9 months

Olivia,
Sweet Olivia. You have a new “word” nah nah. It’s how you get my attention so looks like I am going to be nah nah for a while. Maybe even forever. Last night at the supper table you were trying to get my attention so badly that you started screeching nah nah so loud we all stopped talking and looked at you. Your screech was so intense we thought something was wrong but just as soon as I looked at you and asked “what?” you started cheesing it up. We think know that you are a little lot spoiled. And an attention hog.

You have officially started cruising and can stand for about 15 seconds with out holding on to anything. You try and talk so hard to us and already have so many different sounds when you talk. You get very intense about things and will study something hard and then turn and look at me and try your best to talk about what you just saw. You have two teeth and there is no food that you wont eat. Well, except for yogurt but only because it’s cold. You’re not a fan of cold stuff yet.

You love to stand at the window and talk to the world out side. You love to tear all the magazines to shreds and you love trying to find ways to escape the barricade I had to create in the living room to contain you. You’ve already gotten stuck between the couch and playpen twice and you got stuck on a table. You dance at the music from your piano and start talking really loud when it comes on. Sometimes you talk really loud when I am rocking you to sleep and I have begun to think that you are trying to sing when you do this.

My absolute favorite thing that you do though is play hide and seek with me. For instance, you will be in your bed crying your eyes out (not really because you rarely have tears) like the whole world is crashing in upon you and the moment I open the door and you see my face, you take a nose dive for the corner of your bed, hide your face, and pull it up slowly to look at me with a big grin and then you find the corner again. You definitely have a little whit about you already. You think so many things are funny and if we laugh at something you do, you laugh and do it again to make us laugh some more. If my predictions are correct, you will be our little clown.

James and Audrey still think you are the cats meow and love to entertain you and play with you and just everything about you. James loves to get in your face and make funny faces and you most always laugh at him. Audrey is still obsessed with your feet. And I do mean obsessed. She told me the other day that if she could, she would cute your feet off and eat them because they are so yummy. Wowza.

The trials of a 4 year old

In a previous post about the YMCA I mentioned the issues a certain member of our family has with the nursery. I will elaborate on that today. When I first found out that there was a nursery I could hardly contain my excitement! I had become an avid gym member at our local gym 3-4 nights a week a couple years ago and really got in to it. Jon was a sweetie to take the bath/bedtime shift so I could go after supper. Then I got pregnant with Olivia and all desires of exercising or exerting myself more than was necessary went out the window. Period. During my pregnancy Jon decided to go back to school and get his master’s degree so after Olivia was born the night time routine was all me and at the end of that the last thing I wanted to do was go run a few miles. So when I discovered the nursery at a place that had far more weights and exercise equipment than our local gym has ever dreamed of providing and where I was definitely going to be coming at least 2 times a week I said “Where’s the dotted line?”

When I first explained to the twins what we were going to do they weren’t quite sure of it. After all, this would be the closest they’ve been to day care! They had been seeing the play ground and that intrigued them slightly. Then when we got in there and they saw all the toys they were even more intrigued. But even though I had been talking it up for a day or two and made sure they understood that I was coming back and that all the grownups that worked there were nice or I wouldn’t leave them in their care, James started to cry a little. I reminded him he was going to get to swim afterwards and that helped. It also helped that he had Audrey by his side who seemed untouched by the fact that I was leaving them in a strange place with lots of strangers.

After about a week or so of going he started to complain when I’d say they were going. Here’s how that first investigative conversation went and many more after that:
James: Mama!!! I don’t want to go to the nursery!!!
Me: Why not????
James: Because I don’t like it there!!!
Me: Why not?
James: Because it’s not fun there!!
Me: But I thought you liked it??
James: No. I don’t like it.
Me: Well, you have to give me a reason
James: That mean boy said we were babies
Audrey: Yeah!!!! He said we were babies and we’re not!!!!
Me: Well, when he starts to tease you just go play somewhere else

A couple visits later.....
James: I don’t want to go to the nursery!!
Me: Why not???
James: Because it’s not fun there
Me: Why not? There’s tons of toys and a play ground
James: But that mean baby pinched me on the face!!!!!
Audrey: Yeah!!! And that mean kid called us babies!!
Me: He called you babies again???
James: No.

A couple visits later......
James: I don’t want to go to the nursery!!!
Me: Why not????
James: Because it’s not fun there!!!
Me: But every time I come pick you up you are always having fun. I can see you!!!
James: There’s nothing but baby toys there and it’s not fun!! And that baby pinched me.
Audrey: Yeah!!! And that mean kid called us babies!!!

A couple visits later....
James: I don’t want to go to the nursery!!!!
Me: Well, you are going. End of story.
James: But it’s not fun there!! (crying now) It’s all baby toys!! No big kid toys!!!
Audrey: But James, I like the nursery.
Me: Rolling my eyes and seriously tired of the same argument every single time

A couple visits later....
James: I don’t want to go to the nursery!!!
Audrey: But James it’s fun there!!
James: No it’s not
Me: James, has the big kids picked on you any more?
James: No
Me: James, has the baby pinched you any more?
James: No
Me: James, do the grownups let you watch t.v., give you snacks, do arts and crafts with you and let you go outside most of the time?
James: Yes
Me: Well, you need to forgot about the “bad” things that happened to you and just enjoy all the fun things that you get to do. Can you do this for me? I really like to workout.
James: OK

Every single time I say we are going we have pretty much the same conversations. Audrey likes it and James does not. James got a bad taste in his mouth those first few times and now it’s just a stigma he has. However, now that the weather is always pleasant at the end of the day and since we have changed times they are always out on the play ground when we get there. This has seemed to help a little perhaps. He left a toy there on Monday and is so excited to be going today so he can get his toy! Even though it’s been rather tiresome having to have the same conversation and hear the same whiney complaints time after time, I’m glad we have encountered this experience at this point in his life. And I feel like I have to say that all the ladies that work in the nursery that oversee the care of James and Audrey (and Olivia too) are wonderful ladies. Any parent can “sneak up” at any point and time to “watch” how their children are being treated and I have never once encountered a child being mistreated or seen someone turn a blind eye to inappropriate behavior (such as big kids picking on little kids). I feel very confident in this and if I for a moment thought James had been or was being improperly taken care of for the short hour I leave them there, I wouldn’t leave them. Seriously, James just doesn’t forget things and takes things very personal!!

Graduation

Maybe the title should be “advancement” but whatever. James and Audrey graduated (or advanced) from their Pike class to a Guppy class in swim lessons. They are doing so great and love every single minute of it!!! Last month we switched days and got a different teacher and I am so glad that we did. Coach Amber is beyond wonderful. The kids adore her, respect her and have learned so much in just the month we’ve known her! Audrey has come so far, so, so far. I am so proud of her as she now jumps off the diving board into the 12 feet deep water and swims to the bottom in the shallow water to get toys. And James continues to amaze me at his natural skill. He picks up every new thing almost instantly and glides through the water like a pro. I think I can see a swim team in his future!! The downside of advancing? The Guppy class starts 40 minutes later than the Pike class and lasts about 15 minutes longer so our Monday’s and Wednesday’s just got a lot longer! But, it’s well worth it.

Michael Jr. in position :)

James’ best bud in the whole world started lessons

last month and the 3 of them had such a blast together.

But Cason started about 4 months behind them so he is still in 

Pike classes. But they still get to splash around together for

a few minutes anyway!

(

Just Sayin'

And they wonder why I don’t let them check out books from the library any more.

Leap Day

Ever have one of those months where you feel like you are experiencing extreme parental failure at every turn?  February has been that way for me. I do account for the fact that it’s the end of the winter and we’ve been sick around here pretty much the entire month. And then throw in the few personal trials that have occurred and affected our routine and my ability to “cope” and February is one for the tanker. I don’t like to wish life away because “The days are long and the years are short” but I am glad that this month is over.

I love the days where you wake up with your big girl panties already on and are ready to go the moment your feet hit the floor! I’m sad to report that the majority of this month I have had to put those big girl panties on and then stretch them up to my chin. Not to mention the fact that I’ve had to keep pulling them up all day long because they keep slipping. Maybe I’ve lost some weight or something and just need a smaller size.....

It’s been such a struggle for me to get out of the bed every morning lately. I have to make myself do it. I am ashamed to say that Olivia has played in her bed for longer than I like to admit most mornings and James and Audrey have jumped on me, shaking the living day lights out of me, more times than I’d like to remember begging for cereal because they are "starving and if I don’t get them any cereal they are gonna be so starving.” Disclaimer: I’m not talking 8:00 or later lazy, I’m talking 7:15-7:30 lazy. 

There have been so many scraps and arguments and ridiculous shrieking and hitting and pinching and far to many unnecessary tears shed. All between James and Audrey I might add, well just the hitting and pinching parts anyway. Ha! So much of the time I don’t know if what I did and said was the right thing to try and remedy the situation. I hate questioning my parenting techniques. Now, I am by no means saying that I have months upon months where I never doubt or regret what I’ve done or said because I am far from perfect. But I do have moments where I know what I’ve done was the right thing. And I know the words that I spoke were the right ones. Even if my measures were harsh, they were what was needed to be done or said at that moment. I wush my life, my parenting skills were like that all the time. I wush (as my Audrey says) that I had a play by play, step by step manual for these kiddos I call mine. But I guess we wouldn’t need faith if we had that, would we?

Housekeeping comes in at whole nutha level. I must say though that I have grown in this area. I don’t like to be lazy or too busy and fall behind in the housekeeping but there has been a little inner peace that’s been instilled inside me when the house isn’t in tip top shape at the end of the night. Used to I would feel so guilty seeing one room or lots of rooms in shambles when I made my way to the bed for the night. I don’t feel guilty any more I just feel disgusted that I have more work ahead of me tomorrow. Ha! I have found that if I wash 1-2 loads of clothes a day or sometimes every other day and fold and put them away then the laundry doesn’t pile up and I don’t have to waste an entire day catching up on that. I used to have one laundry day and I would spend the whole day folding and putting them away. I’ll never go back to that. It’s so easy to fold and put up 1-2 baskets full verses 6-7. I would always get burnt out and then there would be piles laying around for days and ones that needed to be ironed hanging on chairs for days and mismatched socks laying around. And there’s nothing that I hate more than socks that don’t have a match.

No no, Livi

That being said I have fallen grossly behind in the day to day chores this month. I have got to step it up next month. I have a crawler on my hands and even though I keep her corralled for the most part and don’t let her roam free unless I am right behind her watching her every move or my 2 big helpers to make sure she doesn’t put anything in her mouth or pull something on her head, I have got to step it up people!!! It’s all about perspective so much of the time and I am determined that March is going to be a fantabulous month around here!!

p.s. y’all don’t know how glad I am that I don’t live a reality t.v. life and there are no camera’s following me around for every one to see how many times I “drop the ball!” Just saying.

Of glamour technicians and back seat drivers

Audrey and James played beauty shop the other day. They were quite sneaky about it. They had been getting along swimmingly that morning, playing in their room together ever so sweetly. I got a little suspicious and peeked in on them on time and they were behind Audrey’s doll house playing like they usually do when playing with her doll house. So, I quietly closed the door and went back to whatever it was I was doing. A little while later while I was giving the baby her bottle Audrey came up to talk to me and I thought her hair looked a little “strange.” I knew I had asked Sis. Jenny to trim the ends off when they were with them last week but it just looked so weird. So I said “Audrey, did Sis. Jenny cut your hair?” And Audrey said “Not last time.” That’s when it hit me, SHE had cut her hair. So I shriekingly (my spell check tells me that “shriekingly" is not a real word....) said “Did.you.cut.your.hair?” And she sheepishly replied “But James gave me the scissors.” I tried hard not to freak out but when I went in their room so she could show me the evidence, I found a ton of hair. And not just her hair. Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Meringue and Blueberry all saw the glamour technician that day. The more hair I found, the shriller my voice got. It could of been a lot worse, I guess. She could of given herself a nice set of bangs straight across the forehead but she opted for the side swept look. She took 2 big chunks off the front up to her chin so my Peach is sporting a cute little bob now.

The evidence that I collected

The sassy little bob

James oh James. I love him. I do, really I do. But sometimes.....he can be so aggravating. Now I know he doesn’t mean to be that way, all of the time, but when he gets in these moods of it is his way or the high way you just about can’t live with the little guy. And you should try driving in a car with him. Oh good grief he will make you want to pull your hair out!! He is the world’s worst back seat driver. I just thought my daddy and uncles were bad. Last Sunday I literally threatened to leave him on the side of the road in the rain if he didn’t hush. We were like 20 miles from the church we were going to and we passed a church that he saw out his window and for the next 20 miles he insisted that I had passed the church and had to turn around. He was NOT havin that I knew where I was going and that we did not pass our church and that we did not need to turn around. I tried every volume and every tone of voice that I possibly have but there was no convincing him that "his mother knew what she was doing". So I eventually started saying “You are right honey. Ok, we do need to turn around.” And that would satisfy him until he saw that I was not turning around and he just got even more put out with me because I wasn’t turning around. I am not kidding you when I say that this lasted the entire trip to the church(and lets not forget all the red lights I ran and stop signs I didn’t stop at). And when we pulled up in the parking lot at Cool Springs I said “Well, James, did your mama know what she was doing or what?” I got a sheepish little grin and a barely audible “Yes, ma’am.” Every time we get in the car these days he sees a red light that I ran or a stop sign that I missed or he thinks I am going the wrong way and just hardly wont be convinced other wise. I love him, I do. Really I do but the back seat driving has got to stop!!!!!

Upset because he wasn’t holding Alivi!

Now he’s happy!

Disclaimer: I would never really leave my son on the side of the road. Rain or no rain :)

8 Months

Olivia,
Words cannot express how much I love you and how thankful I am for this precious gift that God has blessed me with in you. Especially this month. One of my dearest and oldest friends in this world had to give her precious gift back to her Heavenly Father this past week. The day that Cooper left this world, I loaded you and the twins up in the van and headed up to Aunt Betsy’s to go be with my friends during their trying hour. That night, you tossed and you turned and just would not settle down. I was utterly exhausted and just wanted you to go to sleep so that I could do the same. But you would not settle down unless I was holding you, so I laid you on my chest and softly cried thinking that I should not be aggravated that you wouldn’t sleep but be grateful that I still had you to keep me up at night. We fell asleep together that night and it is a precious memory I will always hold in my heart. We far to often forget that WE are not in control. We can do the right things and try our best to keep you safe and pray daily for you but in the end we are all in God’s hands and His ways are not our ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts. That knowledge is comforting and at the same time scary.

Now on to some lighter things that have happened in this month. You cut your first tooth on February 13th and I jumped for joy and then started crying because it’s just one more milestone you have met which means my baby is growing at lightning speed. You also spent your first night away from me on February 14th when I had to go up to Atlanta. It was a little sad for me but Sis. Jenny said you did just fine! You have mastered the art of crawling and can stand for long periods of time with out toppling over. And you have started to let go with one hand.

I’ve started giving you a little table food and you tear it up. I gave you a few mushed up red beans and rice the other night and you couldn’t get enough of them! You got cornbread last night and scarfed it down. You love to eat white bread too which probably means you are gonna be a little carb lover like your big sister!!

Another thing you have mastered is the Drama Queen stage. You fuss just like a little Pris pot never really fussing, just kind of squealing. It can escalate though to full on fit pitching if you are not catered to in a short amount of time but you can turn the tears off just as quickly as you can turn them on. You can have the biggest crocodile tears about the smallest things but you are quick to be settled as long as you are not hungry. If you are truly hungry for your bottle, oh boy. Ole Livi don’t play no reindeer games about her bottle!

You have the best laugh and the biggest, bestest smile in whole world. You love to cuddle and to be loved on. You have a small top half and huge bottom half which makes us laugh and call you thunder thighs. James and Audrey still think you are the greatest thing since frozen gogurts except when you get them or their stuff wet with your slobber. Which you are prone to do. I count it a joy and an honor to be your mama my darling.
I love you to the moon and back,

Mama