Tuesday, November 29, 2011

We Got a Tree! And a New Camera!

Every year my parents get us a big gift.  Yes, we are in our 30's and still incredibly spoiled for Christmas.  This year we chose a new camera.  All I can say is WOW!  The picture quality is AH-MAY-ZING!!   So totally worth it. And the things you can do with a nice camera!  I'm not much of a yearly family photos from a professional kind of girl so it will be nice to have quality photos we can do ourself.

Last night we went out to a tree farm to get our Christmas tree.  If you remember last year we didn't have a completely successful outing in the fun department.  This year wasn't much better.  Maybe we just need to pick one out at the Flowerama on the corner!  I wrote down the directions and put down 580th st when it should have been ave.  That can totally throw you off.  Like 40 minutes off track when it only should have taken about 10 minutes to get there.  Thank goodness Wade can keep his cool and make light of the situation.  I can not.   And thank goodness Whitney was quiet and Ellie slept as we drove around trying to find the darn place even though we went there last year too.  Any way, Whitney was pretty excited about it until the sun started to go down and the temperature dropped quickly.





they got to ride up front as we drove around to find the perfect tree.  They thought that was pretty cool.




Ellie Walking

Not the greatest video, but you get the idea.  She can do better than what's on the video but it's hard to break out the camera to catch her in action.  The other night she went about 12 feet!  In the last few days she has started to walk a few feet from furniture to furniture.  Sometimes she will just take off towards nothing, like " here I g"o! Won't be long!



Saturday, November 26, 2011

Five Minute Friday

(saturday morning)
Thanksgiving has come and gone.  The month long celebration of Christmas has begun.  It used to annoy me that stores and people didn't at least wait until December before breaking out the Christmas music, lights and decorations, but it's different for me after having kids.  Whitney is way excited about Christmas this year and can't wait to put up a tree.  She even remembered where we put it last year.  Unbelievable!!

We hosted Thanksgivng this year, and Wade did a great job with the meal.  He is the new cook in the family :)  Now my parents are here for some visiting and for me and my mom to do some shopping!  Without the girls!!!!!  Bring it on!  Hope I don't get wore out, it's currently 6:30 am.  Ellie woke me up at 4:50, which woke Whitney up so that shot any hopes of getting Ellie back to bed, but they have both gone back to sleep now.  I have already had coffee and new that once I finally fell back asleep it would be time to get up again.  Ugh!  Guess I'm getting my internet fix early today.
painting with Owen.  They have such a cute little friendship!

How many Thanksgivings in Iowa can you hang out in the back yard!?!

having a snack, because of course kids don't love the Thanksgiving dinner the way adults do!

this is what has been on our kitchen counter for 9 months.  Wednesday I packed it all up.  I had to leave it out because we didn't have the cabinet space, and for most of my pumping duration I was pumping 5-6 times a day.  Figure at least an hour of my life every day for 9 months was spent hooked up to the pump.  Wow.  

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Ellison- 9 Months

We have a little barn on our fridge that plays music, she like to push the button and rock back and forth.  No she is not "special".  You will also hear how she likes to "talk" to us.  She grunts at us as her primanry form of communication.  And yes, I am annoying in the video.

Nine months!  My favorite, favorite, favorite baby stage!!  This is the peak of baby cuteness before they become little toddlers.  She still curls her little toes when she sits, still has that baby chubbiness,  mostly gummy smile, little hair, and the dependency of  a baby.  (yes I also dislike the dependency of a baby, go figure!)  I love the way she kicks her legs when she is excited when I pick her up.

She is still such a happy little girl.  She smiles just from looking at her.  She does great playing on her own, but still likes to know where I am.  She does not like to play with sister, and sister doesn't like to to play with her either.  If Whitney takes something from Ellie it is the end of the world.  Tantrum and tears!


Eating- does great!  I am just beside myself at having a "normal" eater.  She has anywhere from 4-6 bottles averaging 5oz at a time between 5:30 am and 8:30pm. These last few days she has been drinking less, not sure if it is the formula change or she is over a growth spurt. She also likes to snack and eat little meals with us.  She only eats finger foods.  She hasn't had baby food or baby cereal in forever.  She doesn't care to eat off a spoon.  Her favorite foods are blueberries, cheese, Pepperidge Farm Brown Sugar toast and pretzels.  She has figured out how to use her teeth to bite off little pieces.  We are in the process of going down to strictly formula.  We are in the last few days of ever having breast milk again!!  (maybe a post on it's own to come)

Teeth- four, two on top, two on bottom

Sleep-  She has been a sleeping machine lately!  Woo hoo!!  Could be from the hormone drop from breastfeeding.  I have felt yucky and sleepy since weaning and I think the change is affecting her too.  Hopefully once we get past this change she will keep it up though.  She still goes to bed around 8:30, wakes between 5:30 and 6 and has a bottle and may or may not go back to sleep.  She will take two shorter naps or one long mid day nap.  She is a tummy sleeper or side sleeper.  She likes her soft blanket and pacifers in her bed.  I have about 4 pacifers in her crib so she can find one if she wakes up at night.

Milestones-  She is on a roll in this department.  Again, why I love this age.  Their budding little personality and smarts start to show.  She is furniture cruising and starting to walk ON HER OWN!  She will walk between Wade and I, or rather she will walk from Wade to me, she doesn't like to go to him unless he can bribe her with something.  She is starting to get brave and let go of what she is hanging on to and just go for it.  She can go about six feet on her own.  At the library this morning she was hanging on to a table and spotted a foot stool and just started walking to it.  She has some balance issues to figure out, but I give it about two weeks and she's good to go.  Whitney was walking well on her own by 10 months, so worst case scenario we have another month of practice.  Enough about walking, I can blog about that later.....  She is talking.  She can say mama, dada, oh no, no no, and ah choo.  And yes, she uses them in the correct context.  She likes to put things away.  She will pick up a toy and put it in a basket, go get another one, etc.    She can clap, wave and do so big.  Her pincer grasp is perfected.  She pretends to do puzzles like big sister.  She understand "no".  She dances.

Likes/Dislikes-  likes to eat, suck her pacifer, be with her mama and her big sister, cuddle soft blankets and toys, put EVERYTHING in her mouth, walk, suck on wet wash cloths, be outside, go to the library, ride in the wagon, swing.  She dislikes diaper changes and getting dressed. 


We don't have her 9 month appt until next month, you'll have to wait for stats then!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Five Minute Friday

I'm actually doing it.  I'm weaning.  I'm done breastfeeding.  Ellie is sleeping better (9hrs now!), she only wants a bottle, and I just reached my limit of making time to pump.  Not to mention we've had pump parts and pump bottles on our kitchen counter for almost 9 months now.  Ellie will be 9 months on tuesday, I feel that is an adequate amount of breast milk.  I don't have any supply strored in the freezer and I really wanted to go to 10 months, but I'm done.  I read that to get the full benefit of breastfeeding you need to do it for six months.  Check.  When I would take Ellie in for her 2 and 4 month appointments they would say if I could keep going until six months then that would be ideal and anything beyond that is just fantastic.  Formula is way gross, but she takes it without batting an eye so we'll go with it.  I don't know what I am going to do with all my free time from not pumping!  Have a cleaner house?  Yeah, probably not!

We got a babsysitter again this week.  We have date "evenings".  We have the babysitter from 3:30-6 and go to a bar/resturant and get appetizers and $1 pints.  We joke that we need to start taking CyRide!  The girls seem to be doing good with her and she even gave the babysitter a hug goodbye and watched her leave out the window.  You know Whitney likes you when she wants to watch you out the window.

Tonight I'm meeting friends in Des Moines for dinner.  Getting lots of me time lately :)

Whitney still doesn't like to poop on the toilet.   She doesn't like to poop period, but we're thinking of forcing her to on the toilet, any thoughts?

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

First Words

I am so excited to share this, I can't wait for her 9 month post.  Ellie is learning her first words!  Last week she woke up one morning and said "ah choo" for about two days straight.  Whitney likes to "ah choo" at Ellie to startle her and to make her laugh.  Just the other day she started repeating "no no".  Sometimes it's a perfect no no, others it's more like nah nah.  Cute!   AND  she is starting to take about 3 steps or so on her own!!  She still has a lot of balance to figure out, not sure if she will be walking by 9 months or not,  but it's getting close!

Blank Park Zoo, Round 5

I know, just what you want to see is us at the zoo for the FIFTH time in a year!  We have a membership and certainly got good use of it!  We went monday afternoon.  We practically had the place to ourself and the animals were pretty active (the ones that were still out that is).

the sea lion display is finished!!  it had an underwater viewing and and above platform too.  i did get pictures of sea lions swimming by but hte lighting was poor




acting like a kid again!  i told Wade I wanted to get into rock climbing and he laughed at me, said I wouldn't be strong enough, I'll show him!  (rock climbing walls of course)



Monday, November 14, 2011

Cousins

Alania, Whitney and Callie

Ellie, Alaina, Whitney, Callie and Lawton




Sunday, November 13, 2011

Whitney's First Haircut

Whitney's mullet was getting quite long.  She still has very little hair around her face, it was beginning to look like we needed to move into a trailer and time travel back to the 80's.  I did it myself.  It was hard to cut off what had taken so long to grow, but it's just hair, it will grow back.  I did it in two different days.  I cut it up a little, then evaluated and decided to cut up a little more.  Really it wouldn't hurt to cut it up some more, maybe next time.  No, I didn't save any of her hair, I'm not that sentimental of a person.  Pictures work for me!



before

after, it's a little unkempt because it has not been combed yet today

Friday, November 11, 2011

Five Minute Friday

I'm back!!!  Yes, I neglected to post last friday.   Wade was gone hunting and took the netbook and I do as little as possible on the dinosaur desktop in the basement. 

I have hired two babysitters, I know, can you hardly believe it?!?!  For those who know me well, you know that I do not like to leave my babies.  I'm okay leaving Whitney, I know she is fine now, but I just have an attatchment to my babies.  I suppose it's because they can't talk and I hate that pouty lipped whimper when someone different holds my babies.  Whitney and Ellie both did/do this as babies.  Maybe it's my breastfeeding attatchment.  This is less of a plausible excuse with Ellie since she takes a bottle and formula.  However, I do need to pump and hate to do it away from home.  Speaking of pumping, I may be finishing up.  I told myself I would go to 10 months, it is so close now, but I am loosing desire to continue.  I know I have said this before, but I really am now.  Just yesterday I breastfeed Ellie for the last time.  It is too scary to let her latch on.  I never know if she is fed up with me and will bite.  Not worth it.  She gets a bottle 100% of the time now.  One of my top reasons for continuing was the convience of just going into her room in the middle of the night to let her nurse.  She will be 9 months in 11 days, I may let myself call that good.  I would be content with that.

Back to the babysitter.  I used sittercity.com and found both my babysitters that way.  It is free to military members!  She is a sophomore at IA State (they both are).  She came over for two hours.  I picked up Wade and we went to Oled Main for appetizers and drinks.  It had been at least 9 months since we had gone out alone together.  You don't realize how important that time is until you do it.  Wade has been bugging me for months to get a babysitter and I just never thought it was necessary.  I admitted last night, "yes, I should have done this sooner!"  Whitney did fine and said she liked her :)  Ellie seemed to be okay too.  It will be nice to get a babysitter established before Wade leaves.  I will for sure need some relief then, and won't feel a bit bad paying for it!

I have the itch to buy Christmas presents already.  Must come with having kids, I have never been this eager to buy gifts for anything!

I cut Whitney's mullet off.  I don't love it, but it's better than what it was.  It was so hard to cut off what had taken 2 1/2 years to grow!!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Halloween 2011


I made pumpkin pancakes.  Sunday night we weren't that hungry and didn't know what to make, so I said I would make pumpkin pancakes.  Wade was very skeptical of them, in fact, he laughed at them as they were on the griddle.  They were delicious!!   Whitney said "no thanks, i'm not hungry for breakfast" but she decided otherwise after she tasted them with ice cream and cinnamon and sugur sprinkled on top!

my super garage sale skills got the dress and shoes for $3.50!!

she was so excited to trick or treat for a week straight, that when I finally got her ready to go and gave Ellie a bottle before we left the house, Ellie decided it was nap time.  Whitney was fed up with waiting.

trick or treating on main street.  Whitney had no recollection of this last year, so she was pretty nervous at first.  It was nice not to carry Ellie, but manuevering a wagon in and out of stores by yourself was a bit challenging.    The second store we went into was a photography studio and they would take your picture in the back and they also had the candy back there.  Trying to nudge Whitney to go ahead of me as I pulled the wagon was not working.  She was so frightened, I'm not sure if she passed out or tripped on her own feet, but I gave her a little push and she went face down stiff as a board, rolled off her basket flat on her back.  Then just started sobbing.  Not a great way to start.  Thankfully she got over it and did good the rest of the time, even saying trick or treat and thank you.

Ellie did amazing in the wagon.  She sat there for 1hr and 20 mins.  She had a container of pretzels and her first sucker, she was good to go!

SUGAR BUZZ!

Whitney picked out suckers every time!






Round two of trick or treating Whitney wanted to be Dora so I made Ellie boots.  Both costumes are super simple.  Dora has white shoes, yellow socks, orange shorts, pink shirt, purple back pack.  Whitney already has the brown hair brown eyes.  Done.  Ellie can't stand anything on her head so I didn't bother with really doing her costume.  She was to sit in the wagon anyway.  Well, unless you know who Dora is, it's kind of hard to tell what Whitney's costume was.  Older folks had no idea and I'm certain they thought we just gave our kid a purple back pack to put her candy in.  We were kind of embarrassed and even thought about running back home to get her Dorothy dress, but then figured Whitney is having a good time, and she thinks she is Dora, so who cares.  I pulled the yellow tummy off Ellie, so she just looked like a boy.  Oh well.  No Dora and Boots next year.



these college kids?  were going down the street and pretending they were a house??

Ellie's favorite activity, walking around holding your hands.  Can you say "kills your back?!?"  I remember Whitney doing this for a month and getting SO MAD if we walk with her.