Sunday, September 28, 2008

the sticks work after all

This morning an amazing thing occurred. Jacob stood up all by himself in the middle of a room. Not only that - he also took 1 1/2 steps towards me without holding onto anything. Maybe walking is closer in the future than we thought! That'll be good for his knees...give the calluses a chance to heal.

I'm impressed that he was in the mood to try that out today. We spent yesterday afternoon at the ER in Rockport thanks to cold-induced asthma. No fun at all! Thankfully my mom was able to take Elizabeth because I can't imagine having to keep the two of them contained for hours on end.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

some pictures

Alexa being silly in her room...I believe she was playing Lion King


Elizabeth reading...who needs kids books when you have cigar catalogs?


Jacob admiring the view at the hotel

Traveling

I've never enjoyed traveling all that much. Probably because I never got to go anywhere exciting. I never made it to the Maine Mall until I was 13...and it was only a 2 hour drive. My parents weren't too keen in crossing town lines.

This weekend we traveled to Gorham for the birthday party of our nephew, well pseudo-nephew (good friend's son). It's hard to believe he's already 5 and just reminds me that Alexa's 5th is only 2 months away.

Okay..started to veer off topic a bit. Alexa ended up spending Friday night at her grandmother's. The rest of us stayed at the Marriott courtesy of an employee discount. We had dinner late and didn't get back to the hotel till around 8. The twins did not want to go to bed! They were having too much fun tackling the gigantic pillows. It also didn't help that we all had to sleep together (well me and the twins, Chris got his own bed because he was sick). They are used to sleeping in their own cribs to at least start the night. Finally one by one everyone dropped off to sleep.

And were all up before 7am. Babies got a bath - a luxury since we only have a shower. Then breakfast and a few stops before getting Alexa and going to the party. Spent a few hours there, then another hour visiting another friend before dropping Alexa back off at Grammy K's and heading back home. After being unable to nap most the day because of all the activity they conked out quickly and for the entire ride home!

It is so nice to be back home. I hate riding in the car but at the same time I hate driving. I guess I'm more like my parents then I think!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Jacob

This boy of mine is such a ham! And very cuddly to pretty much anyone that'll pick him up - he loves giving hugs and very wet kisses. While his sister has been working on walking he's content to move at his own pace - a very fast crawl. Favorite foods include any fruit (especially blueberries and watermelon), most veggies (potatoes are a no-go), cereal (cheerios not kix), and lunch meat.
Hobbies include getting into trouble...or at least into things he shouldn't probably be getting into. Like the clothes dryer. Well...he hasn't actually gotten inside yet but he made a good attempt yesterday thanks to the basket of dry clothes in front of the door. Here are a few examples...


His favorite things include remote controls, telephones (he's really good at turning cell phones on), yanking on the shade strings (under adult supervision of course), getting into cupboards or the shower (especially when on), and taking off his diapers (got to love uncovered velcro!). Here's one thing he loves to do naked...been edited for his protection although it'll be unedited in his scrapbook for me to show when he's older.

babysitting

I've started taking care of my 6 month old nephew for my sister. It helps her out, we get to see more of each other, and it allows me to make a little money and stay home with the kids. It's been a long time since I babysat someone other than my own kids (and I don't think you can call that babysitting). I forget how hard it can be, especially to get schedules to mesh so you can do things like think, prepare meals, and use the bathroom without a congregation at the door.

Yesterday was easy - only 3 hours. Today was 7 hours. 3 children under the age of 2. It wasn't easy! Jacob and Elizabeth can get very jealous of anyone invading "their space" (ie. mom's lap). Blake doesn't like the floor much. And when you feed one baby a bottle at least one of the 2 nurslings wants some action. And a nursling in action totally confuses the baby that's a nursling with his momma yet is stuck with a bottle!


Actually - they play fairly well together. J and E either sit right next to him and they pass/take toys or B ends up sitting solo while the others crawl/walk away. I wonder how long it will take him to learn the movement skills seeing those 2 in action. This is them yesterday. E is trying to wash B's head just like she does to her baby doll. He wasn't too keen on it. J just observed and was happy it wasn't his head!

First day of school


Today was Alexa's first day at preschool. I procrastinated till just about the last minute but was still able to get her in at the church just down the street. It's about a 2 minute walk in nice weather...I'm sure it'll take a bit longer in the snow! She's in the 4 year old group and they meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-1130.

She was very excited to go and we were all a bit antsy about getting there on time. Because I delayed at getting the paperwork I had to turn it all in this morning. So I wanted to arrive early so that I didn't interrupt their schedule. Chris decided to get in the shower around 8:30. At 8:52 he was still working on getting dressed. We headed out without him which apparently made him hurry because he caught up to us just as we were going in.

Alexa got so busy that I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye - she was already off playing. When she got home she didn't have much to say about her classmates but mentioned how good she behaved and how well she listened...and that she remembered to use the toilet. She got a little bag full of goodies...including more paperwork for us.

Only 2 big sleeps till she goes back...she started the countdown during lunch today.

Jacob's milestones

  • weight/length @ 7: 55.6lbs, 48.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 42lbs, 43.5"
  • weight/length @ 4: 36 lbs, 39+"
  • weight/length@ 3: 32lbs, 36.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 26lbs, 33.5 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 18lbs, 29 inches
  • walking: 11/17/08
  • standing: 3/31/08
  • crawling: army, 2/5/08
  • first time rolling: 9/30/07, belly to back
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:49am
  • birth length: 19.5 inches
  • birth weight: 6lbs, 1oz

Elizabeth's milestones

  • weight/length @7: 53lbs, 47.75"
  • weight/length @ 5: 40 lbs, 42.25"
  • weight/length @ 4: 34lbs, 38"
  • weight/length 3 years: 28lbs, 35.5 inches
  • weight/length 2 years: 24lbs, 6oz 33 inches
  • weight/length 1 year: 18lbs, 1oz 27.5 inches
  • walking: 9/1/08
  • standing: 4/4/08
  • crawling: army 3/16/08
  • sitting alone: 2/29/08
  • first time rolling: 11/23/07, back to belly
  • first smile: 9/7/07
  • birth date/time: 7/8/07, 12:50am
  • birth length: 18.75 inches
  • birth weight: 5lbs, 8oz

Alexa's milestones

  • weight/height @ 10 (really 10.8): 186, 5'3"
  • weight/height @ 8.4 years: 113 lbs, 55.5 inches
  • weight/height @ 5 years: 61lbs, 4oz 45.25 inches
  • weight/length @ 4 years: 49lbs, 42 inches
  • weight/length @ 3 years: 38lbs, 38 inches
  • weight/length @ 2 years: 32lbs, 8oz 35.75 inches
  • weight/length @ 1 year: 22lbs, 3 oz 29.5 inches
  • 1st day of preschool: 9/3/08
  • solo somersault: 3/4/08
  • whistling: 3/2/08
  • potty training: 10/7/05
  • walking: 12/21/04
  • standing: 8/23/04
  • crawling: 8/21/04, only a week, then became a butt scoot
  • first wave: 7/27/04
  • rolling: 5/2/04, belly to back
  • sleeping thru the night: 3/1/04
  • first smile: 1/20/04
  • birth date/time: 12/4/03, 10:41pm
  • birth length: 20 inches
  • birth weight: 7lbs