Thursday, August 26, 2010
100% Girl...???
Usually Adele is quite the girly girl, but today a little bit of sand and some water helped Adele show off her...messy side!
Vanguard: It's an Attitude!
As I was rocking sweet Anna to sleep this afternoon, I was reminded of a T-shirt I once owned (I guess Aunt DeeDee has it now, supposedly I gave it to her.) On the front it just said "Vanguard" and then the back said, "It's an Attitude"
I think I should make a handful of shirts that say "Mommyhood" on the front, and "It's an Attitude" on the back. Because that's what it is. I've certainly been reminded of that over the past 24 hours!
Yesterday Anna was pretty fussy. She wanted to be held constantly, and wouldn't sleep in her crib for longer than 30 minutes at a time. Since she was almost constantly crying, I found myself very short on patience when "dealing with" her older sister. I would snap at poor Adele if she didn't respond immediately to my requests.
We recently learned that Adele is allergic to Cookie, and so we have blocked off Cookie's access to all of the carpeted areas in our house. I had decided that yesterday was a "stay home and clean" day, and planned on cleaning all of the carpeted areas to the best of my ability to try and remove as much "Cookie dander" as possible. That was much easier said than done with Anna being as fussy as she was, and with Adele wanting to take advantage of the beautiful weather outside.
Very little cleaning got done. I was pretty crabby about it. But when I sit back and put things into perspective, it was pretty dumb of me to waste an entire day frumping around the house because I couldn't clean. Here are some things I failed to consider yesterday:
1. I don't really like cleaning so I should've been thrilled to have an excuse NOT to clean!
2. Yesterday's weather was PERFECT! Much cooler than we've had in a while, and I spent lots of time outside with both girls playing in the yard (and even doing a little bit yard work).
3. I got to hold a chubby little baby for the majority of my day. I LOVE chubby little babies...especially sleeping ones.
So, I had no real reason to be crabby. I wasted a perfectly good day. Boo me.
Today, I woke up and mentally prepared myself for a repeat of yesterday. I made some extra strong coffee, scarfed down breakfast and waited for the girls to wake up. Soon enough I heard Adele stirring. I went upstairs and opened her door. She (not so politely) told me to close it again, because she wasn't ready to come downstairs. Sounded good to me, I wasn't going to take any chances with a crabby 2-year-old who preferred to stay in her room! I went downstairs, took a good long sip of coffee and started filling out some paperwork for Adele's preschool.
Just as I was finishing the paperwork, I heard coos coming from Anna's monitor. She woke up smiling, and when I went into her room to get her, she actually grabbed my hand and pulled it to her as if she was hugging me. She talked and smiled at me for several minutes before I took her out of her crib. Things were great until I brought her downstairs to change her diaper. As soon as I put her down she started squealing...just like yesterday. I talked her through the diaper change and decided that if I was going to hold this baby all day, I was going to be happy about it!
Soon enough we heard Adele ask for her door to be opened (in a much politer voice this time, too!). She joined us downstairs and both girls were full of smiles and snuggles.
The rest of the day has been business as usual. After running some errands, Anna fell asleep in my arms. I relished in the chance to sit in the quiet of her room while a not so sleepy, yet still in need of a nap Adele was belting out Anastasia songs across the hall. For whatever reason, I was reminded of my Vanguard shirt while I rocked her. (Probably because I was thinking of how the change in my attitude from yesterday to today has made an equally crazy day SO much easier!) After half an hour or so, I decided to try putting her in the crib. I was actually a little sad when she let me lay her down! (Because that meant dusting, you know...)
And here I sit, Adele finally fell asleep, the house is dusted, the windows are washed (gasp!), *some* laundry is folded, and there are new (to you) pictures of my little cutie up on my blog.
I just need to remember that Anna's a baby. Some days she's going to look like this:
And that there's absolutely nothing wrong with resting while she sleeps if that's the only chance I get!
(well...as long as someone is watching Adele!)
Ahhh! Life is good...as long as you have the right attitude!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Once Upon a Time...
There was a little story that was too cute not to blog about!
Today Adele went to the allergy doctor. Boo. She's allergic to Cookie. Very allergic to Cookie. Most kids don't show signs of being allergic to dogs (or her other environmental allergens) until they are closer to 5, maybe even 6 (when they can start taking allergy shots (they can't start sooner because they're not able to fully inform their doctors about how they are reacting to the shots or something like that)...as if THAT'S any fun!) but Adele is already very allergic. (Well, technically, she's only "moderately" allergic on the allergy scale, but the nurse practitioner used the word "Very" to describe the allergy, and basically told us that we must get rid of Cookie if we want Adele's eczema to ever get better. Boo.
Anyhow...when we got home from the doctor, Adele wanted to do a "project." Well, I wanted cookies. So, my solution was to make the cookies BE our project. Adele got to help mix ingredients (until we got to the eggs) and then her job was to entertain a "moderately" fussy Anna while I handled getting the cookies into and out of the oven.
So, Anna was in the pack and play, and was fussing away, but my timer went off. I asked Adele to "talk to Anna" mostly to keep her away from the hot stove. She quickly responded that she was going to tell Anna a story, and this is (approximately) what I heard:
"Once upon a time there was a beautiful tiny baby. She was cryin' and her sister, Cinderella* was talkin' to her. She had a Mommy and a Daddy and they loved her very much. They all lived in castle far far away."
*Adele was wearing her Cinderella nightgown, and had been referring to herself as Cinderella since getting home from the doctor-I think its so cute that she remembered that for her story!
Anna must not have liked the story, because she continued fussing, and Adele (Cinderella) changed tactics and started singing to her, which was also sweet, but not nearly as "bloggable" her story!
Today Adele went to the allergy doctor. Boo. She's allergic to Cookie. Very allergic to Cookie. Most kids don't show signs of being allergic to dogs (or her other environmental allergens) until they are closer to 5, maybe even 6 (when they can start taking allergy shots (they can't start sooner because they're not able to fully inform their doctors about how they are reacting to the shots or something like that)...as if THAT'S any fun!) but Adele is already very allergic. (Well, technically, she's only "moderately" allergic on the allergy scale, but the nurse practitioner used the word "Very" to describe the allergy, and basically told us that we must get rid of Cookie if we want Adele's eczema to ever get better. Boo.
Anyhow...when we got home from the doctor, Adele wanted to do a "project." Well, I wanted cookies. So, my solution was to make the cookies BE our project. Adele got to help mix ingredients (until we got to the eggs) and then her job was to entertain a "moderately" fussy Anna while I handled getting the cookies into and out of the oven.
So, Anna was in the pack and play, and was fussing away, but my timer went off. I asked Adele to "talk to Anna" mostly to keep her away from the hot stove. She quickly responded that she was going to tell Anna a story, and this is (approximately) what I heard:
"Once upon a time there was a beautiful tiny baby. She was cryin' and her sister, Cinderella* was talkin' to her. She had a Mommy and a Daddy and they loved her very much. They all lived in castle far far away."
*Adele was wearing her Cinderella nightgown, and had been referring to herself as Cinderella since getting home from the doctor-I think its so cute that she remembered that for her story!
Anna must not have liked the story, because she continued fussing, and Adele (Cinderella) changed tactics and started singing to her, which was also sweet, but not nearly as "bloggable" her story!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Kick-a-Boo, Remember You?
Anna has a new "favorite" toy (although she is still a pretty big fan of the "Elephant" too!) and watching her play with it brings back memories of when Adele was this size!
Miss Anna Kate:
And Here's Adele:
Just for fun:
Miss Anna Kate:
And Here's Adele:
Just for fun:
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Happy Birthday Anna!
I can't believe you're 3 months old already! (On Mommy and Daddy's 16!!! year anniversary of all days!)
You're not sleeping the greatest right now, but last night you let Daddy put you to sleep for the very first time (after a VERY frustrated Mommy tried for over 2 hours to get your sleepy eyes to close!) You have tons of smiles, but are a bit stingy with giggles still. You've earned the nickname "booger" but Mommy only means it with love! You know the voices of all of your family members and will look for us when we talk.
Love you!
You're not sleeping the greatest right now, but last night you let Daddy put you to sleep for the very first time (after a VERY frustrated Mommy tried for over 2 hours to get your sleepy eyes to close!) You have tons of smiles, but are a bit stingy with giggles still. You've earned the nickname "booger" but Mommy only means it with love! You know the voices of all of your family members and will look for us when we talk.
Love you!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Since I'm Not Sleeping...
I might as well be blogging, right?
With that said, it's MY blog and I'll whine if I want to. ACK!!! Anna has stopped sleeping at night! I'm SO tired, but of course, can't fall asleep even though BOTH girls are out cold. Forget about hating myself tonight for not taking advantage of sleeping girls during the day...I'm kicking myself as I type. Please pass the Ambien!
Thank goodness for Memaw! I've been a zombie the past few days. I can't remember exactly when this "spell" of bad sleep began, but it feels like it's been MONTHS since I had a good night's sleep. Going out on Friday night didn't help matters AT ALL! (but more about that later!)
Two weekends ago Aunt DeeDee came for a visit. Daddy and I were *supposed* to go to the Drum Corps International semi-finals. DeeDee canceled plans and rearranged her schedule so that she could drive 7 hours here in ridiculous heat with no air conditioning in order to do us a huge favor and watch her nieces...only to get here and find out that we goofed. DCI was NEXT weekend.
Oops doesn't quite cover it.
DeeDee pretended not to be heartbroken.
In the meantime, Anna's schedule (or lack of a schedule) got all messed up. I was spending what felt like hours pumping milk so that she'd have bottles when Daddy and I left her for 9+ hours, so she was waking up extra in the night to make up for her lost milk during the day.
On Saturday, *this would have been August 7th, I guess) we tried to make things up to DeeDee by going to the state fair. It was hot, but there were several air conditioned buildings to give us nice breaks from the heat.
There was a little "farm" for kids to participate in:
And plenty of rides, of course!
I think this is her, "Don't tell anyone how much I'm enjoying this, 'cuz I'm a big girl and think I am too big for this ride" look:
The Gropp Clan:
We got home around 4:30 and I nursed Anna (this might be important later...not just TMI) Adele skipped her nap, we ordered Puccini's and at 6:45 Anna decided to take a late nap (she fell asleep with her paci). By 7:30 I was expecting her to wake up to eat. By 8:00 I was wondering if I should wake her up. By 9:00 Adele was asleep and DeeDee and I were vedged out on the couch (who knows where Daddy was...) At 11:00 Aunt DeeDee and I went to bed (but not until I pumped 9!!! ounces of milk-ouch!) At around 4:00 in the morning, Anna FINALLY woke up to nurse (almost 12 hours since she last nursed!!!). She promptly went back to sleep until about 7:30. A 13-hour night's sleep. (For Anna, that is. This Mommy was up about a dozen times making sure she was still breathing!) I guess a long day at the State Fair will do that to you...
On Sunday we sadly said goodbye to DeeDee (and apologized a thousand more times for her "wasted" trip down here) and then got some good news: Memaw was hoping to come visit! We still needed a babysitter for DCI, so her impromptu visit couldn't have happened at a better time!
In the meantime, Daddy went back to work, and Anna's sleep schedule once again got all messed up. (The two have nothing to do with each other, except that they happened to happen at the same time, I think...) Our little girl went from sleeping 8 hour chunks (and then some!) to waking up every 2 hours or less. ACK! Adele did this too...right as Daddy was finishing up his school year. Never when BOTH parents are home all day long, because that would be too easy, right?
So, I was glad to see Memaw because it meant less TV time for Adele and the possibility of more sleep for Mommy. I was right about the TV. Also, Anna seems to have turned another corner and will let Memaw spoil her (as long as she is fed and rested, that is!)!
What? No Tears?!
Eating at the "little" table:
Fast asleep!
Memaw got some quality Anna time on Thursday while Adele and I went to the Y with "Nenny", Elise and Annie. Adele has gotten bold again and will jump into the water. It was ridiculously hot out, so it was nice to be able to get in the water with Adele while Memaw held Anna in the air conditioning at home!
Friday finally rolled around and Memaw kept Adele, while Anna went to Miss Nenny's. I sent plenty of milk and tried not to be too neurotic about leaving Anna for several hours. I almost called once because I forgot to tell Jenny that I'd packed some Mylicon but decided that she'd find it in the diaper bag if she needed it. Oops. She needed it, but didn't even think to look for any. My bad. Oh well. Anna was asleep when we got back, so we know that she didn't scream the ENTIRE time we were gone! Waking her up at midnight to take her home MIGHT have been a bit of a bad idea, however. She has been up for her first "feeding" between 11 and 1 EVERY night since then....oh do I miss those 8 hour stretches of sleep!!!
I know this stage won't last forever, and I DO think that Anna is the cutest little goober ever when she's snuggling me in the middle of the night, but boy am I tired right now!
With that said, it's MY blog and I'll whine if I want to. ACK!!! Anna has stopped sleeping at night! I'm SO tired, but of course, can't fall asleep even though BOTH girls are out cold. Forget about hating myself tonight for not taking advantage of sleeping girls during the day...I'm kicking myself as I type. Please pass the Ambien!
Thank goodness for Memaw! I've been a zombie the past few days. I can't remember exactly when this "spell" of bad sleep began, but it feels like it's been MONTHS since I had a good night's sleep. Going out on Friday night didn't help matters AT ALL! (but more about that later!)
Two weekends ago Aunt DeeDee came for a visit. Daddy and I were *supposed* to go to the Drum Corps International semi-finals. DeeDee canceled plans and rearranged her schedule so that she could drive 7 hours here in ridiculous heat with no air conditioning in order to do us a huge favor and watch her nieces...only to get here and find out that we goofed. DCI was NEXT weekend.
Oops doesn't quite cover it.
DeeDee pretended not to be heartbroken.
In the meantime, Anna's schedule (or lack of a schedule) got all messed up. I was spending what felt like hours pumping milk so that she'd have bottles when Daddy and I left her for 9+ hours, so she was waking up extra in the night to make up for her lost milk during the day.
On Saturday, *this would have been August 7th, I guess) we tried to make things up to DeeDee by going to the state fair. It was hot, but there were several air conditioned buildings to give us nice breaks from the heat.
There was a little "farm" for kids to participate in:
And plenty of rides, of course!
I think this is her, "Don't tell anyone how much I'm enjoying this, 'cuz I'm a big girl and think I am too big for this ride" look:
The Gropp Clan:
We got home around 4:30 and I nursed Anna (this might be important later...not just TMI) Adele skipped her nap, we ordered Puccini's and at 6:45 Anna decided to take a late nap (she fell asleep with her paci). By 7:30 I was expecting her to wake up to eat. By 8:00 I was wondering if I should wake her up. By 9:00 Adele was asleep and DeeDee and I were vedged out on the couch (who knows where Daddy was...) At 11:00 Aunt DeeDee and I went to bed (but not until I pumped 9!!! ounces of milk-ouch!) At around 4:00 in the morning, Anna FINALLY woke up to nurse (almost 12 hours since she last nursed!!!). She promptly went back to sleep until about 7:30. A 13-hour night's sleep. (For Anna, that is. This Mommy was up about a dozen times making sure she was still breathing!) I guess a long day at the State Fair will do that to you...
On Sunday we sadly said goodbye to DeeDee (and apologized a thousand more times for her "wasted" trip down here) and then got some good news: Memaw was hoping to come visit! We still needed a babysitter for DCI, so her impromptu visit couldn't have happened at a better time!
In the meantime, Daddy went back to work, and Anna's sleep schedule once again got all messed up. (The two have nothing to do with each other, except that they happened to happen at the same time, I think...) Our little girl went from sleeping 8 hour chunks (and then some!) to waking up every 2 hours or less. ACK! Adele did this too...right as Daddy was finishing up his school year. Never when BOTH parents are home all day long, because that would be too easy, right?
So, I was glad to see Memaw because it meant less TV time for Adele and the possibility of more sleep for Mommy. I was right about the TV. Also, Anna seems to have turned another corner and will let Memaw spoil her (as long as she is fed and rested, that is!)!
What? No Tears?!
Eating at the "little" table:
Fast asleep!
Memaw got some quality Anna time on Thursday while Adele and I went to the Y with "Nenny", Elise and Annie. Adele has gotten bold again and will jump into the water. It was ridiculously hot out, so it was nice to be able to get in the water with Adele while Memaw held Anna in the air conditioning at home!
Friday finally rolled around and Memaw kept Adele, while Anna went to Miss Nenny's. I sent plenty of milk and tried not to be too neurotic about leaving Anna for several hours. I almost called once because I forgot to tell Jenny that I'd packed some Mylicon but decided that she'd find it in the diaper bag if she needed it. Oops. She needed it, but didn't even think to look for any. My bad. Oh well. Anna was asleep when we got back, so we know that she didn't scream the ENTIRE time we were gone! Waking her up at midnight to take her home MIGHT have been a bit of a bad idea, however. She has been up for her first "feeding" between 11 and 1 EVERY night since then....oh do I miss those 8 hour stretches of sleep!!!
I know this stage won't last forever, and I DO think that Anna is the cutest little goober ever when she's snuggling me in the middle of the night, but boy am I tired right now!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Another Milestone...
And not really a "fun" one...
On July 28th (at 2 years, 6 months and 6 days old...) Adele had her first trip to the Emergency Room.
It wasn't that big of a deal, it just happened to happen at about 5:02 PM....right after her doctor's office closed for the day.
Adele tripped over a box of toys and hit her eye (the spot just between her eye and her eyebrow) on the corner of the one little table we have left in the TV room...
It wasn't a terrible cut, but it looked deep and wouldn't stop bleeding, and since it was so close to her eye, we decided to have it looked at. We figured that if we went to Urgent Care they would just send us to the ER (it seems every time we go there they tell us that we should've gone to the ER), so we just skipped the middle man.
Adele was such a big girl answering questions, and was thrilled to get to wear a "gown" and was really quite the trooper! A doctor came in and looked at it, then sent a physician's assistant to "glue" it up. Adele couldn't have been more happy that the glue was purple!
Here's our "Big Girl" and her "purple" glue:
On July 28th (at 2 years, 6 months and 6 days old...) Adele had her first trip to the Emergency Room.
It wasn't that big of a deal, it just happened to happen at about 5:02 PM....right after her doctor's office closed for the day.
Adele tripped over a box of toys and hit her eye (the spot just between her eye and her eyebrow) on the corner of the one little table we have left in the TV room...
It wasn't a terrible cut, but it looked deep and wouldn't stop bleeding, and since it was so close to her eye, we decided to have it looked at. We figured that if we went to Urgent Care they would just send us to the ER (it seems every time we go there they tell us that we should've gone to the ER), so we just skipped the middle man.
Adele was such a big girl answering questions, and was thrilled to get to wear a "gown" and was really quite the trooper! A doctor came in and looked at it, then sent a physician's assistant to "glue" it up. Adele couldn't have been more happy that the glue was purple!
Here's our "Big Girl" and her "purple" glue:
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