Newport for the day. We have 2 weddings and a baby (my friend) this year so showers and showers.

MIL: She is recovering with a cast she can walk on. We have FINALLY put Hunter into a family daycare-he is at his 2nd day today. It is 5 min from my house and there is alot to offer him-including 4 other kids. He seems happy so far. I'm still working at home, so I am close by.
The summer is coming to an end and it is getting cooler..I's looking forward to fall. Here are some pics of Hunter:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1373/1214747533_b4d027f300_m.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1320/1214719803_8dd76aafd5_m.jpg

[Brink]

Wow, this new thread is really hopping!

Teeth Brushing - we just started getting better at it. We do it while she is watching Nemo at night before bed. We use the TV for certain things when we need her to sit still. If she refuses to open her mouth, we turn off the TV and tell her that we will turn it back on when she opens up. She is quick to open her little jaws and sits there glued to the TV while I brush. I know, not the best way to do it, but it's working.

Jo&sean - that picture is incredible. I would swear that belongs in a professional ad somewhere. I forget, are you a photographer?

Randysmandy - good to hear from you. Glad to hear Hunter is doing well at his new daycare.

[solongtogo]

Courtney had her 2 year wbv today.

weight: 25 lbs, 6 oz
height: 34 inches

and only one shot. No more until kindergarten :D

Courtney's birthday and birthday party is tomorrow!! It's going to be so fun! I'm going to take a million pictures :)

[PrincessCrappy]

Solong -- Thinking of you and Courtney today! I hope she had a wonderful birthday party. I can't wait to see pictures!

[AlisonCO]

:)Happy Birthday Courtney!!!:)

[solongtogo]

Thank you girls! I posted some pictures in the 2nd birthday thread :)

[Sandie78]

Happy Belated Birthday Courtney! Off to look at birthday party pictures...

[AlisonCO]

Cute pics solong - it looks like C had a great party! Did she get a hair cut?

[BeachBum]

Wow--why didn't someone tell me that toddlers love to clean? :D I've had Henry cleaning the kitchen cabinets for 20 minutes now. :eek: I put water for him to "squirt" in an old hairspray bottle and gave him a microfiber cloth. This is a miracle! I told him I was going on break and he said "Henry do more cleaning". YIPPEE

[hmbay]

BeachBum--too funny. I was on my hands and knees wiping up the hardwood floors this weekend (we have a big open floorplan house that is almost all hardwood on the main level so we're talking a lot of floors) and both my 2 and 4 y.o. though it looked fun. Okay they didn't do a good job but they "helped" me for about 15 minutes. ;)

[Brink]

Beachbum - you are too funny. I can just picture Henry doing all sorts of jobs around the house now. I just had to share the pictures of Aimee below, she was "helping" her Nana clean the bricks around our firplace!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1435/1251271827_e4dc2a3bf0_m.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1211/1251271737_8186e711bf_m.jpg

[pixiecat]

Hi ladies! Joining this thread late... just our ages need to be updated:

Me: 29 DH: 34

Kim - Congratulations! I am so happy for you!

pgbg - welcome! Your little guy is so cute!

Can't believe we are having our 2-year old birthday parties! Hope they all go well and that all the mamas survive...

No new news here... except that Lily earned her green ribbon at swim lessons this weekend! They have ribbon system & the first ribbon requires that she 1) not cry (she's never cried) 2) hold her breath 3) float on her back 4) swim 6 feet by herself. I was so proud!

Lily finally moves into the next room at school... good thing too b/c she's been causing trouble! She got an "ouch" report on her last day in the old room - she got bit, but the teacher made sure to tell me it was b/c Lily was pulling the other kid's hair & wouldn't let go :rolleyes: We are SO two!

Hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for starting the new thread. :)

[jo&sean]

Hi Ladies - Sorry I have been absent this past week. We are dealing with a very sick cat and it doesn't look good. We have tried all that we can to help him but this morning I went to visit him and my hopes are dwindling. We will bring him home tonight to try some at home treatments but in my heart, I know that we will probably be preparing to say goodbye to him. So it has been very, very sad around our house this past week.

Thank you for all of the comps on Addison's pictures. Someone asked what kind of camera I have - it is a Canon Digital Rebel XT which was a gift from DH for Mother's Day. I used a 50 mm f/1.8 lense for the ocean pics. I love photography and am just getting back into after setting my film camera down after college...

Brink - Those are great pics of Aimee helping Nana. She has the most beautiful hair!! I love those pigtails.

Randysmandy - Hunter is so grown up!

I can't believe that our babies are turning 2 and that some already have!!! Addison's party is on the 8th and I still have not even finished her shopping or gotten all of the party gear together. That is my goal for this weekend.

Addison is doing well on the potty and not so great on the teethbrushing. We try at least twice a day so I am hoping that we get them all at least once. It is hard with a screaming little person!

Big Girl/Boy Beds - I think Cr89nme mentioned that Noelle was in a twin bed - has anyone else jumped up from the crib matress to a twin? Or did you go from a the crib to toddler? Addison's crib is a converts into a bed which she has been sleeping on for quite some time now but it just seems too small for her already. We are thinking about getting her a twin bed that is lower to the ground. Any thoughts?

Hope everyone is having a good week.

[hmbay]

jo&sean--I moved both of my kids right from the crib to a twin bed. However we inherited a set of bunk beds from my IL's that sit at about the same height as the crib mattress because there is no box spring--just a board under the "bunk bed" mattress. I just bought a bedrail and moved them right from the crib to that and skipped the toddler bed (especially since I needed the crib mattress for the crib for the new baby and didn't want to spend the money on another crib mattress).

[randysmandy]

jo&sean We went from a crib to toddler bed, but like HMBAY, when we moved he went right into a twin bed without a boxspring. And thankfuly cause he fell off the bed twice, but no boo boo! He loves his bed.

So I'm 2 weeks late! I changed pills a few months ago and have been taking them as I should and using condoms.....Do I have an immaculate conception on my hands?? I'll keep you posted-YIKES!

[Brink]

Jo&Sean - I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. I know that your animals are part of the family and it must be devestating. Hugs to you and your family.

Randysmandy - Wow, I can't believe you haven't broken down and taken a test yet!

[randysmandy]

I'm in denial...I guess that would answer our question to: are we going to have 2 children? I honestly don't see how it is possible. :confused:

Cleaning: Hunter grabs a paper towel and cleans and cleans
Yes, sorry to hear about your kitty Jo. :(

[cr8zyforaf]

Jo&Sean - I am so sorry - we just went through this with our dog, whom we ended up deciding to put down almost 2 weeks ago...this was and is the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with. You can PM me if you want to talk.

Randysmandy - OMG....go take the test!!!

big girl bed - Ash is still in her crib but has climbed out. I am putting her room together now and we will be putting her in a full bed - mostly because we already have the mattress. I just painted, ordered the bedding, and I am trying to find furniture.

[solongtogo]

AllisonCo it's so bizarre about Courtney's hair...it just like all fell out. One day I was able to put it up in pigtails, the next I couldn't. It's getting very thick right now, and it curls in the back, but it's still pretty short. She's sporting a mullet

[AlisonCO]

solong - mullet:) Caitlin would totally have a mullet except I keep the back short - she has tons of hair in the back but it is thin on the sides. Maybe C lost her baby hair and is now growing her real hair - that is great that it is thick!

Brink - A is adorable!

jo - I am very sorry about you cat!

mandy - TEST!

big bed - when we moved Aidan we thought about putting his crib mattress on the floor but went right to the twin on the floor so that there was just the one move/transition. I think that we will just get another twin and put it on the floor when we move Caitlin. We use a bed rail and Aidan has never fallen out.

Aidan had his meet the teacher/see the classroom today and he did well. Caitlin just walked into the classroom like she owned the place - waved at the teacher, played with all of the toys and thru a fit when we left - I might look into Parent's Day Out for a couple of hours a week this winter.

She has been such a pill lately - anyone else? She is testing us SO much, throwing wild fits and generally just being 2!

Aidan pushing Caitlin in her baby's stroller - she just got bangs because she won't let me clip her hair back:

http://www.allsam.com/200708/images/082607_15.jpg

The "cheese" face she now makes everytime she sees the camera:

http://www.allsam.com/200708/images/082607_05.jpg

[PrincessCrappy]

What was I thinking?!?!?! Saturday is Griffin's actual birthday and party. We're expecting 52 adults and 38 kids -- that totals 90 people!!! That's not even counting the lovely people who have failed to rsvp but will probably show up. Please remind me next year: SMALL PARTY!! :eek:

[randysmandy]

Carrie Good luck to you!1 YIKES. I'm sure it will be fun.

Hunter's party is Saturday. We are having about 30 people. I am so bad now. For his 1st b-day I went all out, did everything early. Now hear I am just ordering his cake over the phone! And I didn't get him a b-day outfit to wear-bad mamma..I think I'll hit Old Navy now! ;-)

By the way--it was NEGATIVE!!!!! Not sure why I'm late.

My friend's sister had twins tues morning and the boy's (Nick) cord was pinched. He is now eating thru a tube in his belly, using a breathing machine and having seisures. His brain is 2 weeks underdeveloped. None of which are brain related because his ultra sound of his brain came back GREAT. The baby girl Lucy is fine. I just pray for him everynight. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Have a good long last summer weekend everyone...

[Sandie78]

AlisonCO Cute pics. Caitlin is looking so grown up.
PrincessCrappy Yipes! That's a huge party. I hope you've got helpers.
randysmandy Yea (?) for the negative. Hope you can find out what's causing the delay with AF. Prayers for Nick.

Here are some pictures of Zach I had taken the other day. At first I thought the session was going to be a bust because he was being very shy and would not let go of me, but we finally able to get him to relax (with the help of a soccer ball) and the photographer was able to get some great shots.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1153/1280485207_96a0491670_m.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1380/1281342904_5eb82a4b2c_m.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/1281332096_b94bbcdf48_m.jpghttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1103/1280461881_5a894f3325_m.jpg

[pixiecat]

Caitlin and Zach! so adorable!

[AlisonCO]

I hope that Hunter and Griffin's parties went really well. Happy Birthday to all of the kiddos who have b-days this weekend!!!

Sandie - Oh cuteness - I love the one with the black background!

mandy - Hope that Nick is doing well!

[randysmandy]

Update on Nick: He pooped-good sign and he has not had any more "seizures" Looks like he is on the path to recovery!!

Hunter's party was great-he got a new bike, a remote control boat, and alof of other toys-he had so much fun!!

[jo&sean]

Hope everyone is enjoying the last hurrah of summer and that the parties this weekend were fun!

Randysmandy - Glad to hear baby Nick is doing better! That has to be really hard for his family.

Sandie - Zach looks like such a big boy now! Very cute pics.

Alison - I love Caitlin's "say cheese" face. She is such a cutie.

Thank you for all of your thoughts about our kitty. We said goodbye to him this morning. It was incredibly difficult to let him go but in my heart, I know it was the right thing and right time for him. Addison had to go with us to the vets office because none of our family members were home to sit with her. I was really worried but she did great. She gave him a kiss, told him that she loved him and said bye bye. It was very sweet and sad at the same time.

I still have not gotten everything ready for Addison's party next weekend. I did get a little bit more shopping in but I still need to find her a new dress and pick up the party supplies. I am hoping I will be feeling up to get out tomorrow and finish up!

[BeachBum]

Hey guys!
Hope the parties went well! I hope to see some pictures :) Henry's birthday and party are Thursday night. I've go so, so much do to before then. I might have bitten off a bit more than I can handle. AAAKKK. Not a good feeling. I

I just love the new shots of Griffin (that one with the black background is awesome!) Caitlin looks so cute playing--and Aimee is adorable cleaning!

I really want to do something special for Henry's 2 year photos. I was hoping you guys had some inspiration? I want something wall art like...I haven't done a formal portrait since he was 6 mo. I mean I've had photos done at the beach and stuff. But for 2, I want him dressed up and I'm thinking I might want him sitting in a antique dining chair or something? I'm just not sure he would sit still for it. HA.

It is just amazing how far they've come! I mean Henry and I can have conversations. I just love it! We made chocolate chip cookies together this past week and had a lot of fun. I hadn't let him "help" as much before and he really enjoyed it. Plus--I had him do the dishes too! Heehee (maybe I'm taking this cleaning thing too far ;)) that kid just loves to play in the sink.

I hosted my first kids clothing show this week. The clothes were Olive Juice kids and freaking adorable. I was really disappointed in how few people showed up. It was a lot of work and I don't think it was really worth it. I'm not sure it is something I'll do again--but I guess I am glad I did it once.

Well Mandy, I'm glad you got a BFN like you wanted :) I really thought this was our month--but apparently it was Kim's. Congrats! I'm happy for you guys. I'm glad you are feeling reasonably well Lisa. Courtney's party really looked great.

Kindermusik starts this week for us and we are both excited. We didn't do it this summer and both really missed it. Most of our friends are starting preschool this term but we just aren't ready. It is a bummer that I have to find a new group of people to do stuff with though.

Well I hope you guys have a fun holiday.

[PrincessCrappy]

We survived the birthday party! It was easily the hottest day of the year here in San Diego -- that was the worst part. Everything else went really smoothly. I didn't get any pictures of the decorations or the bounce house, but here are few we did get:
The musician:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3928.jpg
The kids enjoying the music:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3933.jpg
The pinata:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3942-1.jpg http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3940.jpg
The cakes:
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3987.jpg http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_3990.jpg

In other news, we had his 2 year check up yesterday. He is 34.5 inches tall and 35 pounds!! We have a big boy!

[PrincessCrappy]

sorry those pictures are so huge!! I have no idea how to make them smaller!

[solongtogo]

Cute pictures crappy! That's a big guy you've got there!!

[randysmandy]

Not much to write about today....I'm just sick to my stomach
Sad sad news on my end..Nick will be baptized on Friday and they will be taking all the machines off of him Saturday. He is completely brain damaged per the test results today. I am so thankful they have Lucy-she will pull them thru this--they have to--for her.

Kiss and hug all your babies.... over and over again


Hunter's well visit today:
35.25" tall
29 lbs

[cr8zyforaf]

randysmandy - I am so so sorry. My heart breaks for that family.

All the pictures are so cute...so cute!!

beach - they did a really neat picture of A at school - they took her picture and then sent it to Spain - some guy drew a poitrait from the picture in black chalk...it was expensive - I think it was over $200 but it is amazing..let me know if you are interested - I think I have the paper that included the website.

Today my baby is 2....2...where the he11 did 2 year go???

[randysmandy]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY!!

Yes-year 2 did fly by! By the way--I got my friend the other day...so baby #2-not right now. But we do want one esp knowing how much of a miracle a baby really is and just how lucky we are to have Hunter.

BeachBumI did a scratchboard of my cousin one year. You take a piece of drawings board and cover it will black ink and let it dry. Then you take a metal quill pen and scratch the ink away-it exposes the white-creating a black and white image expressing shadow-very cool. I'm not sure if someone professional would do that. I can try and find the pic to send it to you. Or I could have my Aunt take a picture of it.

[AlisonCO]

PC - It looks like G had a great party - what a big boy!

mandy - I am so sorry to hear about Nick - heart breaking!!!

Happy (belated) Birthday Noelle!

Happy Birthday to Henry and Ashley - hope that you both have wonderful days!!!

[cr8zyforaf]

Happy Birthday to Henry

[Brink]

Randysmandy - I am so sorry to hear the news. My heart goes out to them.

Happy Birthday!

Ashley

Henry

Noelle

So, lately Aimee has been holding her tummy and saying "ouch" or "tummy hurt". She's done it at least every other day for the last 2 weeks. Anyone else having this? I'm wondering if she has gas that she is just now recognizing. Or maybe she's hungry and thinks it hurts? I don't know - should I be worried?

[cr8zyforaf]

Happy Birthday Noelle

Gosh, I am so out of it - I don't know how you all keep so on top of things...I've been spending all my time in the what happened to CC thread trying to figure out who the heck they are talking about.

belly hurting - Ash does this all the time- her leg hurts, her toe hurts, her tummy hurts....then she says 'mommy kiss it' and I kiss it and she says 'all better'. I don't know - she doesn't seem to be in pain. I will ask the doctor today.

[hmbay]

I'm so behind. Happy birthday to everyone. I'm too lazy to look back and see who that is. Just counting the days until #3 so I'm a bit lazy and absentminded. ;)

[Sandie78]

Happy Birthday Ashley, Henry & Noelle.

RandysMandy That's so sad :(
PrincessMy dial-up connection can't handle the huge pictures, but I'm sure they're cute! Wow, Griffin is 35 pounds?
Jo&Sean Sorry about your kitty. They really do become like family members. :(

Everything is good here. I enrolled Zach in a tumbling class. The school is offering free tuition for the first 15 boys who sign up. So I thought, why not? I'm sure he'll be shy at first, but I hope he enjoys it. I only have 3 months left until the arrival of baby #2. I think we're going to name her Julianna Noelle Any thoughts?
Zach is so verbal now and it's great. He worked on his motor skills first and wasn't really saying much of anything when you guys were having full conversations with some of your kids, but he sure talks now!

[AlisonCO]

Sandie - that is a beautiful name! Tumpling class sounds fun.

Brink - I bet it is gas or hunger or maybe she needs to go poo - Caitlin always says her tummy hurts before she poops.

FYI - I was at Target today and they have tons of great basic clothes on sale - layering tee's for $2.48, leggings for $3.77.

[PrincessCrappy]

Sandie - That is such a pretty name! Zach will love the tumbling classes! I've had Griffin at The Little Gym since he was 6 months old. We took a break this summer and just started up again last week -- he loves it! His physical ability amazes me! It's a great age for them to learn how to use their bodies (and release a little bit of energy!). We just had class this morning and he's now been asleep for 2.5 hours -- an hour longer than a nap on any other day!

[BeachBum]

Hi guys.
We had Henry's party last night---lots of fun. You can see the pics here if you are interested.
I'm so glad it's over though. :) I was pretty disappointed b/c 2 kids (and families) didn't show up. They both called, but I had still made personalized favors and food for them.

Henry was so excited and "got" the whole present opening thing. It makes me really excited for Christmas. He was so sweet saying "fank you" to the gift givers. It made me feel good.

I hope Ashley and Noelle both had great birthdays too. Great pics of Griffin's birthday party. The music theme was a cute idea.
Kim, you were totally cracking me up about the YAGE thread. I read most of it and had NO FREAKING IDEA who they were talking about. It is so funny because I've been a member (at WC then here) since 2001 (yikes) but am so not in the know about any goings on around here. I don't read journals, I don't LJ or have off board conversations with anyone. I spend way too much time on the computer as it is--I couldn't imagine how time consuming it would be to keep up with all that.

Sandie-I really like the name. Tumbling sounds so fun. I wish we had that nearby for H.

[Sandie78]

Happy Birthday Addy!

I tried to look at your pics Beachbum before you removed the link, but the website wouldn't work for me...

Zach's party was yesterday. We had lots of fun. Here are some pictures:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1180/1352036468_efd3f84c7f_m.jpg
A rare one of the whole family
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1076/1352036070_ba650b2269_m.jpg
Just after blowing out the candle.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1032/1351146575_a262f68e43_m.jpg
Playing with his bubble blower.

[Cr8nme]

Man I am a slacker!!! Noelles birthday was tuesday but we had her party yesterday... It went well and I will post pics soon! Noelle got into her first fist fight and she ended up knocking the girl out the chair :eek:

Happy Birthday Babies!!!

We still aren't ready for #2 but we are thinking this time next year... I may have my IUD taken out in July or April...we shall see...

Oh I went on an interview friday and I REALLY want this job its a tremendous opportunity and an incredible raise with 100% paid benefits which is wonderful considering what my companie charges right now... The commute would be about 15 more minutes than I drive now for a total of 40 minutes but for the extra gross I am fine with it.

Noelle is starting a new school on Monday... I had a lot of drama at the last school even to the point of the director thinking I wanted her husband(who is a pastor) :eek: lo and behold she started being rude to me and one of the workers pulled me to the side and told me(which was wrong) and I told them she would be leaving a few days later...they called me into the office and it all came out... that he had a childout of wedlock and so forth. However I don't even come there once a month Alex picks Noelle up and drops her off EVERYDAY LOL so needless to say she is moving and it was time! i love her new daycare!

Well I have rambled enough..everyone enjoy their saturday!

[solongtogo]

Noelle got into her first fist fight and she ended up knocking the girl out the chair :eek:



This is not at all funny, but I had to chuckle a bit at the thought of tiny little Noelle getting in a fist fight :D

[cr8zyforaf]

cr8nme - OMG...I agree with Lisa...so not funny, but funny at the same time. Go Noelle!!

tumbling - we've had A enrolled for about 6 months now and I love it - it took her awhile and the first two months I felt like it was a waste of money but she has really has picked the stuff up recently.

Sandie - Zach is so cute and I love the name.

Beach- I wasted so much time on finding out the mystery...childish really but I loved every minute of it. I am also usually out of the know but I was so proud that I actually figured it out.

Ashley's party went well, despite that it was about 100 degrees outside...we rented a moon bounce and a snow ball machine - the moon bounce had to be supervised because it was so hot- we had to limit the time and then send the kids inside. The party was extremely hard for me...I missed my dog so much - he would have loved to be out running in our yard with all the kids. It just doesn't seem fair.

Today she started her new school. This is more like pre-school and not daycare. I got choked up when I left her - she looked like such a big girl.

[AlisonCO]

Caitlin wanted to wish Alexander and Anthony (her fellow 09-10 b-day friends) a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

She is having a good day although we really aren't celebrating until Sunday. We did go to a trampoline/foam pit place to play this morning and are going out for ice cream after dinner. Gosh, I just cannot believe that she is 2!

Happy belated Birthday to Addison!

Sandie - cute pics - I can see your little belly:)

Cr8zy - I am so glad that A's party went well - milestones after a pet dies are very hard - after our lab died the first christmas was so hard because he always had a stocking that we filled plus he loved wrapping paper.

[PrincessCrappy]

Happy Birthday to all of our little ones! This month is just flying by -- I can't believe all of our babies are growing up so quickly!

Griffin took a 3 hour nap and I spent most of the time shopping online! I got some great deals at Gymboree and Old Navy -- both are having great kid sales right now. Must.put.away.the.credit.card....

[BeachBum]

I hear you about the shopping Carrie! I'm done (I swear I really am) shopping for Henry for fall/winter. We have such a mild winter it is like fall for everyone else. He does still need shoes but I'm trying to hold out until it gets cooler to see if his foot will grow more. The kid is currently an 8!

Not much going on here with us. We are both loving having new birthday toys. I hadn't realized how bored we were with out other things. Our favorite gift was wedgits http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MWLYQddDL._AA160_.jpg


QOTD: How much total sleep is your kiddo getting? I think H is getting about 13 total hours (11 over night and 2 hour nap) and I'm wondering if this is about right.

For those of you who do a toddler/twin bed---does your child sleep with blanket or sheet?


Really cute birthday pics Sandie!
I'm sorry my link didn't work before. Here is the link for Henry's birthday for those of you who are interested <removed>

[randysmandy]

BeachBum Cool widgets! Hunter sleep with either a sheet over him. I don't tuck it into the bottom of the bed in case he goes under it for some reason (never has in 6 months) Or a blanket just thrown on him. He hates to be covered at night, so I have to do it after he falls asleep. Sleep: 10 hours at night and 2 hours during the day=12 hrs.

Last year Old Navy had thier 95 cent sale...anyone see this yet? I'm thinking they aern't doing it this year.

[Sandie78]

Beachbum I love those little train cakes. Where did you get the molds?

[hmbay]

sheet/blanket--we have a sheet on his bed and a loose blanket. Sometimes he points to them and wants them but most times not. I just dress him warmer and he seems to prefer that. My first was the same way. It took until last year when he was about 3 to get him to actually sleep under blankets. until then I just put him to bed in footed sleepers.

[PrincessCrappy]

Beach -- That train party looked SO awesome! All of the extra little details you put into everything turned out perfectly. I love seeing pictures of everyone's family. You're house looks super cool, too!

QOTD -- Griff gets 11.5 hours at night and about 2 during the day. I'd guess 12-13 per day is about average for this age.

So, not only did I buy a ton of fall/winter stuff online recently (ps. We live in San Diego -- we don't even have a fall or winter :rolleyes:) I just went through his "next size up" box that I keep in his closet...it is overflowing with shorts/tees/pants. I really went overboard this time! I guess it's just been so long since I've seen boy stuff I really like.

Scott and I have been having pretty heated conversations about baby #2 lately. However, we just reached an agreement last night. He wanted another baby like yesterday, I want another baby in a year or 2. Our agreement is that we'll wait until next spring/early summer to start trying. Griffin would be 3.5 when (hopefully) a new baby arrives. I think this is just perfect for our family. Griffin will be established in his routine of preschool and not have to deal with too much changing all at one time. I'll have some time to myself while pregnant and he's at school. Of course this is our "plan" which means anything can happen...

[AlisonCO]

BB - H's party was so cute and he is adorable!

mandy - I remember that sale at ON too - I hope it is again because I really stocked up.

clothes - tomorrow is going to be cool and wet so I pulled out C's fall stuff today. I need to get a few more basics that match current things that I have. I always go over board on fleece - I can't resist toddler size fleece - so Caitlin probably does have 5 fleece tops but we do have a true cold winter so they will be used.:)

QOTD: How much total sleep is your kiddo getting? I think H is getting about 13 total hours (11 over night and 2 hour nap) and I'm wondering if this is about right.

For those of you who do a toddler/twin bed---does your child sleep with blanket or sheet?


Caitlin sleeps from 8ish to 7ish and then 2 hours in the afternoon so 13ish total.

Aidan didn't sleep under a sheet or blanket last year, but this winter I might try the flat sheet. He does sleep with a blanket but it ends up all balled up after a couple of hours. It has been really cool the past few night and Caitlin will not keep socks or a blanket on so I need to find some footed pjs for the winter.

Caitlin's party is Sunday afternoon and I found out today that Aidan was exposed to strep throat this week at school:(- oh I hope that they don't get it.

[Cr8nme]

Noelle is in a twin and I just throw her sheet over her after she is sleep as she doesn't like to be covered...

Sleep~ Noelle is sleeping about 13 hours a day

[Brink]

QOTD - We just recently got something from her pre-school (yes, pre-school!) and it said they should be sleeping a total of 13 hours per day. Aimee is only getting about 9-10, so we need to change something around our house. She goes to bed around 9:00 and sleeps until she wakes up, which is usually before 7am. I don't know how to get her to sleep longer.....

[BeachBum]

Beachbum I love those little train cakes. Where did you get the molds?

It is a williams-sonoma cake pan. My mom got it for Christmas for us last year. They are still available though.
I did corn bread in the pan and it worked well. I think I am going to try some muffins for H this week. :)

[BeachBum]

I'm so behind. Happy birthday to everyone. I'm too lazy to look back and see who that is. Just counting the days until #3 so I'm a bit lazy and absentminded. ;)

Any news? progress? How are you feeling?

[solongtogo]

QOTD - We just recently got something from her pre-school (yes, pre-school!) and it said they should be sleeping a total of 13 hours per day. Aimee is only getting about 9-10, so we need to change something around our house. She goes to bed around 9:00 and sleeps until she wakes up, which is usually before 7am. I don't know how to get her to sleep longer.....


Just because a kid "should" need 13 hrs of sleep, not all kids do, so if whatever you are doing is working for you and she's totally fine and not a cranky kid, then I wouldn't spend a whole ton of time obsessing and worrying about it.

[PrincessCrappy]

Just because a kid "should" need 13 hrs of sleep, not all kids do, so if whatever you are doing is working for you and she's totally fine and not a cranky kid, then I wouldn't spend a whole ton of time obsessing and worrying about it.

You know, Lisa, I totally agree that "shoulds" are just guidelines and don't necessary make sense for each kid. However, I've found in most cases that when there's whining and misbehavior -- it's almost always an overtired child (or adult ;)). For some reason, sleep just doesn't seem to be a priority for a lot of parents. We push our kids to stay up late when there's something we want to do, we overschedule them and almost always seem to end up with a serious meltdown. We have made it an absolute priority to keep Griffin on a sleeping schedule. It means we leave a lot of get togethers early and eat dinner out with the early bird specials -- but we end up with a well rested, mild mannered kid during the day! We all do the best we can for our kids, I just wish more parents would look at sleep as a possible reason for misbehavior. I think there would be a lot fewer upsets when the kids are playing on my street if everyone had gotten to bed on time or a nap during the day...

[Brink]

All three of my kids are usually pretty good. So, why on the day of pictures does it all go downhill..........

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m65/Brink_06/s41156ca106165_36.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m65/Brink_06/s41156ca106165_42.jpg

Most of the other pictures at least one of them is crying!

[hmbay]

I'll catch up later--just wanted to drop off a quick post:

Sabrina Brianna was born Saturday, Sept 15th at 11:43 pm. Another successful unmedicated VBAC but I won't lie. Since she was bigger than Alex (she was 7 pounds 10 oz and 20 1/2 inches long) it hurt a LOT worse. Happily I managed to get by with only one small tear that didn't need stitches. We got home today and are all trying to adjust. I'll write a proper update in a few days. Until then here's a picture link for you all:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t=IMGP0772.jpg

[pixiecat]

Congratulations Heather! And welcome baby Sabrina!!! What a superwoman you are. :) Can't wait to hear more about "life with three" soon.


Brink - your girls are so darling!

[charmcitygirl]

hmbay congrats!

[cr8zyforaf]

hmbay - congrats!!!

brink - the girls are adorable. I give you props for actually taking three kids to get pictures...if that were me, I would have just passed. I think they turned out cute!

sleep - I have talked in depth with my pedi about this - she said guidelines are just that - they are usually averages with extremes on both sides factored in. She said if Ashley seems fine, not to worry. Ashley only gets about 10 hours on a good day including nap.

terrible two's - this has hit full force. Everything, and I mean everything is a war with her. She wants to do everything herself, throws tantrums at the drop of a hat and is just a generally difficult child. I've spoken with her teacher's and the doctor and then assure me this is normal but I am starting to wonder. On average, it is taking us 2 hours to get her out of the house. Dressing is a nightmare - she won't wear pants, refuses to put socks on and hates shoes. Wiping her face p*sses her off, brushing her hair is a nightmare....it is awful. Is this normal? Is anyone else dealing with this?

[Brink]

Hmbay - Wow - I didn't realize you were this close! I am so excited for you and your new expanded family. Can't wait to hear the details - take care and get rest (yeah, right!).

[randysmandy]

HMBAY Congratulations!!!! I couldn't see your pictures..
have fun settling into a house of 3.
Brink What a bunch of cuties--you better keep your doors locked when they get older haha

Terrible 2's: My god how can they go from such sweet angels to little people who think they can do everything themselves! Hunter would not get dressed this morning and pulled on his PJ shirt so I couldn't take it off. Needless to say a little Wiggles saved the day! Everything is a fight too and man does he like to hit! He doesn't seem to care that he will get a time out, but when he does he cries and then apologizes after 2 min. He's going apple picking with his daycare today-Mommy has to make a pie I guess ;-)

I decided this weekend that I want another baby. I think we are going to start trying at the end of the Winter. We just don't feel "complete".

I met the surviving twin of Nicholas this weekend-man was it tough seeing my friend's sister. But she held it together and her daughter Lucy is so little-only 6lbs 8 ounces!

[Sandie78]

Brink Adorable pictures. The twins are growing up fast.
HMbay Yea! Congratulations! I couldn't see the pics.
Terrible twos We have our good days and bad, but overall Z doesn't seem to be as strong willed as you are describing Ashley. I would guess what you're experiencing is normal, but maybe you'd want to look into some books about strong willed children.

Dr Appointment Zach had his 2 year old visit today. He is 35" tall and weighs 29lbs, 11oz.
Baby My due date is 3 months from today. In some ways that seems so far away, but in other ways it's oh so close.

[AlisonCO]

Hmbay - Huge CONGRATS to you and your family! Sabrina is such a pretty name.

Brink - Oh the cuteness! As long as A doesn't seem overtired, I wouldn't stress too much about "normal". DS has always been on the low low end of normal sleep - he just doesn't need as much sleep as some kids. 13 hours per day seems on the high end anyway.

PC - ITA. Just this past Friday I was out with friends to a fondue rest. and when we left at around 10:40pm there was a family walking a toddler out. I know, maybe he goes to bed later and sleeps later but I just couldn't help thinking that they were dragging him out so late just because they wanted to go out regardless of what affect it might have on him.

cr8zy - we have some baaaad terrible two moments here also. One thing that royally pisses C off is when we are at the library and she has to give her books and dvds to the librarian for 20 seconds to get checked out - without fail she freaks even when I prep her ahead of time. Thankfully for most of the daily stuff as long as she gets alot of choice, she is fine.

mandy - I am so glad that Lucy is doing well!

Caitlin's party went well - she had so much fun! My parents got her a a 9 piece doll playset like a stroller, high chair, swing, play mat - and she got a doll that pee's on a little toilet that looks like a mini Bumbo seat. She did not want to go out yesterday and kept saying "go home and play." Here are a few pictures:

http://www.allsam.com/20070917/images/091707_11.jpg
http://www.allsam.com/20070917/images/091707_39.jpg
http://www.allsam.com/20070917/images/091707_25.jpg
http://www.allsam.com/20070917/images/091707_56.jpg

[hmbay]

ugh wonder why the link didn;t work? Here's the picture instead but it's huge:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/hmbay/Sabrina/IMGP0772.jpg?t=1190176867

[Brink]

Hmbay - AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH - She is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

AlisonCo - Ok, the first thing I thought of when you said the dolls toilet looks like a bumbo is - I can't get one of those dolls for Aimee. We have two bumbos sitting in the middle of my living room floor for the twins. I could just picture Aimee getting the wrong idea from the doll and using the twins seats for her own purpose!

[cr8zyforaf]

hmbay - ohh...she is so cute....congrats.

Alison - Caitlin is so cute - she has such a sweet smile!

[PrincessCrappy]

Heather - She is just beautiful!! Congratulations!

Alison - The birthday pictures are so cute! Caitlin is looking so grown up!

[Kay2003]

Hi everyone,

I haven't checked CC in a month and just read the entire new thread. I was thinking of all of you tonight because tomorrow Kaito turns 2. Happy belated birthday to all of the little ones who have already turned 2. I really enjoyed seeing all of the pictures.

congrats Kim! Congrats on the pregnancy news (I know I'm late on this).

hmbay - congrats on your second september baby!

brink - can't believe how big your twins are now.

sleep Kaito sleeps around 11 hours a night. He has been going to bed later, though. He takes a nap between 3 - 5 and we put him in his crib around 9 or even 9:30. Sometimes he is up for a half hour singing until he falls asleep.

no big boy bed yet - Kaito climbed out of his crib with a thud one morning and that night I bought a crib tent. But we haven't had to use it. He hasn't tried to climb out again.

partyWe have a party for Kaito a week from tomorrow with 65 people coming (includes babies and kids though). We are just hosting a breakfast at a park with a new playground.

thank youGood night, all of you. You have all been such a great source of support these past few years. It really is amazing that I have "known" you for practically three years now, since when I was suffering from morning sickness.

[Brink]

Good morning everyone! We had Aimee's party yesterday. It turned out really well. We were supposed to have an outdoor swim/bbq and it ended up raining. All turned out ok with moving the party into the house. We set up the bouncy house in our playroom and the kids had a great time. Her actual birthday is tomorrow - can't believe it has been two years. Amazing how much has happend in that time.

Happy belated birthday Kaito! Good luck on your party - sounds like it will be huge!

[Kay2003]

Hi Brink! Happy birthday to Aimee. Lucky that your play room was large enough to hold an indoor jumpy house!

[BeachBum]

hmbay--congrats she is so precious!
Caitlin is such a cutie. She is adorable playing mama :)

Well Henry had his 2yr WBV yesterday. He is 37 1/4 inches! and 30 lbs. On the positive side the ped said he has the verbal skills of a 3 yr old. She was wowed by what a chatterbox he was.

On the down side--<<deep breath>> he seems to be behind with his fine motor skills and is being referred to an OT. Oh man, it is just so hard to hear that something might be wrong! I know it is the right thing to do to get the eval and move forward with strengthening his motor skills. But internally I am freaking out!
I had noticed that Henry couldn't really build with Duplos, get his trains set up on the track, finish one of those knob puzzles but I didn't realize he was actually behind.
He is not persistent and gets frustrated easily. Unfortunately this terrible trait he got from me. :( When he can't do something he gets frustrated and quits or wants me to do it.
So we will be following up on this ASAP. I'll keep you guys posted.

Other than that things are good here. We've been enjoying storytime at the library, finger painting, and playing outside.
It is still a gazillion degrees here and I'm so ready for a reprieve. We are heading to Disney at the end of October and hopefully it will be coolish then. I really wanted to go immediately but it is just too damn hot!

Oh--here's a tip for you. Keep your child from being scarred for life. ;) I had no idea how terrifying the motion sensor halloween decorations at target were. I'm cruising target and Henry clings to my leg "Mama, I so scared. That scary witch stuck her tounge out at me. Her laugh so scary". He has been talking about nothing but the scary witch for 2 days now. I wish I would have known how upsetting it would be.

[AlisonCO]

hmbay - Oh, she is so cute - I hope everything is going well!!

Happy belated Birthday to Kaito, Naomi and Aimee!!!

Brink - glad that the party went well!

BB - I replied in your other thread, but hugs! Aidan developed a stutter last year and it is hard to hear that your child might have a delay/issue. It does sound like H's verbal skills are very high so perhaps that is his strength right now. Thankfully he is young so any delays he might have can be addressed now and be very successful, I'm sure:).

Funny about the halloween decorations - DH took the kids to a craft store last week and the kids got the crap scared out of them by one of those mummies that makes the "ooooooooooh" sound when you walk by. DH thinks it is funny to tell the kids that he wants to be a mummy for halloween.

Speaking of Halloween - I bought an adorable cow costume for Caitlin at a consignment store last week for $5. It is a white one piece with room for many layers (it is always miserable here on halloween.) I hope that she lets me paint her nose black.

[Kay2003]

beachbum - I can't believe how well Henry is expressing himself about being scared re:Halloween decorations. How did the ped recognize that he may need some additional consultations about the fine motor skills? Kaito gets frustrated when he can't do something too (also just like me). As Alison noted, it's great that you're so on top of this now. Hugs!!!

Alison- good find at the consignment store! : )

I'm not sure why but I just can't get to sleep tonight. So I'm on CC... Good night!

[cr8zyforaf]

I just wanted to let you guys know - at my dr. appointment yesterday there was no growth and no heartbeat - I have a d&c scheduled for Monday since my body still thinks I am carrying a healthy child. I am in shock.

[BeachBum]

Oh Kim, I'm so, so sorry. I said a little prayer for you.








Kay-
When the Dr. and I were talking she was watching Henry play with a toy. It was a car that had 3 figures to go in it. He was having trouble getting them in the slots and was frustrated. She mentioned it and I said that I was concerned a little. I asked for ideas to work on fine motor. She suggested that we send him for an eval and I could get some good ideas from the OT. And we could find out if there was indeed a problem.

[AlisonCO]

Kim, I am so very sorry for your loss. Please know that I am thinking about you and your DH. Hugs!!!

[hmbay]

Kim--I'm very very sorry.

[Brink]

Oh Kim, I am so sorry. I know how excited you were. You will be in our thoughts. Hugs to you and your family.

[Kay2003]

kim I am so so sorry. HUGS!

beachbum - I'm impressed your pediatrician watches your son play with toys. Our ped doesn't seem to observe him, just ask us questions about his development.

[jo&sean]

Kim - I am so sorry :( You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[pixiecat]

Kim - I was thinking of you today :(


Happy Birthday to all the September (and August!) babies. I think that wildcat's and mine were the last, so we are all two now.

We had a great birthday - the big party is this weekend. Sure hope that this rotten cold/flu/whatever goes away soon.

I'm loving my "big girl." She sings, "reads" to me, so cute! The rough times are pretty rough (read: seatbelt wars!) but 95% is awesome. DH is having a great time too, now that she is a bit older.

Hope everyone is well.

[randysmandy]

KIM I am so sorry to hear about your loss.....my pryers are with you.



This weekend we went to an our of town wedding, which was so much fun and Hunter was awesome for my dad and stepmom.

Hunter is 100% potty trained during the day, but I cannot get him to sleep good-never could. He will read in his room an hour before bedtime, but then gets wound up and wants to lay in my bed and watch Baseball then he falls asleep. We were doing well for about 2 months now he is up til 9 again. What to do!?

Beachbum Hunter just learned to do Leggos and it does take him time to get things completed. Have you tried playdough modelling/painting with a brush rather than fingers? Maybe using utensils more or simply pushing buttons on toys will get him heading in a steady speed. Yes I diddo the ped comment...ours just asks questions and checks him, no observation.

Hunter will be a fireman for Halloween-just orderd it online. He's very excited!

[Brink]

Hi all, just cross posting on an update for the girls.

So, we had our developmental appointment yesterday. The girls did really well. They have a scoring system for all of the different areas of development, fine motor, gross motor, social, verbal, etc. They say they like to see a score of at least 85 in all the areas. For the girls ACTUAL age they scored some in the high 70's, 80's and even one in the 90's. Then when they look at ADJUSTED age, they scored in the mid 90's to 110. So, they are somewhere between their actual age and their adjusted age. They pointed out tons of things that we already knew (who was stronger at which skills, etc) and some excercises we are supposed to do with them. All in all a pretty good appointment. Oh, and they are 17.8lbs and 25 3/4 inches. That is the 10th percentile for height and the 50th for weight. I have some short chubby girls on my hands!

Aimee is such a terrific big sister. She is really into the babies and sings to them all the time. I just love that little girls so much. I can't wait until the twins are that same age. Our house is going to be such fun!

[AlisonCO]

cr8zy - How are you? Thinking about you!!!

Brink - Yeah for a great appt - that is so awesome that the girls are doing so well!!

BB - Did you have your eval appt with the OT yet?

mandy - Yeah for PTing going so well!!

We are doing well. Caitlin had her 2 year check up yesterday - she is 24 pounds and 33.5 inches tall. Lately she has become so independent - she wants to do everything by herself but gets so frustrated if she can't. SHe can put her undies and pants on by herself,but not her shirt or jacket. She loves to get undressed and then come hand me all of her clothes. She is a tough cookie too - hardly cries when she falls or scraps her knees. She also continues to wear undies most of the day.

Halloween - if you are going to dress your kiddo up, what are they going to be?

Caitlin is going to be a cow. Now she is saying that she wants to be a cat, but the cow costume is a white one piece with a cow face hood so I might try to find a cat ear headband just in case. I hope that she will let me paint her nose black.:)

[cr8zyforaf]

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts. I am OK...d&c was Monday and I am just back at work today. Things are hard...I just feel so empty. DH is anxious to try again - me..not so much. Not sure I want to at this point.

Brink - I am so glad to hear the girls are doing so well. That is such great news.

Beach - have you had the appointment yet? I've been thinking of you.

Mandy - glad to hear PT is going so well. I got Ashley a book (I think it is My Potty Book..about a girl named Prudence) and she is about 80% there - she has #2 down and we haven't had poop in a diaper in weeks..but pee is a different story - esp if she is doing something fun.

Alison - Ahh..yes, I do it myself. Ashley wants to do EVERYTHING herself - even things she possibly cannot do - and if I help her (say, get something off a shelf) she will throw a fit, put whatever it is back on the shelf and 'do it herself'. Good times.

All the halloween costumes sound great. Ashley is going to be Nemo...which she loved in the store and now refuses to put on. Now she wants to be 'pooh bear' which I have no idea where that came from.

She loves her new school - they are taking a bus trip to the pumpkin patch in a few weeks - so being the over protective mom, I am going as a chaperone..there is no way I am putting her on a bus at the age of 2.

[randysmandy]

cr8zyforaf I'm sure the word empty can't even describe what you are feeling.....silly question, but how long do you have to wait before you should get pregnant again? Awesome about potty training. Maybe you'll have to combine the 2 costumes haha.
Alison Caitlin is a string bean, but a cute one at that! can't wait to see the cow. Are you and DH getting dressed up like last year?

Hunter is going to be a fireman and his costume came today1 He tried it on without hesitation and was admiring himself in the mirror-everyone post pictures after Oct 31st! I think we should post last year and this year for fun. It's our first halloween in the new house so we are excited. However, our houses are so spread out that we might go to my old neighborhood-last year was INSANLY FUN! And I dress up too. Or to our common for the parade and costume party.
Dh and I had dinner tonight while my aunt took H to my cousin's hockey game. He hooted and holared the whole time-he LOVED it. He'll probably want to be a hockey player for halloween! Now I'm drinking some wine and chatting it up :p

[BeachBum]

Thanks for asking about our appointment with the OT. That was very thoughtful.:)
It was yesterday and went fine. The OT ask me repeatedly why we were there. She said she absolutely saw no problem. While fine motor may not be something he excels at he is not behind.
The biggest problem seems to be his lack of persistence/ lack of focus. Unfortunately that is a personality trait he got from his mama. He just has no desire to try again, or to still still and do a table top activity.
The OT suggested that I hide puzzle pieces under sofa cushions etc so that Henry could do something he likes in between putting the pieces in, rather than making him "sit still" to do those types of activities.

If I find any other tips in the handouts she gave me I will post them. :) I wish that we had been posting "what to expect milestones" in this thread. It would have been nice to have it right here on what they should be doing and what is coming next. I used to be so good at looking that stuff up--but rotten mama that I am I haven't in a while.

Henry is going to be a monkey for Halloween. We bought the one from ON and it's cute but I feel so guilty. At heart I am a make your own kind of gal. But I don't sew well enough to "make" a costume, but we always cobble together instead of buying a suit.
Alison, they had cat tails and ears at PBK and I don't recall them being too $$.

[Brink]

Cr8zy - Where did you find a Nemo costume? That is Aimee's favorite thing in the world. I haven't been able to decide on another costume. And, they are so expensive. I have three little ones now and I refuse to pay $50 per costume for a couple of hours. Not sure what we will do at this point.

[solongtogo]

Hey guys,

Things are going ok in my neck of the woods. Courtney is doing very well, she's a busy little bee. Today when we left for daycare (it's dark here in the mornings and the moon is out) she pointed up and said it was outer space. Not sure where she picked that up, but it was terribly cute. She's going to be a witch for Halloween. We're going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow, and I'm irritated because the weather here has been NOT fall, but summer. It's going to be like 85 degrees tomorrow. When we went last year, we wore our winter jackets.

I'm 15 weeks pregnant, and doing ok. I haven't felt the baby move yet, and I'm starting to worry, but my next appt isin't until the end of the month, so I'll wait for a while longer before I freak out. I haven't felt so good this week, caught a small stomach virus on Wednesday, and can feel a cold coming on now. I don't think I've gained any weight or very little...food dosen't really do much for me anymore, and I haven't have a proper appetite in months. Whatever, though, could be worse :) They moved my due date to March 27, and will pull a week early, so I'm going to try to convince them for a March 17th birthday. We'll see if I'm lucky on that one :)

That's about all I can think of, I don't lead an exiting life.

[cr8zyforaf]

Brink - I am going to PM you also - but the Nemo costume is on sale at Disney store for 13.99 (I paid 30)....

Nemo (http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10051&productId=1187588&langId=-1&categoryId=11852&catalogFromSearch=10002)

Beach - great news about the appointment. I've also gotten lazy - I have no idea what she should be doing these days.

[randysmandy]

The thread was SLOW this weekend-was everyone out enjoying the weather. I picked the wrong day to apple pick-it was about 60 and drizzly out. Oh well..we still had fun. What a change from last year. Hunter walked around eating an apple and picking them from the low branches. He even picked out his own pumpkin!
DH and I were talking last night and he doesn't think we can afford another child-we have 2 houses and money is super tight. I'm sad. Maybe things will change within the year.
What a great work week-only 3 days for me :-)

[BeachBum]

Hi Every one!
We went up to North Carolina for the week and had such a nice relaxing time. The weather was still hot for up there, but was much cooler than it was here. We did a little hiking, shopping and got to go to a corn maze/pumpkin patch. Henry just had a blast. We don't really have fall activities here, so I wanted him to have a chance to experience it somewhat. Unfortunately there wasn't much color because of the heat and their dry summer.

Things are good here. Our backyard project is rocking right along and we are really enjoying it so far. I can't wait until it is totally finished. Henry has already enjoyed playing in our new grass, and splashing in the fountain. We are putting a small sandbox in for him this week.

I feel like we have started to hit the terrible twos in many regards. Henry will cry over just about anything. He wanted to be the one to turn the light on, he can't get his shoe off, the blocks fell over etc etc. Man, it is so annoying! He whines constantly. If I punish him or speak to him in a mean voice he gets so, so upset. He is just really sensitive I think.

I might have tramautized him for life yesterday. I bought the movie, NEMO, and turned it on while I was making dinner. DH was sitting on the sofa with him. But Henry got so scared and started crying. He was really upset about Nemo getting separated from his family--then he got upset when Nemo got caught in the net. I mean I had to turn the movie off. Have you guys had reactions like this to movies?

Anyone thinking of Christmas yet? I know some of the toys are starting to come to Costco etc. I've been buying a few things on sale and socking them away, but I haven't come up with a "big gift" yet. At first I was thinking a train table--but Henry isn't that into trains. I'm not sure if it is because we don't have a good place to play with them or he just isn't that into them. I mean he likes them--but doesn't choose them daily. Anyway, I'd love to hear about what's on your list. :)

[randysmandy]

Christmas We are looking forward to Christmas, but not the gift buying. Money has been so tight since we now have 2 houses. But we plan on getting Hunter anything to do with cars, trucks, animals. He loves them all.

Terrible 2's hit at 15 months for us, but they are getting worse. I guess they last til way after 3-yikes!

This weekend we are having Octoberfest at our house w/ college rommates and friends. I just can't believe Halloween is a 2 weeks away!

[AlisonCO]

Christmas - I haven't thought about this too much yet (still recovering from the b-days). I think that one thing that I would like to get is a 2 sided easal - the kids both love to paint. Otherwise, I need to do some looking around. They are also getting passports since we are travelling to Canada in the spring.

Have you guys had reactions like this to movies?


Yes from Aidan. I just wrote in the movie thread that I have never taken A to the movies becasue he gets scared/upset at something is almost every movie. We mostly stick to videos like Diego, Little Einsteins etc. Caitlin, on the other hand, could care less.:)

We are doing well. We seem to be in a good space right now. Caitlin has mellowed a bit in the past week in terms of meltdowns and tantrums, though she still likes to test. She is eating well, sleeping well and generally in a good mood. After much thought I got her a flu shot this year - with A is school (and most of his classmates have older siblings) I just think that the pros outweight the cons this year. She did fine but told the nurse that she was "not nice!"

[Sandie78]

Movies Zach doesn't mind Nemo, but we've recently started watching Chicken Little and Zach gets upset when Chicken Little gets stuck on a piece of gum in the road. He also gets upset by one of his Thomas videos when an elephant from the circus sprays one of the trains.

Traveling We got back from a trip yesterday. It was a 10 hour drive each way so we took two days to drive it each way. Zach did ok in the car, but it wasn't the most fun way to spend 20 hours.

Christmas It has definitely been on my mind since DD is due 12/18. I'm trying to get all of my shopping done by the end of this month.

Terrible Twos Zach has been really whiny lately, which is beyond annoying, but we've been a bit more consistent with discipline and he seems to be responding (for now anyhow).

[pgbg]

I know I don't post here much, but hi everyone!!
Just wanted to comment on the movies -- we always skip the beginning of Nemo b/c it scares DS, and actually there's a bunch of scenes in that movie that scare him. He's obsessed with Cars but we skip the part where they go tractor tipping b/c that scares him too.
He keeps changing his mind about halloween costumes, so I haven't gotten one yet. First it was a bird, then cookie monster, now lightning mcqueen (I don't like that costume at all -- it's a car he wears over his shoulders) so I'm hoping he'll change his mind again.
He's adjusted well to sleeping in his big boy car bed, but recently started getting up after we put him down and early in the morning when he wakes up. I don't know what to do about it, but at least he does sleep through the night ok and naps there (with a fight!). He also is going through a "denying the baby" phase :rolleyes: He used to rub my belly and talk about the baby, now whenever anyone asks him about it he just says NO! Sigh. Hoping that will pass!!

[Sandie78]

Read this for a laugh So I went to the hair place today to get my eyebrows done. I took Zach with me. He did pretty well sitting in the seat next to me. Then he noticed there was a sink behind him. He turned the water on full blast and it came shooting out of the shower nozzle that the hair people use to wash hair. I hear the eyebrow lady saying "no don't touch that!" open my eyes to see her leaping over to the sink as water is spraying 5 feet in the air and hitting the other wall. Zach is meanwhile screaming and crying because it totally blasted him in the face. I was so embarrassed, but it was also soooo funny. The lady got some towels and we wiped down the wall and the floor and everything else that got soaked. Luckily the lady was good-natured about it. She even commented that it was like an episode of "I Love Lucy." Zach sat quietly the rest of the time.

[Brink]

Sandie - very funny - I was waiting for the part where she waxed off your eyebrow because it made her jump! Lucky that didn't happen.

[BeachBum]

Sandie--that is soooo funny!

Yesterday we were standing in line at world market. Henry points at the woman behind us in line and says "her wearing pajamas". I tried to do the ignore, so of course he says it again but louder. The cashier starts cracking up but trying to control it and I glance at the woman and they are not pajamas. But, damn they do look like pajamas and something that should never be worn in public! It is a matching knit set that is lavender with little animals all over them. HA. I was a little embarrassed, but it was so funny.

[Sandie78]

Sandie - very funny - I was waiting for the part where she waxed off your eyebrow because it made her jump! Lucky that didn't happen.

Thank goodness that didn't happen!


Yesterday we were standing in line at world market. Henry points at the woman behind us in line and says "her wearing pajamas". I tried to do the ignore, so of course he says it again but louder. The cashier starts cracking up but trying to control it and I glance at the woman and they are not pajamas. But, damn they do look like pajamas and something that should never be worn in public! It is a matching knit set that is lavender with little animals all over them. HA. I was a little embarrassed, but it was so funny.

Hey, he was just being honest. ;)

[cr8zyforaf]

Oh, those stories are so funny. This is such a fun age I think, despite that we are in the throws of the terrible two's.

Christmas - things on her list are a small picnic table for the deck (which my mom is getting her), a small table and chair set for the kitchen, an art easel (which MIL got from Costco), puzzles (i did get her a lacing puzzle already), playdough set, books, a toy box, winter wear (coat, gloves, boots, ski pants..we are thinking about taking her skiing in January), the singing aquadoodle. I think that is it - I am in the process of putting her big girl room together and ordering her furniture- I picked up a really nice set from Capretti so we won't go overboard - between the bedding from Pottery Barn and the furniture - we are broke.

Here is a recent picture of A....I think shutterfly works here:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7ce03b3127ccebe1fe4105a2800000026109IZt3Lho0o

movies - nope - she doesn't seem bothered - Nemo is her favorite - although I do skip to the first day of school scene and cut out the whole family getting killed scene which I just think is horrible. She also loves The Jungle Book - Bare Necessities is her new favorite song to sing.

[Brink]

Cr8zy - Wow, A has really changed. Wasn't her hair blonde before? She has such beautiful blue eyes. We do the same thing with Nemo. I do scene selection and skip to first day of school. The opening stuff is just so dark! She hasn't had any bad reaction to a movie yet (she loves the shark scene!). She just changed to "Cars" a couple of days ago. Now I ask if she wants Nemo and she says "no, I want race cars", so that's where we are.

We have Aimee's 2 year appointment on Wednesday. It will be interested to see her stats.

[solongtogo]

Kim- she is such your carbon copy! I said it before...you are in HUGE trouble when she's 16

[philnikki]

Hi guys! I know keep in touch with many of you on LJ, but I wanted to say a quick hello to everyone here. I haven't been around in awhile because I was trying to avoid CC and the drama for a bit, and I think I am ready to come back into my mommy's group at least :)

Ava is growing like crazy and is throwing tantrums about every ..00005 seconds. I wouldn't trade her for anything though - even when she is slapping me in the face ;)

Kim - Adorable picture of A....she has the prettiest eyes I think I have ever seen!

Here is a recent one of Ava:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c139/philnikki/Ava%20Pics/September%202007/September2007513a.jpg

[PrincessCrappy]

Hi everyone -- Just a quick check in. My family was evacuated Monday at 2 am because of the fires. We just returned today. Thank God all we are dealing with is a little smoke from some windows that were left open --- so many others have lost their homes. If you're the praying type, please pray for the people of San Diego.

It was great popping in here and seeing some new cute pictures -- it's amazing how "our" kids can put a smile on your face!

[cr8zyforaf]

princess crappy - praying for everyone out there - please keep us posted. I am hearing it is now suspected that this was arson..that just makes me sick.

Nikki - Ave, as always, is adorable. Congrats on baby #2

Thanks for all of the compliments on A....she is a keeper :).

[Brink]

Aimee had her 2 year appt. today. She did so good at the doctor. She sat there very still while they checked her heart/eyes/ears and all that. She didn't even flinch when they pricked her finger for the iron test. She did scream with the two shots, but only for a second or two. My brave little girl! Afterward I was so proud of her that we took her for some icecream. She has never had icecream at an icecream place before. You should have seen her trying to decide what color she was going to have - turned out to be the orange sherbert. She just kept raving about her orange icecream.

Well, stats are: Weight - 26.5lb and Height 33.5. They say she was in the 50% for both.

Welcome back Nikki and congrats on baby #2.

Princess - so relieved to hear that your house survived. I can't imagine how scary that must be.

[philnikki]

Princess - Yikes!!! I am so glad everything is ok. Friends of ours live in Chula Vista and luckily they are ok too.

Brink - how cute about the sherbert. You are braver than I...we always go with vanilla :)

[jo&sean]

Hi everyone. Just checking in to say hi and say how cute Ava & Ashley are! Great pics :)

PrincessCrappy - I am so sorry that you had to be evacuated! My thoughts and prayers are with everyone there.

Brink - Orange sherbert is a great choice :) That is really sweet you took her for a treat.

Sorry for no other shoutouts. I have been really busy but I can't complain because I did it to myself. I bought a new horse and she arrived the end of September so if I am not at home, I am at the barn. Of course, I have started something really bad because Addison LOOOVES the horses. DH has no idea what this means....

Addison is busy, busy with the craziest words ever. Yesterday she informed me she all out of patience when I asked her to patient on the drive home from school. "NO MORE patience mommy", "Addison no paitience!"....you get the idea. I had a hard time driving because I was laughing so hard.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

[AlisonCO]

cr8zy - what a cutie! I love the dark hair and blue eye combo.

nikki - welcome back! What a cute kiddo - her pigtails are adorable! CONGRATS on #2!!!

PC - I hope that you all are still safe and that the fires are under control now - thinking about you!!!

Brink - so cute about the ice cream!

We are doing well. We had beautiful weather this weekend so we went for lots of walks and carved several pumpkins. The kids had SO much fun telling daddy what kinds of faced they wanted and what shape parts to add. Caitlin loves happy faces so she wanted them all to be smiling where Aidan wanted lots of small sharp teeth. Caitlin also made sure that ALL of the pumpkins had ears and eyebrows - even the little tiny ones.

I hope that you all are doing well and had a great weekend! I can't wait to see halloween pictures.:)

[randysmandy]

Cr8zy A is a cutie pie!
Nikki Welcome back--we missed you. Congrats on #2....I couldn't help but notice your Avator. Ava looks the same-cute as always!
Our babies are adorable and so grown up!!!


All you second time mommie's make me want another. I just don't know if we can afford it. Any advice from those who have done it already?

Hunter is at his halloween Party today as a fireman. I will post a pic of him after tomorrow.....He cries everytime I bring him to daycare. He missed a whole week cause he was sick and now he has to get back into the groove. He is still caughing up stuff, but his mucus is clear-good sign. We went to the drs last week and they said come back if he gets worse, but he's getting better-as am I, but DH is just getting it. Hopefully he will be ok for T or T tomorrow night.

Hunter will NOT go to bed in his bed...we fought with him last night and he ended up with us again. It's terrible when we end up in the spare room for some one on one time :( i'm not sure what to do. He still has his binky and I gave him a choice....binky or our bed (What is really better? He needs to get rid of them both) He chose our bed-OY. Then wanted his binky-fought again and he won-again. Advice? Is my son running me or what!?

Fires: So sad how many homes and lives are being lost. My heart goes out to them.

[Brink]

Randysmandy - it is definitely expensive to have another (or two!). We just figured that we wanted more than one and it was never going to get any less expensive so you might as well just do it. We had all three in daycare for a while and it was costing about $2500 per month. We have since pulled the twins out of daycare and got a live-in au pair. Now we are about $1900, so still really expensive, but we have live-in help, so we justify it. Any chance one of you can stay home? I don't have any advice on the bed/binky. Aimee still gets her binky at night, but she has never slept in our bed so we have not had to deal with that one. I figure I'll keep giving her binky at night for a while, I don't see the harm in it.

I can't wait for tomorrow night and Trick or Treating with all the girls. We are going to a friends house where Aimee can go out with her best friend. They are going to be so cute! Can't wait to see the pictures of all of our little ones.

[randysmandy]

I just realized I have coupons for Old Navy which expire today. The web codes are:

HBBF7
HBB7

[randysmandy]

Oh my gosh-I meant CHILDREN'S PLACE. For 15% off.

[solongtogo]

Brink: does your live in nanny live there 24 hours a day? How did you go about finding her. Not that I'll be doing that, but it's just curiousity.

[Brink]

Yes, she lives with us (we have a 5 bedroom house). We used an agency that does all the background checking, etc. She is actually an Au Pair (which just means she is here on an au pair visa from another country). The one we have is from Costa Rica, but the one before was from Brazil. You can set a profile with all your specifications (english level, experience, etc.). We did get one bad Au Pair between our Brazil and Costa Rica. She was from Bosnia. Her english was really bad and she didn't have much common sense. She was only with us for about 2 weeks and we told the agency it just wasn't working. So, they found her another family and sent us the girl from Costa Rica. She has been great. Even though they only work 45 hours per week, they end up helping a lot more than that. She eats dinner with us, so after she either takes care of the kids or cleans up the kitchen. When you have three little ones, that in itself makes it worth having someone live-in. Sorry for the long explanation!

[wildcat]

brink - This au pair thing is interesting to me. So, is the $1900 the total cost fo the au pair per month? When we have 2, we'll be paying $2100/mo...maybe we could afford a nanny instead? Not sure about the live in thing?

[randysmandy]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf23b3127ccebf5aa601f72f00000025109BauWrZu4Y
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf23b3127ccebf5aa2f876e400000026109BauWrZu4Y
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf23b3127ccebf5aa60a761400000025109BauWrZu4Y
Hunter was a little freaked out by going to everyone's door, but he did good and had fun. He made out like a bandid....or should I say Mommy and Daddy did? I can't wait to see everyone!!

[Brink]

Wildcat - we are still paying for Aimee in daycare and the twins with the Au Pair, so that is why we are still at $1900 per month. With an Au Pair, you pay an agency fee of about $8,000 per year ($660/mo) and then you pay the au pair direct about $640/mo. So the cost of the au pair is really about $1300 per month. They can take care of up to 5 kids (we just left Aimee in daycare because she loves her friends so much). They also do the laundry and clean the kids rooms. They are supposed to prepare all the kids meals and do any errands that pertain to the kids. I'm sitting in my office right now working and can hear her unloading the dishwasher from last night. If you can tolerate someone living in your house, it's really a great deal.

Oh, I can't wait to see all the halloween pics (hunter looks fabulous!)

Here are all of our girls.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2396/1828891732_732d732803.jpg

And Aimee by herself.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2148/1828058981_a9737db16f.jpg

[cr8zyforaf]

OMG...Aimee's hair is so long. The twins are adorable - I can't believe how big they've gotten.

Hunter is also so cute.

Ashley also loved trick or treating. It was also my birthday - so DH got a cake and they both sung to me..which was sweet.

Here she is making her best fishy face (we had to bribe her to get her into the costume)

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf23b3127ccebf5db2f2970300000025102KZuGjdmxw

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b7cf23b3127ccebf5db2e5162400000025102KZuGjdmxw

[PrincessCrappy]

Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts to those of us in San Diego. Things are slowly getting back to normal.

I love the Halloween pictures. I want to see more!

Brink - I can't believe how big all three of the girls are getting! When did that happen?

Randysmandy - I love the fire fighter! Hunter is so handsome!

cr8zyforaf - How do you resist those cheeks? The cutest fish ever!

Here are some shots of my "cooker" as he liked to call his costume. He loved halloween! I was so proud of him -- he was the only kid in our group to say "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every house! By the end of the night he said, "giffin go home now".
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_4346.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb44/princesscrappy/IMG_4324.jpg

[Sandie78]

I love seeing everyone's pics! Seriously, such cute kids.
Here's Zach. I couldn't get him to hold still to take the picture.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2046/1831688286_cbe79008e1.jpg?v=0

[AlisonCO]

Oh my goodness ALL of the costumes and kids are SO cute.

We had such a fun halloween. We had some friends and their kids over for pizza before trick or treating. All of the kids got dressed together and kept pointing and laughing. We went out for about 45 minutes and the kids would have gone longer but it was getting bitter cold.

DH and our little cow saying Mooo
http://www.allsam.com/200711/images/110407_16.jpg

All bundled up
http://www.allsam.com/200711/images/110407_21.jpg

The day after Halloween where of course it was so warm we wore short sleeves
http://www.allsam.com/200711/images/110407_04.jpg

cr8zy - Happy belated Birthday!!!!


live in nanny's/aupairs - interesting that this came up. My friend who has 3 kids under 4 just hired an au pair from Romania so that she can go back to work part time. They actually "share" the au pair with another family and so she doesn't live with them.

[BeachBum]

Hi Everyone.
Great pics! I just love seeing the kids. Oh how I wish we could all meet in real life! It would be so fun to see all the kids together :)
Things are good here if not a bit blah. I haven't popped in in a while because I haven't had much to say. But I figured if I used that as my criteria I'd never pop in--so hi! :)
It's been so quiet! We used to talk constantly here!

Well Henry finally weened. I'm really happy, but it's bittersweet. I wanted it to be on his terms, and it was--so that is really good. I just wish I would have known the last time was the last time. KWIM?
We've been thinking about moving him to a BBBed. Are we about 50%/50% in this group for who's in a bed? Henry has been sleeping so well that I don't want to change anything. I mean he'll even say, I'm tired it's time for night night. We read some books put him down and we're done till morning. I just have visions of him coming in our room everynight. I suffered enough the first year that I deserve a good sleeper now!

[AlisonCO]

BB - it would be SO fun to all meet and have one big playgroup! I hear you on the weaning, I sometimes still get a bit sad that it is over for us but I am so glad that it happened on such good terms for you and H. No BGB here - she is still quite happy in the crib so we will go with it for awhile longer.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!