You Could Sleep With Me

Pea just had a bad dream, so I went into his room to settle him. After some time,a I said that I was going to go back to my own room to get some sleep and he said, "Mommy, you could sleep with me. I pwomise I won't kick you".
So sweet.

No More Training Wheels!

Last week, we took the training wheels off of Pea's bike and this happened:

Wobbly Bike from K & J on Vimeo.

He was and is SO proud of himself and has been enjoying the freedom of riding his "wobbly bike" without training wheels. Such a cutie!

Swimming Pool Fun

The twins have come a long way...I mean, a LONG way since that first sad foray into swimming at just 5 months of age.  Now, not only do they love to swim, but their passion for the water is so strong that J. and I both knew a pool for the backyard was needed in order to keep them happy through the summer.
It's not a large pool (just 12 feet in diameter and only about 30 inches tall) but the kids have been having a blast in it and that is all that matters. We were in the pool this afternoon when I told J. that I thought Pea would be swimming under water within weeks. Just minutes after, Pea decided he wanted to dive for Chick's goggles.  Once he started, there was no stopping him.  Cute li'l bug.

A Perfect End To January

This morning, the kids and I woke up to fluffy white snow covering everything in sight, so after breakfast we got all bundled up and drove over to our favorite park.

Is there anything better than making footprints in freshly fallen snow?

Pea fell on his bum trying to get up this little ramp.  He was not impressed.

Even in Winter, Chick loves a good swing.

This photo was taken right before Chick decided to jump backwards off this structure.  She landed flat on her back, cried so hard she had a breath-holding spell, then collapsed in my arms.  Not fun.

The aftermath.

It didn't take long before she was back to her giggly self.

All the while, Pea kept a concerned eye on the goings on with his sister.

We made shapes in the snow.  Pea is standing in the middle of my heart. 

We took a little time to practice our letters in a fun way. Pea followed my footsteps as I made the letters.

This picture exemplifies our son's personality to a tee.  He's going to be THAT kid.

Cheeky monkey!

Happy Chick!

Happy Pea!

Goodbye, January 2012. Bring on February!

Changes

We've been immersed in potty training Pea these last two weeks and things have gone very well.  The only setback we encountered was when we'd put him in underwear.  Thinking it was a diaper, he thought he could use it as such.  It took a few days of consistency for him to finally comprehend what the underwear was for, but we think he's finally got it.  We've been accident-free for three days and counting!  This morning, he woke up with a completely dry diaper, to boot.  What a boy!

Chick has been completely soother-free for almost two weeks. She used to only get it for naps and at bedtime and then once she was asleep, we'd take it away from her. Now, using the cold-turkey method, she no longer gets it at all.  She is struggling with getting to sleep as a result, but we will persevere. She gets up and out of her bed several times at nap and bedtime and this is causing frustration on all of our parts.

Due to Pea's sleep issues, I always, always rocked him to sleep for naps and at bedtime.  When we decided to take away Chick's soothers we also made the decision to no longer rock Pea to sleep.  Oh, man.  It took three days of Pea bawling in his bed and screaming for me for over 45 minutes, but finally he figured out how to get to sleep on his own and stay asleep.  He is currently chatting away in his bed while he tries to soothe himself to sleep.  No more tears.  His only request now is that I keep the door open.  No problem, my love.

So, a lot of changes are happening around these parts.  None of them easy, but all will be worth it in the end. 

Sicky McSickerton

We should have known not to tempt fate.  About a week ago, J. and I were talking about how lucky we were that we'd never had to deal with the flu with either of the kids.  Neither one of them has ever had an episode of vomiting (aside from when they were newborns).  I even noted that someone had told me to line the way from the child's bed to the bathroom with cheap shower curtain liners in order to prevent any mishaps along the way. 

Sure enough, fate came knocking last night.  We put the kids to bed as per our usual routine and both seemed to be quite happy and normal (as normal as our kids can get).  At 10:00pm, Pea started whining in his bed.  Because Pea sometimes wakes early in his sleep, I let him whine a little, hoping that he would put himself back to sleep. Nope.  The whining escalated to full-fledged crying, so I did what I normally do and headed up to his room to soothe him back to sleep.  I was lying next to him with my arms around him when all of a sudden, he erupted.

From 10pm until 3am our little bugaboo's body couldn't get a break and it was heartbreaking.  He didn't cry, whine or carry on.  He simply used his little bucket when he needed it and then curled his body back against mine when he could.  J. had the job of laundering everything in the middle of the night, while I provided some much needed snuggles (best. job. ever.).

He's still not 100% today, but has eaten two popsicles, a container of yogurt and a piece of dry toast.  As luck would have it, snow started falling late this afternoon and by tonight, big flakes were floating quickly to the ground.  The outdoors has always proven to be the best remedy (or, at least the best change in perspective) when illness strikes. So, we bundled up the kids and headed outdoors to build their first ever snowman.  We were outside for about 40 minutes - just enough time to bring a cute blush to my little boy's pale cheeks. 

Two Year Molars

Chick and Pea will be 28 months old on December 16th and I have been anticipating their two year molars since long before their second birthday.  Pea began teething at around 5 months of age, so I suspected he would get his two year molars early, but that was not the case.  I kept waiting and waiting and wondering what to expect when those difficult teeth finally made their appearance.
Last week was challenging, to put it mildly.  Pea, my typically calm and collected boy, was difficult to please, was whiny, territorial and aggressive.  Very unlike himself. Presuming teething issues, I gave him ibuprofen periodically, but it didn't seem to help that much.
Sure enough, tonight as I was brushing his teeth before bedtime, I rooted around inside his mouth and felt the bud of a new molar.  On this right side, his gums were very swollen.  Poor sweetheart. 
Earlier today, as J. and Chick were at gymnastics, Pea and I played in Toys R Us.  He found a little plush horsey and walked the store with it the entire time we were there.  Since I rarely buy anything new for the kids, I decided to use some gift cards we had to purchase this little horsey for Pea and a little lamb for Chick (she LOVES singing Mary Had a Little Lamb).  It has barely left his side today and, as he drifted off to sleep tonight, he held it close to him still. If only all of his future life's struggles could be appeased with a plush toy.

First Haircut

Pea's stylist, Laura (a very sweet girl from Manchester, England) did a fantastic job with his first haircut. Though we didn't talk to him about what was going to happen beforehand, he was an amazing little client and all the stylists remarked how wonderfully behaved he was (and Chick too as she was patiently waiting in the big, comfy chairs). There was no crying, whining or squirming. He sat stoically and waited sweetly for his curls to be lopped off. I'm hoping those curls aren't gone for good.

Sundays

Sundays are good days around here. We usually make sure that all laundry is done before the weekend and that all errands are completed before Sunday so that we can have the entire day as a family and not have to run around anywhere if we don't feel like it. Chick has gymnastics in the morning, but the rest of the day is free. On this particular Sunday, J. was enjoying televised football and I was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Chick was up in her room playing and Pea was singing his little heart out while playing with his mega blocks.

I am disabling comments on the blog for a little while - maybe forever. I have been reading a few blogs of late whose authors have chosen to disable comments and something about it intrigues me. My email address will stay in the sidebar in case anyone wants to ask a question or send a message.

Bear Just Had Enough

Since the babies have been walking, they've taken a new interest in Bear. Namely, using his tail as a reign or a lasso. Bear tolerated it for as long as he possibly could until...
Just in time for the big birthday party tomorrow. Pictures will be GREAT!

Don't worry. It looks much worse than it is. He cried for all of 20 seconds, then was back to bothering Bear after we cleaned him up.