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D.C. Area Babies
Pre-holiday check-in!
Mostly because I want to AW how cool my kid is right now, but we'll get to that in a minute ; )
What's new?
What's challenging?
What's Santa/The Hannukah Armadillo bringing LO? (Bonus Bump points if you get that reference!)
The DC Nest. Winers welcome.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pre-holiday check-in!
What's new: C is just so incredibly adorable and learning new things everyday. He loves the Christmas tree and has done really well with it and says "tree" all the time. I'm a little worried that he thinks trees are only the triangular shaped things decorated with lights and ornaments though! He looooves Jingle Bells and will try to sing/babble along. He likes to finish big with "sleeeeeigh".
What challenging: he's getting bloodwork done for food allergies next week. I'm not 100% convinced that he's over his milk allergy and he's had odd reactions to certain foods (corn, strawberries, eggplant) so I hope this will clear things up. He has also had some stellar tantrums lately. At his dr. appt. last week he was "that kid" flipping out in the waiting room. Screaming and crying at the top of his lungs because he couldn't have a certain toy. Ugh. He is seriously lucky that he's so cute and charming 90% of the time.
Santa is bringing C some shoes (fun right?), books, a play kitchen (if Santa's elves get their butts in gear and put it together) and a sand/water table that he probably won't use until next summer but was too good a deal for Santa to pass over.
And for fun, vintage eeclems from last year:
Oh yay, the perfect procrastination excuse!
What's new: I am really enjoying this age - minus the tantrums. I love how DS is such a mimic - "mixing" with a spatula and bowl, "brushing" his hair, and picking up measuring spoons and babbling into them like he has a phone to his ear. I also love his "dancing" - he bobs around to music adorably, which makes the Jimi Hendrix t-shirt he got from oct15bride for his birthday very apropos.
What challenging: I told ladies at the cookie GTG that ignoring tantrums doesn't work with DS, because he will just follow me into the adjacent room and start the tantrum anew. At least he's learned to review his environment before flinging backwards. We had a "that kid" moment a few weeks ago when we were asked to leave the children's playroom at the library because DS had a tantrum when I wouldn't let him throw books and the librarian told us "they had a level of quiet to maintain." While I totally agree with her, it was mortifying - and probably only the first time!
St. Nick is bringing DS this cart - thank you very much for the coupon code - and whatever else his doting grandparents come up with.
And vintage from 2009:
What's new--Conrad is being a beast of a child lately. We've decided that it's not teeth, it's not Maggie, and it's not getting sick. It's just being 32 months old. Or something. That's about all I can say about him today. He has his spectacular moments, but I feel like he spends most of his day crying lately. Makes me feel like crap.
Maggie is 10x better as a baby than Conrad was. It's probably b/c she is actually being treated for reflux, whereas his went undiagnosed and completely ignored. It's nice being able to hand her off to DH and he'll actually be able to put her to sleep. She doesn't require you pacing with her all of the time, will sit quietly on your lap, and likes her carseat. I think if we had had her first, the kids would have been much closer together in age. Not screaming 18 hours out of the day really makes a big difference!
She is smiling up a storm and trying really hard to laugh. I think those silent baby laughs are possibly cuter than the real belly laughs that will arrive later.
We are really excited about Christmas this year. Conrad is enchanted by the idea of Santa (but is frightened of the idea that he'll be coming in our house), and talks about him a ton. His favorite phrase is "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry ______" He'll add something on to the end that isn't "Christmas" and then laugh like it's the best joke in the world. The BEST one he came up with was this weekend at breakfast when he was cutting up his pancakes: "Ho! Ho! Ho! I have a knife!" Obviously, he didn't get why we thought THAT particular rendition was hilarious!
Pics of C from our last two Christmases:
2008:
2009 (We traveled to AZ):
That made me LOL! C is big on "ho ho ho" right now, but I don't think he really gets the Santa connection. It's just a funny sound.
I'm loving these pics!
The good: DD has taken off with talking in the last 2 weeks. It's such a dramatic difference. Now she tells us stories, references events from earlier, goes through song lyrics - it's really cute and very entertaining. Although I had no idea that 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed could provide such conversational fodder. We talk about them a lot. That and feeding the cat. She is very concerned for Diesel's well being. We set up her big girl bed over the weekend and she loves it. She talks about it all the time. I bought her sheep flannel sheets and I saw her kissing the baa baa's because she loves them so much.
The bad: Oh my has the possessive tendency taking hold. We are not into sharing one bit. Her conversation on the way to daycare is almost always about how she doesn't want to share. It's painful working with her on this issue. It leads to tantrums. Which is another new bad. She can still be mostly distracted out of them but many of them are over wanting to be held by mommy and not anyone else. Which is fine if we are home adn talking about my lap, not so awesome when we are out at the National Christmas Tree, she wants no part of the other adults or her stroller and only wants me to carry her for for the many blocks we are walking. My 36 week pregnant self just doesn't have the same energy I used to.
The Pregnancy: Baby seems to be doing well. Heartbeat and position are great (head down!) but no dilation or effacement yet. I think with DD I was dilated 1 cm at week 36 so this is slightly different. I have officially grown out of most of my clothing and have resorted to wearing really long camisoles under everything so I don't show off too much belly. I am only carrying out front and feel absolutely huge. With DD I was big everywhere which seemed to make my clothes fit better. I've also now gained more weight than I did last pregnancy 32lbs with 4 weeks to go. Eeek. Here's hoping the cookies and I can take a break.
And for your viewing pleasure, DD circa 2009
I posted about M's first day of day care below. It went really well. He was there for 3.5 hours, took a bottle, and even napped for 30 minutes. I may even leave him for a little bit longer tomorrow so I can actually get some things done to prep for Christmas. I can't believe he's almost 5 months old. Time really flies.
I am officially off of dairy and soy due to M's allergies, which kind of sucks, but he's a much happier baby now, which makes it all ok.
Very fun reading everyone's updates!!
New: DD#2 has developed a few "words"--she likes to point at things and say "dat! dat!"...the tree is called "oooph"...and when ever she wants something it's "muh muh"...like "mama" but not quite;) The 2 girls together are hilarious and very cute--DD#1 has a way of making her little sister laugh all the time that I take a lot of joy in. I'll try to remember these moments when they are fighting over clothes or boys in 12 or 13 years;) DD#1 has completely embraced the Advent/Christmas season--she knows all the words to all the songs, only wants to listen to Christmas music in the car, loves to update our Advent calendar (a pretty nifty magnetic one that my mom got) and gets a big kick out of lighting candles on the Advent wreath.
Challenging: DD#2 had a yucky stomach bug for the last week...after a week of things coming out both ends, I have never been quite as happy to see somewhat solid poop as I was this morning. With DD#1, it's the random breakdowns that can really kill a moment. She's such a great kid 95% of the time, but that other 5% she can be as bad as a hormonal teenager and you just never know some days what is going to set her off.
Gifts: DD#1 is getting a bike, a Fancy Nancy doll (just procured yesterday!) and a doll that comes with a pony...we are pretty excited to see her reaction. These three things she has been asking for since September. We have some fun things for the little one as well, but I think the fun of Christmas morning is going to be watching DD#1 get excited about what Santa brought and watch DD#2 get excited about the quantity of ribbons and paper she can play with...
No fun pics with me here at work that I can post...but I LOVE the reference to the Holiday Armadillo--that has to be my favorite Friends episode. I think I was in tears on the floor the first time I saw it.
Let's see . . . J is awesome? The end. No, seriously.
The good: He is talking up a storm - he has somewhere around 25 words, but I think his favorite might be "bus." He.loves.buses. He loves pointing them out when we're in the car, or in books we read. Hearing his little high-pitched voice chirp "Bus!? Bus!?" is hilarious.
He has the best new game, too. He hides on one side of his crib, and I/we hide on the other. Then he pops his head out, and I pop mine out and yell "Yay!" or something, and he runs over with this huge grin on his face and gives us a huge hug. Over and over.
He still says "wow" every morning when he sees the Christmas tree. He actually sees that whenever he sees any Christmas decorations. He's getting a Wheely Bug, an Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn, plus some puzzles, books, new sippies and shoes, uh . . . and probably a ton of clothes from my ILs. They've already given us two outfits they heavily hinted they would like to see him wear for Christmas. They both involve sweater vests.
The bad: I posted last week, but J had (has?) an ear infection. His first one, so of course I'm feeling like it's related to our almost-weaning even though it's probably not. The antibiotics and advice from this board have helped a lot. He's also cut four molars in the past four weeks. WTF? Molars can bite me. They've definitely messed up his sleep (earlier/more frequent wake ups).
No real tantrums yet, although last week at Mama Luccia's he did start crying (and by crying I mean screaming his head off) when I took away the knife he was banging on the table. The server brought J a plate of cookies because he felt bad that he was upset.
And, J last year (we had to prop him up on the presents!):
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
I love reading these (and it is nice to see that i am not the only one that has a kid who does 'that').
The good- she is talking more and more. And, when she says things that sound just like DH it cracks me up (we are at a red light and from the backseat I hear, "GO MAN!" or watching football on Sunday this loud voice of 'TOUCHDOWN!')Not entirely sure she know what either means but does it for the pure laugh factor.
Not sure if this falls into the bad category- but the climbing skills are really out of control. She managed to get herself on the kitchen counter last week and really not sure what to do about it. I need to put her in gymnastics. Also, she can open every door in our house so we now have the chain thing high up on our front door because even the deadbolt can be opened.
Christmas is ridiculous. From us she is getting the Wheely Bug Bee, this car ramp thing, some puzzles and books, a pillow pet and drums (DHs bright idea). My FIL, mom, dad and sister have gone completely overboard so we might be holding onto a few things for her to open next month.
And since we won't get anywhere near Santa this year- here is last years pic.
I realized I forgot to include The Gifts:
We bought her the Little Mommy deluxe set so she can be a little mommy when the baby comes as well as a Little People Play Set, Felt Food, art supplies, a flashlight and various other smaller gifts. My inlaws gave us money to do with as we wish, so with that we bought a table and chairs for her playroom, an easel, and the Discovery Tent and Tunnel. My parents bought her a portable DVD player (their idea, although I think it will come in handy) and a lot of clothing.
Question, I think DD will be overwhelmed opening everything Christmas morning so we have been letting her open packages, etc. as they arrive and will set up her playroom for the first morning in-laws are here. How are other folks doing this?
Such fun updates! Our good: Lots of talking, funny things to say along with great renditions of Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. She is really developing a sophisticated sense of humor and is so affectionate. This weekend when my IL's were here she ran up to my FIL and said "I love you, Baba!" totally spontaneously. I thought he would melt.
The bad: SHE CLIMBED OUT OF HER CRIB THIS WEEKEND. Saturday she refused to nap and played in her crib for 2 hours. Sunday she was also resisting nap and I finally went up to check on her and she was out of her crib and her room had been turned upside down! Does this mean I have to get her a big bed (she would never sleep) or get a video monitor? It has us terrified.
She's getting a doll bed for Christmas since her favorite thing is putting everything and everyone "night-night" with a blanket and bunny. We were told at daycare that they have to put her to sleep at nap or she goes around to all her friends to put them night-night and wakes them up in the process!!
the good: DD's teachers tell us she's the class leader and that the other parents ask who DD is b/c their kids talk about her, apparently she's very popular LOL; DS is doing great w/ solids and is really moving around, he can get whereever he wants. He cut his 1st tooth and hasn't been eating as much BM as before but I'm still nursing!! And still with a shield (which he loves to grab and fling across the room, especially fun at 3am!).
the bad: SICK! DD's been home since last week. Her DCP is closed from 24th til New Year's so I feel like we are throwing money away this month on day care! Apparently the stomach virus can be really bad in kids who had really bad reflux as babies. Her refusal to eat and drink is stressing me out to no end, to say the least. She's also coughing up a storm (we are nebulizing again) - having a sick child is so heartbreaking! She also got DH, MIL, and my Mom sick. She is a really Terrible Two Toddler (TTT) but a TTT who is sick....woah holy moly!!
I'm really looking forward to 1/1/11!
Here's a pic from last year, this was the cover shot for our 2009 Holiday card:
Good to hear how everyone is doing. Here's our update.
The Good: Oh my gosh, I just adore DD. It really is true that it gets more fun everyday. She just amazes me everyday with her development. The other day she picked up a paper towel from the floor and started "cleaning" the ottoman. It was so cute. She's also so playful and joyful and loves attention so it's been fun seeing her personality develop.
The Bad: We go through phases with the meltdowns and recently, she hasn't had many. It's like she tests me for a while and then realizes when I take the phone from her or don't get her what she wants that I'm serious about it and so she stops. So, it makes me feel like the boundary setting is working and that she knows I'm consistent (or at least I try to be). The main thing I'm worried about is we have a 2.5 hour flight over the holidays and DD is NOT snuggly and does not want to be on our laps. So, that will be interesting.
Christmas: We celebrated with my family over Thanksgiving so she got some legos and clothes at that time. All I got her was two Elmo books and an Elmo doll but she's already seen both because she went rummaging through my stuff. For some reason, she loves Elmo.
Sounds like everybody is gearing up for the holidays! I too love the holiday armadillo! Here's our update...
The Good: DS is generally such a happy kid. He loves to come up and give hugs and has gotten mostly past his "mommy only" phase, much to DH's delight! I think it was hard for him to not take it personally. He does this "scrunchy" smile thing where he wrinkles up his nose and puts on this whole mouth smile, and it is way too cute. He does it every time I pull out the camera now, I can't get any other pictures! Could make for interesting Christmas shots! He still isn't talking with "real" words, but is starting to use the same sound over and over for our cat, so that makes me happy! Her name is Abby, and he tends to say "AAAAAAD, AAAAAD..." While she tries to run far away of course!
The Bad: SICK here too. I got diagnosed with strep throat today, and it stinks! Since I teach 6 year olds who LOVE to share their germs, I tend to get it every few years, but I always forget how bad it hurts! DS is still dealing with a cold/cough that he can't seem to kick, so I think it may send us back to the pedi this week. He's also cutting 2 teeth which he hasn't done in a while (he got 6 really fast around 8 months, then nothing), so he is a little unhappy about that.
Hope everybody has a great holiday! Oh, DS last year...
What's new: Snuggle is pulling up on EVERYTHING. His new game is to pull up, look to see if we are there, then fall into our arms and laugh. We have created a little course for him to keep him away from the tree. Our cat has been very understanding
. We have about 3 weeks until his 1st b-day so we are gearing up for back-to-back parties. He is also talking up a storm but God knows what he is talking about!
Not too sure what is the new challenge- seems to change week-by-week.
Santa's big gift to Snuggle is a Radio Flyer Bumper car that makes noise when it smashes into something. My sis and BIL got him books where you record the pages, so each of them are reading a page for "The Night Before Christmas." Very cute.
I'm late but it's so much fun reading all of these updates!
The Good: DS is doing well in preschool and it's fun figuring out what he's learning about. They clearly have been talking about families because after a year of DH being "Nana" (after teaching DS the word banana, he associated it with DH) he is finally "Dada" and I'm no longer "Mama" but am now "Mommy." It makes me kind of sad.
DD is just a happy little baby. I tried starting her on solids a couple of weeks ago but so far she isn't interested.
The Bad: We're all sick too. Since T'giving, our family has gone through pink eye, the flu, an ear infection, a stomach bug, and now we're all battling a bad cold. I'm blaming our war against the germs on DS starting preschool last month.
I'm hoping it's only due to her stomach bug, but DD has dropped a lot of weight and fell off the growth chart. She is being assessed again in a few weeks to see if she needs addititional testing.
Christmas: DS is getting a red flyer wheelbarrow, an easel and some Melissa and Doug toys. DD is getting some books and that's about it. I'm already looking forward to next year when DS will "get" Christmas a little more.
Here is DS for X-mas 2009:
The last few months have been so much fun - and so much work!!
It seems like DS' vocabulary grows every day. We're constantly surprised when he says new things - I feel like I'm constantly saying, "How the heck do you know that???" He speaks in full sentences now, which don't always make much sense but I'm still impressed! I love that we can ask him a question and he responds so seriously, like a little man! It makes me laugh every time. Here's one from yesterday:
Mom: What did you do at daycare today?
DS: Play with friends, me Fia (sophia) play tractor. Car go vroom. Paint snowman. Sing song (proceeds to start singing ABCs).
Enter Dad.
Dad: What did you do at daycare today buddy?
DS: (sighs because he has to tell the whole thing again) I say to Mom.
We were laughing our a$$es off.
We're still taking advantage of the fact that he doesn't entirely get Christmas yet, so we only got him one gift.
He's getting a Melissa and Doug wooden train set, since he's obsessed with trains right now. Plus, it's been tough to restrain the grandparents on gifts so we know he'll be quite spoiled by the time it's all said and done!
Had a sonogram yesterday, DS #2 is healthy and kicking and thriving! Lots of squirming. Everything is measuring right on target. At my 16 week checkup I had only gained 1 pound, and I'm terrified that when I go next week I'm going to have gained like 15 in a month. Too many holiday cookies around here!
The new: Molly is talking more which is really cute. She is also a snuggler which I love since Maggie was not. She is really climbing all over everything now and loving running around. Maggie is so excited about Christmas and Santa and her list and the lights, it is great to watch her be so excited. I am also still constantly amazed at her progress - her story telling has really improved to the point where it actually has a beginning, middle and end. I love hearing the things she comes up with.
The challenging: Molly still isn't talking very much and what she does say is hard to understand. I am torn on calling EI again for services now or waiting until she turns 2. On one hand I feel like, why wait? And on the other I wonder if I just need to chill and wait it out. For Maggie I just need unlimited patience and we would be fine. I need to find a calming mantra when she has called me up to her room for the 5th time after bedtime or when she is having a meltdown over something I can't change (like she wants to close the car door herself - kind of impossible if she is strapped into the carseat).
Santa's List:
Molly - M&D puzzles, Mickey and Minnie plush toys, Play kitchen things like the cookie set, a toaster/blender/coffee maker set, books, dress up clothes
Maggie - Purple Backpack, Woody, Buzz, and a wowee alive leopard cub (BF sale) are the big things she asked for. Then she is also getting the LeapFrog Scribble and Learn tablet and some disney figurine sets - Toy Story, princesses. In her stocking she will get some Toy Story plush dolls and TS3 movie.
Christmas 2007
Christmas 2008
Christmas 2009
NEW: DS is into EVERYthing. It's so fun to watch him exploring his world now that he can keep up with his sister. He loves books, either "reading" on his own or having us do it for him. He wants cuddles dozens of times a day...I love having such an affectionate toddler because DD wasn't like that at all. DD had her first "holiday sing" at preschool, which made her seem so grown up. This is the first year she really gets Christmas and is excited about the lead-up to the day, though she doesn't seem too interested in the fact that Santa brings gifts and has made no requests (lucky for us...she has no high expectations!). She's a wonderful drawer and is starting to write words...I think basic reading is around the corner.
CHALLENGING: DS's newfound curiosity leads to climbing into the fridge, falling off of armchairs, rifling through the grocery bags (to smash whatever he can), etc. DD was never like that, nor did she disobey me when I told her "no." DS looks me right in the eye and does whatever it is again...and again...and again. Clearly he thinks it's a game. We've also seen some serious tantrums (head banging, stomping, flailing, etc.) out of him. He barely talks (just Mama, Dada, and some animal noises), which I'm keeping an eye on (DD had an impressive vocabulary before she even turned one, though I know boys' verbal skills develop slower). DD has entered a bit of a whiny stage, so I got the "1-2-3 Magic" book for ideas.
SANTA: Our policy is that Santa fills the stockings and things under the tree are from us. I got good deals on a play kitchen and a wooden dollhouse on Craigslist, so along with a few small things (stuffed Disney dolls, books, and musical instruments), we were all set. Then DH had a mini-freak out this weekend because he realized he hadn't had any input in the gift-buying. So he went crazy online and running around to stores looking for a workbench for DS (unsucessful) and a bounce house (what?!). Luckily I found some online coupon codes for one that'll just fit into our playroom or basement. I wouldn't have bought most of the other stuff I did if I'd known a bounce house was in our future, because of both budgetary implications and not wanting the kids overwhelmed with gifts. But DH was SO excited that I didn't put up a fight. Now the kitchen and dollhouse I was so proud of finding are going to gather dust while the kids jump for hours...
This is great! I don't think I've ever had time to post a check-in before, but work has been slow this week (finally) so here goes:
DD turned one on December 10 while we were in Disney World. She had a blast with everything--lights, music, characters. She started walking on her own literally about a week before we left, so she really mastered walking down there since she wanted to walk herself to meet the characters. Pooh even escorted her over to meet Eeyore. I think she sat for five minutes in Mickey's lap and just kept smiling and laughing at him. Her first tantrum came when we had to leave Minnie--it was worse then when she was in her attachment to mommy phase.
At home she's been walking around, saying phrases like "I did it." She loves the dog right now. Whenever she wakes up, she looks around asking "adog? adog?" She's also been into reading every book on her shelf, which is a nice change since last month we could only read the same three books over and over again.
She loves the Christmas tree, especially the dog ornament at the bottom. When the lights aren't on, she comes over to one of us and points at the tree until we turn the lights on.
I think she really wants to go down to one nap. She gets rather angry when we try to put her down before 11:30 now, so it's become easier to just do an early lunch and put her down then. Of course, this pushed her bedtime up a half hour, which is hard when I am at work all day and can only spend an hour with her at home.
On a sad (to me) note, while we were away she self weaned. I had stopped pumping three weeks before, so I didn't bring a pump with me. But I can't really believe I even bf that long. Yesterday, she tried to pull up my shirt, but I've got nothing anymore.
For Christmas, DS is getting the grow-with-me kitchen, a few little people to go with the house she received for her first birthday, and some books. Of course, her aunts, uncles, and grandparents will probably be spoiling her like crazy.
Oh, and I love the Holiday Armadillo!
I love reading everyone's updates!
My 2 1/2 year old had his Christmas program at preschool yesterday and they did 3 songs (a total of 5 minutes from start to finish). Although he's been singing the songs they've been practicing at home, he just stood there overwhelmed for the first two songs, but by the third one (his favorite), he was singing, ringing his little bells and having fun. It was adorable!! He asked Santa for a trumpet this year.... totally random. I had no idea he even knew what a trumpet was. Thankfully we were able to find a nice one online that he will get for Christmas!
My baby will be 8 months old on Thursday. He got his first tooth a few days ago, and despite teething and just getting over a cold, he is still the world's sweetest, most pleasant baby EVER. He never fusses unless he is really, really tired, and is just so happy, and loving all the time. (Stark difference to our first DS' horrendous what must have been colic). He can crawl up steps and all over the place now, so no toys are out of his reach. This is a challenge with big brother's legos and small toys all over.
I am excited for our first Christmas with TWO boys!