Valentines Babies, 2013!

[Kellen]

Trains are a THING! We have a local train that runs lumber up and down the state. Every once in a while we will get stopped at the tracks. Once the train is past Teagen demands more trains! She loves Thomas the train.

 

[DragonflyWing]

Oh my gosh, Lily LOVES Elmo! Gunnar likes him too, but not as much. Lily seems to latch on to one thing and become totally obsessed for a while. First it was Curious George, now it's Elmo. She absolutely has to watch a Sesame Street DVD every morning or her life is ruined.

She also has this little brown stuffed bear that she always has clutched to her chest. She calls him "baby bear" and she won't put him down for anything. She also has a little stuffed white bear that stays in her crib and she sleeps with (that one she calls "mama bear" , but baby bear goes everywhere with her.

Gunnar doesn't really get attached to just one thing...he loves to sit and read books, loves to dance, and he also likes trains! Sometimes you can hear the train whistle from our house, and he always stops what he's doing to yell "TRAIN!!!!"

 

[Kellen]

It is amusing to see what is universal in toddler land. Teagen doesn't have an item that she is overly attached to. She sleeps with a doll she received for Christmas. It's name is "Sara-Ben" after a family friend and her little boy but other than that she doesn't really care.

Right now she is obsessed with her "Little Critter" books. Very cute stories by Mercer Mayer that one of her "aunts" sent her a while back.

DH just received word yesterday that he is to report back to the boat on the 23rd. This is a major answer to prayer as I had no idea how we were going to pay bills next month. We had saved enough to get through Feb, but now he will be getting paid again.

 

[DragonflyWing]

That's great news, Kellen!

I forgot to mention that I cut my hair! It was down to my thighs, and I cut 16 inches off to donate to Wigs for Kids. Now it's down to the middle of my back with a few layers. I love it! I haven't regretted it for one minute, and I wish I'd done it sooner. Here's a before and after:

 

[wamommy]

Oh my goodness, I've missed a lot!

Kellen, Teagen is gorgeous! What a ton of personality I see in that little face. I can't believe how long her hair is. We buzz Max's hair almost every month, lol... poor guy.

Dragonfly, your hair looks so pretty! It's still beautifully long and looks really healthy. I'll bet it feels amazing.

Max is obsessed with cars and trucks lately. We let him pick out a new Hotwheels car or motorcycle (they're 97cents at the grocery store) each time we go shopping and it keeps him quiet and happy the whole time we shop. He has quite the collection! He also loves Mario (as in Nintendo's little red guy) and Mickey Mouse. He's going through a super "no" phase too... I swear I can ask him, "do you want some ice cream?" and he'll say, "no!" then realize what I asked and smile slyly saying, "yeeeeees!" Little weirdo. He also tells knock-knock jokes and loves to sing and dance. We played the Bruno Mars video on YouTube for that song 'Uptown Funk' and now Max goes around dancing with his hands on his crotch like in the video... It's actually really cute.

As for me, life has been more than I can handle lately. I've been in survival mode and each day my goal is just to feed and bathe the kids while not completely losing my sanity. I'm hoping things get easier soon! The end of cold and flu season will certainly help, since the kids have rotated through bug after bug. My birthday was on Saturday and I spent the morning scrubbing puke off of my daughter's stuffed animals and bed... sigh.

I'm glad to hear everyone's LOs are doing so well! I can't believe they're 2... time really does fly. It seems like yesterday we all had wrinkly little newborns. Now they're actual little PEOPLE! It's pretty fun, huh?

 

[wamommy]

Here is our Normal!

 

[SierraJourney]

Kellen---I'm so glad to hear that! I keep finding in our life that things happen just when we desperately need them to. . . just in the nick of time!

Dragon---your hair looks so thick and beautiful! Coming from someone with very thin, dull hair, I'm extremely jealous!

wamommy---I am so sorry that things are so rough right now. I can not even imagine. I think you are doing things just right, though---at this point in your life, if the kids are fed and bathed, I feel like you are winning! Especially with FOUR! Take it one step at a time, and know we are always here for you to vent to!!! *hugs*

And---Camden loves cars and trucks too!! I think I might take up your idea and get him a matchbox car each time I go shopping---I have the worst time trying to entertain him while I get groceries!


Well, DH and I keep going back and forth about the second child thing. How do you know for sure it's a good idea? Right now, we're both very relieved and excited that we can final DO things and take Camden with us. . . with Camden being such a taxing baby, it was a very isolated time for us. Now we feel life is finally moving "forward" and we can do things we WANT to do (I hope that doesn't sound too selfish). We're worried that if we add another child into the mix, that we will lose that "freedom" and kind of take a few steps backwards. . . (gosh, that sounds so selfish. . .). And then there is the financial aspect of it. . . after going down to one income, things are extremely tight---and we wonder how we'd afford another kid. . . especially if it's a girl and we have to buy all new stuff! And yet, we want Camden to have a sibling. . .and also a sibling close in age to him. That's probably our biggest "Pro" to having another child---for Camden to have a sibling. . . .is that a bad reason to get pregnant again? It's soooooo hard to decide and we don't want to rush into it. . .but want them close in age if we do have another. . . *sigh* So those are my problems right now. lol.

Helena, how are you doing dear?

 

[Kellen]

Dragon - You look amazing!

Wamommy - I'm with you on the single mommy front as DH left for his boat today.

Sierra - I go back and forth on the second child thing too. Teagen has been growing leaps and bounds and loves to play by herself. But... this weekend one of her cousins was down and they had so much fun together. Also she keeps asking me for a brother...

So, DH is off to work again. This is a good thing, but a very hard thing too. I miss him so much already! Unfortunately the airlines screwed up AGAIN and he missed his connecting flight. Now he is fighting with customer service trying to get to work by 7am tomorrow. It is kinda stressful...
Thankfully Teagen's nighttime routine has evolved to where she doesn't miss her dad as much this go around as the last. We nurse for a few minutes. Then we snuggle and talk about her day. Then I excuse myself to go to the "bathroom" and check on her before I go to bed. It has cut the routine down from 90 mins to 30! I'm kinda loving the extra hour to myself.

So my grandmother decided to buy us a building for our business. She sold her property had the money was burning a hole in her pocket. We made an offer which was accepted and sign the paper next Friday. Our current landlord is HORRIBLE! He refuses to fix things (example: Big rain - floor flooded. Electrical outlets in the floor. Does anyone else have a problem with this? He said it happens every year and he'll send someone 'round to clean the drains). So we are seeing a lawyer on Tues to talk about getting out of the contract or just paying him off and moving. There is a little bit of remodel that we will need to do for the new building but tons more parking. Needless to say I'm very excited.

Two year molars... anyone seeing signs of them? Teagen's bottom ones come up every so often and then go back down which makes her quite grumpy. I haven't seen any signs of the upper ones. However, she was drooling in her sleep in the carseat today on the way to the airport.

She is growing up so fast! Today I sat on the porch and she ran off to her swing set and climbed up the ladder and went down the slide half a dozen times by herself. Then she asked if I would help her swing. By the time I got my shoes and jacket on she had gotten herself into the swing and was trying to kick back and forth to get it going. All she needed was a small push and she kept it going via pumping. I was pretty impressed. She has also started naming her toys. Right now we have SaraBen (a mom friend and son) who is a soft learn to tie, button and zip doll, PennySimon (from the Treeschoolers) who is a baby doll and Micah (a boy from church) who was my mom's doll.

Teagen is also obsessed with diapers... mainly because she hasn't worn one since July. While we were talking in bed tonight she told me that the boys in her church class wear diapers. Then she told me that one of the boys had a stinky diaper. She then proceeded to pinch her nose shut and say "pee-ewe!" and giggle hysterically. Oh she has an off sense of humor.

 

[DragonflyWing]

That's so exciting about the new building, Kellen! Um, yeah, there's a problem if you have electrical outlets in the floor and they get flooded! So glad you won't have to deal with that anymore.

For you guys wondering about a second child- I heartily recommend it! Honestly, I can't even imagine having just one haha! I think if I had one child, he or she would be a bit spoiled (I tend to dote a bit). Having three, that's definitely not an issue!

Gunnar and Lily are doing very well, but are being SO defiant and misbehaving left and right. We are definitely in the terrible twos, and it's compounded by them conspiring together lol! They fight a lot with each other, which often results in time outs for pushing or hitting...Lily has been drinking milk and then spitting it out onto the floor in a huge puddle or onto Gunnar...they both broke into the tray of biscotti I made for DH and nibbled on 6 of them...etc, etc, etc. There's lots of whining, too, but no real tantrums. They are talking TONS, and when they're not looking for ways to be naughty, they're extremely affectionate and so smart! They love to sit and page through all their books, sing songs, and put puzzles together. Lily has been making a lot of comparisons- "Onion kind of like a ball!" "Slipper kind of like a shoe!" "[Bulb] syringe kind of like a light bulb!" (that one impressed me, since she doesn't know the full name for it).

Anson is doing fantastic- he's been sleeping through the night 90% of the time for over a month now. I thought he didn't like being swaddled, but it turns out he needs it at night! He sleeps from about 9:30pm-7:30am. He is such a happy baby, and he's just learning to laugh...every time he does, though, he gives himself the hiccups!

 

[Kellen]

Dragon - Thank you! I am so looking forward to moving the business. Also, when you are getting ready to transition Anson from being swaddled for sleeping to actual jammies look up the Zip-a-dee-Zip. It is a swaddle transition sleeper thingy. Teagen hated to be swaddled but her "Zippy" was the only way she would sleep for naps for a long time. It helped keep her calm.

 

[helena]

Hi all sorry it's been so long!!! Here is Kiara with our latest addition, 7 month old Jac.
Going to read and catch up on all I have missed.. Xx

 

[Kellen]

Helena - Kiara is adorable. It looks like she really loves Jac.

Well, I have pretty much decided that Teagen is never going to want to wean herself so I have to do it. Thankfully she is very empathetic. Today was the first time EVER (2 years, 2 weeks and 1 day) that she has gone to sleep for her nap without nursing (minus car trips). We nursed before hand and then I laid down with her. She yelled at me for about five minutes. It was so hard, I wanted to give in. I also had a paper due, but I kept telling myself: there will never be a convenient time to wean. Do it now! So finally she laid down and went to sleep.

We are pretty much weaned for night time sleeping. We nurse during story time and then we lay down together and talk about our day. After a while she'll let me leave and fall asleep on her own. She comes to bed with me around 5:30 or 6 and sleeps until 7:30 just snuggling and then nurses to wake up.

I know that next year around the end of Feb, first part of March, DH and I would like to try for number two. However, we agreed a while ago that my body will need to take a break from nursing or being pregnant for at least six months. Hence why I want to gradually have Teagen become more independent in her sleep cycles. Hopefully this fall she will be in preschool a couple days a week which will inspire her to wean if we haven't already.

 

[wamommy]

Helena, Kiara is beautiful! It's so sweet that she has Jac as a friend. Some of the earliest memories I have are with the family pets, so it's great that you've given your kids that gift!

Kellen, well done with the weaning! We are still doing several bottles a day, and trying to wean Max from the bottle is HARD because Luca is constantly drinking one, which of course makes Max want one...sigh. We're going to have to simply cut him off soon. I'm dreading that day!

A ton is going on with us right now, more than I have time to write right now... but I will come back and fill you all in when I have more time. I've never been so stressed or so tired in my entire life, and that's saying something!!!

I hope all is well with everyone as we move into spring.

 

[Kellen]

Happy Easter everyone!

Teagen did her first egg hunt today in our backyard. We invited two families over who have kids that Teagen enjoys playing with. All the kids were awesome and kept taking eggs from their own baskets to give to the smaller kids.

Pretty excited that Teagen and I will see DH in 28 days! It has been since February and we are all excited. Also excited to be moving into our new shop as soon as the plumbing inspector signs off on the building.

 

[DragonflyWing]

Glad to hear everyone's updates! We got Gunnar off the pacifier just after Christmas, thank goodness...I thought he'd be going to high school with it! We're also totally off bottles and on to straw cups and sippy cups. We've got complete sentences from both twins now, although pronunciation is still a work in progress, especially for Gunnar. He likes to shorten his words so "Gunnar wants milk in cup" becomes "Guh wa milk cuh," but if you ask him slow down and speak clearly, he does fine. And then there's Lily "Mama, I'm thirsty. I want milk in my cup, please." and then when I hand it to her "Oh, fank you, Mama!"

Anyone else having total terrible twos issues? The twins were bothering Anson and made him cry, so they were put in time out. When I went back in to get them in 5 minutes, they had both stripped naked and smeared poop all over the playpen and each other. That was a huge ordeal.

The very next day, during a "nap," Gunnar pushed his crib away from the wall so he could reach my dresser, and knocked everything off it. That included a beautiful snowglobe I got as a wedding present that was engraved with our names and wedding date. Smashed, shards of glass and glitter filled water all over the bedroom floor. This just happened to be on Easter, right when I had to get all the food into the oven/onto the stove, and my dinner for 20 people ended up being 2 hours late.

Yesterday, Gunnar pulled a cup of coffee off the table (thankfully not hot), dumped it all over himself and the baby, then tracked it throughout the entire house before my husband could catch him.

We've tried reasoning, time-outs sitting in a chair, time-outs confined to a playpen, stern lectures, taking away privledges, and even light swats to the behind in extreme circumstances. We're constantly praising and rewarding good behaviour. Nothing seems to work. 90% of the mayhem comes from Gunnar. Lily is actually not that bad (yet).

 

[Kellen]

Thankfully we have had no poop-scapes in this house. Teagen can be a little brat sometimes though. She plays two ends against the middle really well because she knows her great-grandmother can't hear and if I say something she doesn't like she'll take Baba (her name for my grandmother) by the hand and lead her to whatever it is that she wants.

However, the other day Teagen decided to scale the 6'6" cat tower and my grandmother thought it was funny. I did not. I read Teagen the riot act and sat her in time-out. Apparently I had my really angry face on because now whenever she passes the tower she'll point to it and say: No climbing tower. Tower for cat."

Is anyone else's little one obsessed with a TV show? Teagen is all over Peppa Pig. She only gets a little viewing time each day, but all I hear about is Peppa and George and Suzy Sheep and Rebecca Rabbit. Even the girls at our shop are beginning to know the cast of Peppa. Given one of my employees has a daughter two months older than Teagen, but she is currently a Bubble Guppie fan...

 

[DragonflyWing]

The twins are obsessed with Veggie Tales and Elmo right now. We don't have cable, so the only things they watch are what we can get on DVD from the library...and Sesame Street and Veggie Tales are pretty educational and wholesome. I've never seen any of the newer shows like Peppa Pig, but I bet Lily would love it. She loves anything with animals.

They get to watch one show in the morning when they wake up (this is mostly so DH can get an extra half hour of sleep on the couch lol), and occasionally I admit to sitting them in front of the TV while I'm making dinner or nursing the baby when I get home from work. Even so, DH and I usually don't end up eating dinner until after everyone is in bed at about 9:30pm. Last night I had dinner ready and on the table at 6:30, and DH was actually confused, because we never eat that early anymore!

The past week has been pretty rough for us. After the Easter debacle and a few hard days at work, I kind of suddenly fell into a well of depression and stress and smoked my first cigarette in 9 years. I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

 

[helena]

Wow we haven't started time outs with Kiara yet.. I felt she was too young and wouldn't "get" it? Maybe I am over babying her!...
She does have some tantrums now but is pretty easy to distract. And tbh she foamy doesn't seem nearly as beastly as her six year old brother. When he throws a tantrum
We all know about it!!!!
She still has her pacifier too, though I want
To change this soon.
Am loving spring and being outside with them all a lot more - Kiara is really becoming a child at the park and not a baby, running off away from mummy and climbing ladders and whooshing down slides. I love it.

We haven't tried potty training yet. She is funny though - will insist that she has only done a pee even when it clearly isn't. I think she feels a bit embarrassed of poop. Maybe she is almost ready to be potty training of she is becoming aware of poop not being nice?! My eldest did q similar thing and started going for a poo k his nappy under the table when he was two - he didn't want anyone knowing he was doing it.
Funny little people!!
How is it going with the little one dragon? Xxx

 

[SierraJourney]

Hello ladies! It's been a while, but in my defense, I wasn't getting any notifications that anyone posted anything! Why that happens periodically, I don't know. I have to chuckle at everyone's posting on their Valentines babies---Camden is at the same stages and it's refreshing to know I'm not alone! He's currently obsessed with the shows "Daniel Tiger's Nieghborhood" and "Chuggington"---which he calls: "Tigers!" and "Chuggers!" haha

Kellen---I have the opposite problem with weaning----Camden kind of started weaning himself a few months ago. I've been letting him lead the way with weaning, so now, he only nurses for a couple minutes a night, maybe 3 nights a week because that is the only time he asks for it. It makes me kind of sad, but I know it's time because he's definitely telling me it is. haha. I'm pretty much "dried up", but there is just enough in there for his silly little sips.

Potty training is going good around here----Camden hasn't pooped in his pants in months---though pee is a bit harder for him to catch. If we are consistent with asking him about it, he can go a whole day without accidents (except for naps and bedtime which he seems to have no interest in waking up to go potty). ha! He mainly wears cloth pull-ups and trainers--waterproof ones when we go out in public, but he goes great on any toilet. The only problem we've really been having is that out in public, he doesn't want to take the time to "finish" on the potty, so he ends up going a little bit, then when we get back to the table/car/shopping/etc, he immediately has to go again to get the rest out. lol I've been trying to make him sit a little longer and ask him to keep trying, but so far that doesn't work. So, I'm the mom that runs back to the potty TWICE.

We just switched to a toddler bed last week---I'm sure we're way behind on this, but Camden never figured out how to climb out of his crib (ha!), so we were post-poning it. However, he LOVES his toddler bed and has been staying in it consistently. (We converted his crib, so I think it helps that it's familiar to him). Last night was the first night he fell out of bed. Poor kiddo was so sleepy that he didn't even cry---just pointed for me to put him back in bed.

Well, onto the big news, after a long time of DH saying he did not want another baby, we have officially (mutually) decided to start trying for #2! I'm really excited, yet a bit scared! ha! It feels like ages since I was pregnant and caring for a newborn. . .lol. . .and I just got my body back to a shape I'm more comfortable with. lol. A petty thing, ha, but it's a bit hard. But I'm excited to be a part of making another lo. I dream of what he/she will be like. Sooooooooo-----maybe soon I'll have exciting news!

How are the rest of you doing? What's new in your lives? I miss you all!

 

[Kellen]

Hello!

Lots of new around here. Language explosion! Teagen is such a little chatter box and will repeat absolutely anything that she hears which means no more secrets. Haha...

DH is back at work, but only need 20 more "days" at sea before he is qualified to apply to take the tests to get his license which will then get his diploma. But he is going to stick it out for the rest of the season before taking any tests.

Teagen needs to be socialized. She loves adults but doesn't have any interest in children her own age. She enjoys my employee's son who is 10, but tells my other employee's daughter (who is 2 as well) to go away. DH has agreed that this late summer/fall we will enroll her in a local Christian preschool. Since I started working in nursery she has started refusing to stay unless I stay with her. Oddly enough she does better in the 3/4 class next door. I guess she just likes older kids.

We are getting another dog on Tuesday (May 19th). He is a 3 year old neutered male English Sheppard. Our female dog likes the boy dogs better because they let her boss them around. His name is Ace and he was raised with kids. I'm pretty excited.

DH and I have started seriously talking about #2. I still want to have my body without a nursling attached for a little while before really trying. Weaning is slow here especially with Daddy away (DH was home last week and left Tuesday). Next week I am expecting to have an angry child as I plan to put band-aids over Teagen's "nursers" (aka nipples) and tell her that I have owies during the day. Right now she only nurses when she wakes up in the morning, before nap, and during story time at night. I figure nap will be easiest as she sort of asks but is more interested in the story and laying down.

Yesterday I had an early morning appointment in the next town. Teagen opted to stay home with my mom. My mom had a painting project for them to do together, but she told Teagen it would need to wait until after nap. Teagen proceeded to grab my mom's hand and try to drag her upstairs whilst telling her: "Teagen go sleep now. Wake up. PAINT!" So my mom capitulated and let her paint and then finished the project in the afternoon post nap.

Peppa Pig is now the THING. As in, "Watch Peppa on Mommy's phone now." "Wear Peppa jammies all day, mom." "Peppa and George go outside." Which has oddly enough ended with Teagen pronouncing some words with a very British accent. Such as potato, tomato, puddle. We no longer have a "back yard" we have a "garden" (which is true in the American sense as well given that we have planted a bunch of edibles).