music

When Av was little we took a music class together. Now Camille and I are taking the same class. In the car we listen to the cd of songs. Camille loves it. As soon as we get in the car she says something like “music.” All the songs are about the length of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and for the second and a half between each song Camille is yelling from the back seat, “MORE, MORE!” Like after each song I decide that’s enough until she asks for more. Av and I both try to tell her, “it’s coming” but so far she just does not get it. Av pretty much knows every word to every song and I can hear her singing behind me. It’s pretty cute to listen to.

weekend

We had a nice weekend. It was busy which was kind of nice. We have not had a busy weekend in about a month. Friday night we had a sitter for the kids and want to a country club party. It was fun and the kids were great for the sitter. It was the first time Michelle from Av’s school had sat for us and Av was sooooooooo excited to have Miss Michelle come play with her. It was cute. She watched my girls, Marci’s kids and one other little boy. Lots of kids but the big kids all play so well together and entertain each other and the babies went to bed an hour after she got there so it couldn’t have been that bad. C was actually good that night. Both of my girls were asleep when we got to Marci’s house. We picked them up, put them in their car seats, drove them home and put them in their beds and back to sleep they went like the good little girls they are. Saturday night was our monthly dinner with the Masons and the Shumans. It was at the Shuman’s this time and it went fairly well. The big kids were a little wild at first but then they calmed down and were soooooooo good. C was a nightmare till we put her to bed. She was just BAD. She is a bully and is mean to Max and Stella. She hits, grabs and in general is just nasty. I can’t wait till she grows out of it. Sunday it was beautiful out and we spent pretty much all day outside. We went on a long walk and then the girls splashed in the puddles for a long time. C was in heaven. She had never done that before. Av has rain boots but C just wore a pair of Av’s old shoes and was soaked from head to toe.

8 weeks

I have been so so so sick. I have never been like this in my life. I can’t eat anything and everything sounds horrible. Making/getting food for the girls is so hard. John knew how bad it was when I turned down a Starbucks. I’ve lost 4 lbs in a week. Crazy. Today I woke up so much better though. I’ve been able to eat and even had a little bit of coffee. It was so good. I so hope I’m over the worst of it. Everything else has been pretty okay. I have my really tired days but as long as I’m not sick and tired I can function. This is way harder though having 2 little ones to take care of this time around. Yesterday John had to leave to go out of town and I really didn’t think I was going to make it. My saving grace was a soft pretzel and a fountain cherry coke from Target. As I was trying to gather the girls up to go to Target I realized I had not seen my car keys since John had them on Friday. For 30 minutes I searched the house looking for them. In my panic of possibly not having a car for the next 24 hours, Camille took a full-unopened bottle of BBQ sauce from the pantry and broke it. BBQ sauce was everywhere including Av’s coat and she was very unhappy about this. Every pregnancy I have had BBQ sauce is the one thing that turns my stomach the entire time (we are big BBQ restaurant fans too) so this was especially torturous. I managed to get it all cleaned up and then was partly glad the BBQ sauce was out of my house for the rest of my pregnancy.

it starts with ladybugs

In the fall we have a slight ladybug problem. We see a lot of them. By now though we don't see any. At least John and I don't. Camille on the other hand, well she does I guess. She brought me a ladybug yesterday. At first I didn't know what it was and with my surprised reaction I threw it. I guess Camille thought it was a fun game and went to get it again(told you she was like a dog). Avery just thought this was all very funny. Just then John got home and the ladybug was forgotten. Well this morning the ladybug was found again and brought to me. Ugh. This time it was taken to the garbage. I'm pretty sure it was just a shell of a dead ladybug. Who knows how she kept finding it. If she's bringing me ladybugs now, what will she be bringing me this spring?????

pillow

Sorry G&PP but for some reason Camille is not a fan of the heart pillow you got her. I put it in her bed (along with the 2 blankets, one lovie, cup of water, 2 books and 5 little stuff animals....yes she has a lot in her bed) and every morning it is the only thing she has thrown out. I'm sure someday it will be used as a baby pillow and loved as Av currently uses hers.

books

Camille is OBSESSED with books. She will sit and look at books and have you read her books for hours. No matter how many you read her when it’s time to stop it just breaks her little heart. We have an overflowing bookcase in Av’s room and we spend hours in there. I find myself picking up books constantly. She has her favorites that she knows everything on the pages and does the same things every time you read them. Like we have a monster book. On each page is a monster that is hiding that you can touch. The last page is a mirror to see the last “monster.” She bends down and kisses that monster every single time.

Avery is starting to read books. We checked out a beginner reader book from the library and she “reads” it. She loves it. I think she has partly memorized the words/book but she also looks at the pictures and knows what the words are saying based on the pictures. That’s how reading starts though right??? She is so very proud of herself!

G&PP in town

The girls just were sooooooo excited to see them. Camille took just a minute to warm up but after that nothing could pry her from either G or P. John and I took Saturday night to get away and I don’t think anyone missed us at all. The girls of course got spoiled not only in love but fun things they got to do too. The Science Center on Sat and Chuck E Cheese on Sunday! What lucky little girls. Camille got so wet at the Science center that they had to change her clothes. Avery got up this morning and headed straight to the basement to find G&PP. They had left the day before. I guess she forgot or was just hopeful they came back. It was kind of sad to see but she was okay. We all love having them around and can’t wait till they can come back!

Valentine’s day

The girls had a whole weekend of Valentine’s Day. On Friday they both had parties at school. Camille does not go to school on Fridays but I took her in for it. It was so cute to see her with all her friends. At first she was shy with me there but they were having a special snack and she jumped right in when she saw it was time to eat! They both came home with bags full of fun valentines treats. Avery loved going through hers and telling me who each was from. Av took over Camille’s candy but was not at all interested in having Camille’s valentines in her bag. Av made her valentine bag at school. It was a pink gift bag with her picture glued to it and then a bunch of purple and white sparkly hearts glued to it. She was very proud of it. On Saturday G&PP showed up with more goodies for them. They each got chocolates, a pink fuzzy heart pillow and a monkey magnet card. On Sunday John and I gave the girls their treasure pets that we had ordered for them after seeing them on the Shark Tank. Avery loves hiding her treasures in her new horse friend.

48 hours of PJs

Av still loves her jammies. So when we got snowed in this week Av got a big treat. They stayed in their PJs for 48 hours!!! She just thought it was so funny. On Tuesday the girls and I stayed home and played inside and outside most of the day. By the time John got home around 6 we had showered and changed into clean PJs. On Wednesday a babysitter came over so I could go to work but the girls stayed snug as bugs in their PJs. PJ days every once in a while is much needed!

"use your words"

is for moms too.

I have been fighting Camille for weeks if not months on getting dressed and getting her diaper on. It is such a battle and not fun. She would run from me and think it was very funny. The other night John was getting her dressed and asked her to lie down so he could put her diaper on. She came right over and plopped right down. Ugh. Ever since then I have been “using my words” and it works like a charm. I guess I need to start treating her like a big girl and actually talk to her.

Happy Birthday

To the blog!!!!!!!!!! It’s officially a year old.

Frustrations

Lately Camille gets SO mad when she can’t do something she wants to do. It just frustrates her to no end. Like putting on her shoes. She sits there and tries and tries and just cant get them one. She will throw the shoe and scream out in frustration. Or some times she can’t get the nesting blocks back together. It makes her SO happy though when she can.

sleeping beauty

The other morning I opened our bedroom door and Av was sound asleep on the floor. I almost tripped on her. She said she woke up and didn’t want to sleep anymore so she was waiting for us to get up. She had herself all covered with her small school blanket and she was using bambi as a pillow. She has done this before but it had been right at the top of the stairs. I told her to either just go back to bed with her door open or come around the corner so she didn’t fall down the steps. She listened.

letters and numbers

We have been working pretty hard with Av on her letters and numbers. As in pick out the letter G and what does it stand for. She can count and say her ABC’s. For a while it seemed we were not getting anywhere with them. Kind of frustrating but then the other day I got out this big ABC mat. The girls loved it and were so excited. I asked Av where a bunch of letters were and she pointed right to them. She knows about half of them now. She can also recognize a number vs. a letter. I tried to come up with a friend’s name for each letter as an easier way for her to remember them. G for grandma and P for pap are her favs. We also did a lot of dancing on that mat. It was fun and then Av and I introduced C to “ring around the rosie.” After that we only had to do it about 100 more times, then dad had to do it a bunch more when he got home. C does not fall down at the end of the song. She just laughs at everyone else doing it but she will fall if you tell her too.

books

Av has started reading books to her dolls or us. She holds the book up like I’m sure her teacher does at school. She says the words she knows/remembers, makes up stuff depending on the pictures or jabbers not making much sense mostly when reading to her dolls. It’s very sweet.

words

Camille is saying a lot these days and starting to put 2 words together. Last night at bedtime she said “more book.” John has also taught her to pump her fist and say “Go Cards!” It’s pretty funny though, she emphasizes the go part instead of the cards part. She also says “card” instead of “cards.”

Tie dye cake

My first attempt at a round 2 layer cake did not turn out. It stuck to the pan but boy did it look pretty!

snow day

2 girls, 1 chair

doctor's kit

Av has been to many doctors over the years and when they check out her ears they always say, “there’s some wax in there but otherwise everything looks okay.” So when Av got out her doctor’s kit the other day to play doctor with John after looking in his ears and told him he had wax in there. It was pretty funny. Tweezers are also part of this doctor’s kit. That same night while playing with John she used the tweezers to pluck his eyebrows. Heheheheh guess she has seen me do that one too many times. I wonder if she thinks about why the doctor has not done that to her.

sleep

I feel so lucky to have 2 wonderful girls. Not only are they wonderful when they are awake (most of the time, Av more than the terror) but they are great sleepers too! We got so lucky that way. We put them both down every night before 8 and they sleep until 7-7:45 usually. Most nights we don’t hear a peep out of either one of them. I love my sleep so it works out nicely.

Germany

I’ve been thinking a lot about Germany. I think because Av was about Camille's age when we were there. Feb 2007 we spent a month there. John needed to go for his job and so Av and I went with him. It was a great experience but very hard too. John flew there first to get us set up and Av and I followed a week later. The flight there was very tough. I thought Av would sleep but she decided she didn’t want to. Getting off that plane in a strange country not speaking the language with a 1 year old was very scary. I had to make it though customs and baggage claim by myself until on the other side John was waiting. Luckily a very nice businessman helped us with our bunches of bags (car seat including the base, stroller, pack and play, diaper bag, purse, booster seat, toy bag, each had a bag of clothes and a kid). John spent as much time with Av and I as he could but still we were on our own a lot too. We spent countless hours wandering the city and hanging out in the city square. There was a great park that Av loved and a neat toy store. I had 3 Starbucks to pick from so I was happy. Avery rode the bus in her stroller everywhere we went. For months afterward she would point out buses and motion to get on them. Our apartment was a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom furnished place. It was nice and had a balcony overlooking a courtyard. There was a nice grocery store 2 blocks from our apartment and for an activity Av and I would walk there and decide what new food we would try for dinner that night. Av and I spent so much time playing in our apartment there. She was not walking yet but she had just learned to cruise. I would line cereal up on the coffee table to encourage her to cruise around it. The only channel we had that was in English was MTV and it was not even all in English so TV was not really a part of our life there (the girls do not watch much TV still at all. It’s not on during the day at our house. Just the am for breakfast and Av has a few shows she watches for quiet time each day). During those days Av had a fascination for anything that could be worn like a necklace. Embarrassed to admit this included my underwear. She would pull them all out of the drawers and one by one put them on around her neck. This went on for months and months but makes me think mostly about Germany since it’s one activity we did a lot there. I have wondered a lot if Camille will do this too but I don’t think so because she is of the age that Av used to. I remember once answering the front door with her in my arms with about 12 pairs of my underwear around her neck because at the time she always had it around her neck I barely noticed. We took weekend trips to visit castles and at the end of our stay in Germany we drove to Holland to visit John’s aunt, uncle, cousin and cousin in law. It was so nice to see them and have them meet Av. I can’t wait to go back and take Camille someday.

5 weeks

So far other than tired I really don’t have any pregnancy symptoms. I am VERY tired. I wake up tired, I go to bed tired and I’m tired all day. I wonder if I’m more tired than I was with Av or C? No way of really knowing I guess but boy do I feel like I am. Yesterday we really didn’t do anything. I just don’t have the energy. We just stayed and played all day. It was nice quality time with my girls.

books

My girls love their books sooooooo much. We spend hours in their room reading books. They both have their favs. Camille knows her favs by their spins when they are in the bookshelf. She brings them to you and says, “Book.” She wants to sit on your lap and read the book. We have one book called “Sweet Butterflies.” It’s a bedtime book and it counts down the butterflies from 10. The butterflies are raised and every page Camille grabs your hand and wants you to lead her pointy little finger to count the butterflies. So cute. We also have this “Waddle” book and the last page is an alligator chopping and Camille just thinks it’s so funny. She skips to that page and I act like I’m chopping on her belly and she just laughs and laughs. Avery currently loves the Pinkalicious books. She also has some weird favs. “Grover goes to the hospital,” “Just me and my babysitter,” “New Baby (from when Camille was born),” “some potty training book,” and “The Birthday Pony.” I love having them both cuddled in my lap reading books. It’s so peaceful and sweet.

hippotherapy

Last Thursday at Av’s therapy they had her blowing bubbles while riding the horse backwards!!! I just could not believe it. It must not have been the first time either because when Miss Becky told her it was time to blow bubbles she bent down and picked them and started blowing. This therapy has been amazing for her. I so thankful we live in a city with recourses like this.

speech

We are really focusing on Av’s speech to help her articulate better. Her articulation needs some work. It’s a fine line though; I don’t want to hurt her confidence. So when she says something we repeat it back to her correctly and emphasis the part she said incorrectly. We try and get her to look at us saying it and for her to say it correctly. So far that is not going over too well but I’m sure we will get there. I was lying on the couch and Av was sitting with me. We were talking about something stinky and I was emphasizing it so Av could see how I said it. She was really not having any part of it but just then Camille’s little head peeked around the couch to watch and learn. It was pretty cute. Right now Camille is fascinated with watching your mouth as you speak. Hopefully we can help Av through Camille.

smart

Av is smart, we all know it, but the other day she did a few things that amazed me (no surprise she does a lot that amazes me). It was Thursday and we were getting Camille ready for school and Av ready for her therapies. Camille was not cooperating and I said “come on Camille, don’t you want to go see Miss Julie?” Av said, “Miss Nikki too.” How does she know and remember C’s teacher’s names? We don’t talk about them that much.

That same morning we were in Camille’s room and Av pulled out one of Camille’s baby books that we have not looked at in a long time. She said, “David Smells.” That was the name of the book. How did she know and remember that?

Then later that afternoon I was getting out pencils and paper for Av to practice with. She grabbed the pencil and positioned her fingers on it correctly! That was the first time. I said, “good job Av, who taught you that?” She said, “Miss Beth.” She is learning something new everyday. I love being apart of her growing into a neat and cool little person.

the terror

We call Camille “the terror.” She just is. It fits her very well (she bit Av twice this weekend). Sunday I got her up from her nap and brought her downstairs. Av said, “hi terror!” It was very funny. My mom over the weekend informed me that she used to call me “rowdy.” I guess we know where she gets it now.

Pet Store

This weekend Jack needed a bath, badly!!!!! So during naptime off John, Jack and Av went to the pet store. Av thought the whole thing was so funny and silly. Jack going into a store, other dogs being there, showers in the store and washing Jack there. It was just crazy to her. She had a great time helping dad wash Jack but halfway through she told John she had to go potty. John asked her how badly and asked her to hold it. Finally when they were done with Jack, Av told John she had to “go really badly.” So off the three of them went to the bathroom. Picture that. It still has me cracking up. Thinking about them in the men’s room, dog, daddy and girl, John trying to controll a dog. Oh it’s all just too funny to me. Av is pretty self sufficient in the bathroom except we need to wipe her if she goes #2 and of course that’s what she needed to do. So John is trying to hold Jack’s leach and wipe Av and keep her from touching more than she needs to in the bathroom. Hehehehe I just love it. All the struggles I have had holding Camille and trying to help Av in the bathroom I love John getting to experience one. A man was walking in as they were walking out. Too bad he was not in there earlier that would have made the story that much better to me. hhehehehehhe